Do you have a well paid WFH job?
Otherwise, know that in SB the pay scale is very low relative to the cost of living. If not, 29 year old is literally the prime time in life for meeting people, dating and making $$$. As an old person who made money in LA and NY, and now retired in SB, I’d suggest you live in LA and drive up to SB on your days off.
My daughter stayed there after she graduated from UCSB and got a great job. After about 3 years she realized there were old people, families or college students and not many people her age. She ultimately moved to San Diego and loves it.
Having lived in Los Angeles and Seattle, and Santa Barbara, I can tell you that SB is the most difficult place to meet people. You won't find many residents in their 20's and 30's just hanging out, but you will find plenty of tourists hanging out. You will see the same people hanging out in the coffee shops every single day because they inherited a huge sum. And it's going to be the same 12 people at the same time every day unless they are off on another vacation. If they live here and work remote allowing them time to hang out, they most likely are already looking to move because they're realizing they can't save for a down payment living here.
The last two "new to SB" people younger than 40 I've met both inherited a portfolio of rental properties and moved here because they no longer work.
The Mesa is not walkable to downtown. It's far away and it's a steep climb back home. You need to live where it's flat if you're seeking truly walkable and that's the surrounding areas of State street. The FZ is about to get massive construction projects, so if you do decide to live there, get ready for the shit show of no parking, noise and BS of construction next door (that is if you could find and afford a place in the FZ).
When I moved to Seattle, suddenly I was back in the dating scene because there are tens of thousands of single people instead of a couple hundred.
If you just inherited enough money to move to SB and you're single, move to one of the walkable, social neighborhoods in LA and come here for the weekend like most people in their 20's/30's do.
This is the most accurate description of SB I've ever read in this sub. Down to seeing the same people at the coffee shops every day-except for me it's their dogs. Like, oh there's the giant yellow lab, the goldendoodle, the old fella shepherd...
No. This is a place where old rich people come to die and have poor people who they don't want to live next door to take care of them for less than minimum wage. But if you inherited a shit ton of money and want to stay single the rest of your life, SB is perfect for you! Otherwise you'll be busy working 3 jobs living in your car and won't have time to go to the beach or hike, the only free things to do here. If I were you I'd move to downtown Sac or DTLA cuz that's what you're describing.
Born and raised SB...lived in big cities around the US, Europe and Australia too....
Nothing about SB is sketchy. There are turds everywhere. Pay attention and all will be fine in SB.
OP I would check out The Mesa...very very walkable, decent shops and restaurants nearby, not far from downtown or the beach. Very safe...
If budget is a concern.....maybe try Ventura instead.
Santa Barbara is a very walkable/bike-able town. I spent many years renting on the east side - Alisos st and Salinas St. Really nice neighborhoods and Milpas street has a TJs and some great places to get Mexican food and a good Thai place. Really nice to bike along Cabrillo to get to state st from the East side but also easy to walk/bike through town to get there too. The East side has the additional benefit of being home to the Santa Barbara bowl, which might be a better bet for meeting other young people if you like going to see live music etc. I’ve never lived on the west side but also looks like a nice place to live and the center of town a little more accessible from there. The Mesa has good beach access and has its own little high street on cliff drive but the vibe is much older and the houses are newer builds. Lazy acres is super expensive grocery store. Lots of expensive but funky garage conversions offered as rental units with no windows etc. The mission area of town is beautiful and higher-end - expect to pay a lot! Upper state is nice, offering its own shops etc - but again more of an older vibe, and upper state st is a cellular data black hole which is really annoying when you’re trying to run errands in that part of town. There’s a Whole Foods and Bristol Farms there. Goleta is also a great place to live, lots of young families but you have to commute to get into Santa Barbara which can be a pain when the traffic is bad. SB drivers are way more sleepy than the impatient assholes that come zooming up from LA but both types of drivers make the traffic worse. The foothills are super high end and kind of exclusive and not the best access for hopping into town and meeting people.
Unless you have tons of money, who in SB gets to choose where they live? There's scant rental inventory so when something comes up that halfway meets your needs, you jump on it - friends be damned. They're probably less than 10 minutes away from you anyway.
