I love it here, too... Moved here a few years ago, live down at East Beach by the zoo. Fabulous little town!
been there. used to drive a truck up and down 101, the Cuesta Grade; burned out a set of brakes on what I recall is known as Gaviota Grade (or Pass) — the back road from SB to Santa Maria. I remember watching bulldozer plow firebreaks on nearly vertical mountainsides; Montecito...actually lived in Carpinteria. It used to be a nice little town in the ‘80’s. Gawd only knows what it’s like now.
Isn’t Santa Barbara the place where the city painted contour lines on roads and sidewalks to show people where the ocean level is going to be when Al Gore’s predictions come true?
I find that the people there are very friendly, mostly Conservative Christians (unlike the hippies, liberals and atheists who seem gravitate to the coastal regions) and have cultural values closer to mine. There's some good country music in Bakersfield that the snooty elites in places like Santa Barbara, La Jolla and Marin Country shun.
Bakersfield and much of the valley was settled by good, salt-of-the-earth folks from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. In my opinion, they seem more proud to be American than in parts of California. I saw a lot of American flags a-flyin' when I was last there. Plus, who can't love a town with a suburb named Oildale? :-)
I'm sure Fresno is also a good place (aside from the illegals and the commie fools at the Fresno Bee). Right Jim?
My wife and I went back to visit this year and it is now a people's republic like Santa Cruz and San Francisco.
My wife made an interesting observation as we drove down State street: They must have passsed a law that forbids ugly people on the streets.
My all time retirement destination is Santa Barbara. The perfect melding of the mountains and the sea.
Check out Montecito.
CA is incredibly beautiful. I hate to see it bashed so much here. There are lots of great Conservatives here too.
It was nice until Al Gore moved to next door Montecito. As they say there goes the neighborhood.
I’m in SB for Christmas. It is one of the greatest places I’ve ever been. And I’ve seen 48 states and more than a dozen nations and several Carribean islands.
Be sure to go to Arigato Sushi.
As a Texan living in Ventura right down the rd from SB, I agree with you. I always enjoy driving up the coast with Texas visitors and showing them SB and SLO. It’s gorgeous — and some of the quaint towns around there are good to visit if I feel homesick for East Texas.
I agree. Two other contenders are San Francisco, Santa Fe, NM, and Washington, DC. Interestingly, just about every beautiful city is a hotbed of leftist politics.
Curious ...Where did you go in Hawaii ? Big Island by any chance ?
We did the Century in Oct missed Maui had to rescue 3 men in a disabled sailboat we left it adrift 3 weeks later it beached itself on Maui
we had a great cruise
I lived in Santa Barbara, as did my parents and sister, from 1974 until the fall of 1989. Beautiful place and, yes it’s somewhat liberal, but there is a large and active TEA Party contigent in the city.
The Santa Ynez Valley, in the mountains above Santa Barbara, was VERY conservative when I lived in Santa Barbara. I believe this area still is rather conservative.
Ironically, this valley is where Michael Jackson had his 3,000 acre Neverland estate.
I attended University of California there for two years. Really a great area. And amazing weather for a northern-california kid. Swam/SCUBA dived almost every weekend and rode my bike all over that area every chance I got.
If only I could have found a job there...
I agree! The People’s Republic of SB is beautiful! My television producer, sister and her entertainment industry lawyer, husband have lived there for years.
I visit each Christmas, passing by Oprah’s home on the way. |^ :
Yes, Santa Barbara is physically quite beautiful. My wife did a postdoc there six years ago, and I spent a bit of time visiting her there. The one problem is the people: the place is overrun with odious nouveau riche who treat the folks who work in shops and more generally any service industry (whether “Anglo”, legal Hispanic or illegal immigrant) like dirt. We once got stuck getting out of the airport behind a shrieking harpy (lawyer by her dress — tailored suit, coral ear-rings and matching necklace, briefcase) who kept insisting that the parking attendant get her car for her. The Santa Barbara Airport does not have valet parking.
Even when in California, I usually dress in a manner the could pass for East Coast or British old money slumming slightly
(tweed sportcoat, shirt and tie), and I’d resolved the next time I saw anything like that I would affect an even more pronounced mid-Atlantic accent than I actually have, and sneer “Oh! I see what I was told was true. Money and breeding don’t go together here!” loud enough that the moneyed lout could hear me.
I never got the chance. But my resolve holds, as I expect to get back sometime — the place really is beautiful. My wife and I want to fly into SB next time either of us has a conference in the Bay Area with enough lead time (which happens fairly often), stay a few days in SB, then drive a rental convertible up the coast highway.
pingarama :)
I hear San Antonio is beautiful and compelling as well. Will try to make it down there one day.
Had a tour of the Reagan Ranch which was well-worth it. Not sure it is open to the public yet, but you can check at the Reagan Center, downtown, near the train station, which is also worth a quick tour. Second the Arigato Sushi, have eaten there many times. Santa Barbara, “Home of the newly-wed and the nearly dead”!!!
Montecito is as close to perfection as it gets. Was there this weekend.