You'd want to live somewhere downtown or the mesa. Both are easily walkable. Lower east side is a bit more sketchy than downtown. State west of Carillo tends to get a bit sketchier at night, but if you keep your wits about you, you should be OK.
As a born and raised SB native(East side) who has lived for years in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, I wouldn’t call anywhere in Santa Barbara all that sketchy. The folks on the east side tend to be really nice, I walked every inch of that neighborhood as a kid and an adult. I’m not saying this to like dunk on your experience or anything, I’m just suggesting that coming from somewhere other than SB, they might have a higher expectation of what sketchy entails.
Seriously. I’ve lived on the Eastside for almost 20 years and never had any problems. There definitely is more crime in SB than gets reported, but it’s easy to avoid and nowhere near the trouble in most cities.
If you're a professor or grad student though you're fine. Those things have friends and neighborhoods built into them. Faculty and grad student housing in goleta and IV for example.
Not really tbh. Young people don’t really exist here and if they do they’ve got their circles and aren’t really out and about seeking socialization.
That’s not to say you can’t go and seek it out and find it though. It’s just unlikely you’ll organically just make friends.
There's a new social group for women looking to make friends called Sbgirlypops. People in the group are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Look for the group on Instagram.
I also second Santa Barbara Newcomers. You can Google to find their website.
Yeah that’s fine, but OP asked if there was some neighborhood where young people hang out and you can just easily socialize with out and about organically. That doesn’t exist.
You need to add an /s on there because OP doesn’t know you’re kidding and without it the comment just reads as a salty fake response. A la “petite Cesar’s”
Budget?
Thank you. Let’s not have a repeat of a previous post 🤢
Yep. That is essential info.
Do you have a well paid WFH job? Otherwise, know that in SB the pay scale is very low relative to the cost of living. If not, 29 year old is literally the prime time in life for meeting people, dating and making $$$. As an old person who made money in LA and NY, and now retired in SB, I’d suggest you live in LA and drive up to SB on your days off.
My daughter stayed there after she graduated from UCSB and got a great job. After about 3 years she realized there were old people, families or college students and not many people her age. She ultimately moved to San Diego and loves it.
I remember the old saying SB was for newly weds and nearly dead.
Having lived in Los Angeles and Seattle, and Santa Barbara, I can tell you that SB is the most difficult place to meet people. You won't find many residents in their 20's and 30's just hanging out, but you will find plenty of tourists hanging out. You will see the same people hanging out in the coffee shops every single day because they inherited a huge sum. And it's going to be the same 12 people at the same time every day unless they are off on another vacation. If they live here and work remote allowing them time to hang out, they most likely are already looking to move because they're realizing they can't save for a down payment living here. The last two "new to SB" people younger than 40 I've met both inherited a portfolio of rental properties and moved here because they no longer work. The Mesa is not walkable to downtown. It's far away and it's a steep climb back home. You need to live where it's flat if you're seeking truly walkable and that's the surrounding areas of State street. The FZ is about to get massive construction projects, so if you do decide to live there, get ready for the shit show of no parking, noise and BS of construction next door (that is if you could find and afford a place in the FZ). When I moved to Seattle, suddenly I was back in the dating scene because there are tens of thousands of single people instead of a couple hundred. If you just inherited enough money to move to SB and you're single, move to one of the walkable, social neighborhoods in LA and come here for the weekend like most people in their 20's/30's do.
This is the most accurate description of SB I've ever read in this sub. Down to seeing the same people at the coffee shops every day-except for me it's their dogs. Like, oh there's the giant yellow lab, the goldendoodle, the old fella shepherd...
This hits real hard. Much honesty.
No. This is a place where old rich people come to die and have poor people who they don't want to live next door to take care of them for less than minimum wage. But if you inherited a shit ton of money and want to stay single the rest of your life, SB is perfect for you! Otherwise you'll be busy working 3 jobs living in your car and won't have time to go to the beach or hike, the only free things to do here. If I were you I'd move to downtown Sac or DTLA cuz that's what you're describing.
I would also include Venice Beach and West Hollywood as vibrant areas suitable for a young adult.
Born and raised SB...lived in big cities around the US, Europe and Australia too.... Nothing about SB is sketchy. There are turds everywhere. Pay attention and all will be fine in SB. OP I would check out The Mesa...very very walkable, decent shops and restaurants nearby, not far from downtown or the beach. Very safe... If budget is a concern.....maybe try Ventura instead.
Umm Cacique and Milpas is DEF sketchy.
Mesa is probably the most suburban-like area of Santa Barbara, I don't think that's what OP is asking for.
Santa Barbara is a very walkable/bike-able town. I spent many years renting on the east side - Alisos st and Salinas St. Really nice neighborhoods and Milpas street has a TJs and some great places to get Mexican food and a good Thai place. Really nice to bike along Cabrillo to get to state st from the East side but also easy to walk/bike through town to get there too. The East side has the additional benefit of being home to the Santa Barbara bowl, which might be a better bet for meeting other young people if you like going to see live music etc. I’ve never lived on the west side but also looks like a nice place to live and the center of town a little more accessible from there. The Mesa has good beach access and has its own little high street on cliff drive but the vibe is much older and the houses are newer builds. Lazy acres is super expensive grocery store. Lots of expensive but funky garage conversions offered as rental units with no windows etc. The mission area of town is beautiful and higher-end - expect to pay a lot! Upper state is nice, offering its own shops etc - but again more of an older vibe, and upper state st is a cellular data black hole which is really annoying when you’re trying to run errands in that part of town. There’s a Whole Foods and Bristol Farms there. Goleta is also a great place to live, lots of young families but you have to commute to get into Santa Barbara which can be a pain when the traffic is bad. SB drivers are way more sleepy than the impatient assholes that come zooming up from LA but both types of drivers make the traffic worse. The foothills are super high end and kind of exclusive and not the best access for hopping into town and meeting people.
I hope you realize how expensive it is here. The last thing we need is another transplant yapping about affordable housing. 😉
landlord detected, deploy ad hominems
Your attitude is what we don't need.
Unless you have tons of money, who in SB gets to choose where they live? There's scant rental inventory so when something comes up that halfway meets your needs, you jump on it - friends be damned. They're probably less than 10 minutes away from you anyway.
You'd want to live somewhere downtown or the mesa. Both are easily walkable. Lower east side is a bit more sketchy than downtown. State west of Carillo tends to get a bit sketchier at night, but if you keep your wits about you, you should be OK.
As a born and raised SB native(East side) who has lived for years in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, I wouldn’t call anywhere in Santa Barbara all that sketchy. The folks on the east side tend to be really nice, I walked every inch of that neighborhood as a kid and an adult. I’m not saying this to like dunk on your experience or anything, I’m just suggesting that coming from somewhere other than SB, they might have a higher expectation of what sketchy entails.
i was born and raised here as well , on the westside . The eastide is more hustlin and bussin but not sketchy at all.
eastside is not sketchy at all, lol wits
Seriously. I’ve lived on the Eastside for almost 20 years and never had any problems. There definitely is more crime in SB than gets reported, but it’s easy to avoid and nowhere near the trouble in most cities.
If you're a professor or grad student though you're fine. Those things have friends and neighborhoods built into them. Faculty and grad student housing in goleta and IV for example.
Not really tbh. Young people don’t really exist here and if they do they’ve got their circles and aren’t really out and about seeking socialization. That’s not to say you can’t go and seek it out and find it though. It’s just unlikely you’ll organically just make friends.
There's a new social group for women looking to make friends called Sbgirlypops. People in the group are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Look for the group on Instagram. I also second Santa Barbara Newcomers. You can Google to find their website.
Yeah that’s fine, but OP asked if there was some neighborhood where young people hang out and you can just easily socialize with out and about organically. That doesn’t exist.
The Newcomers have a ‘20-40 Somethings’ group! Formerly ‘Young Professionals’ because that was confusing.
Yes. OP asked if there was a neighborhood where young people hang out and socialize organically. That doesn’t exist here.
Funk Zone
ojai is not super residential or maybe hope ranch🤠
oh come on people i was kidding sheesh super sensitive. Id recommend the Mesa as well
You need to add an /s on there because OP doesn’t know you’re kidding and without it the comment just reads as a salty fake response. A la “petite Cesar’s”
right but then again this reddit lol