Santa Barbara - the most beautiful place on earth? (Santa Barbara)

Member Name: Trevor Hirst

Product:	Santa Barbara
Date:	29/01/03 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Weather, People, Wildlife

Disadvantages: VERY high cost housing

Santa Barbara sits on the Calfornia central coast, about 100 miles north west of Los Angeles and overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. It is served by the 101 freeway, which is an excellent link to LA and San diego in the south, Monterey and Sanf Francisco in the north. Also the small, charming airport provides a 20 minute 'pond-hop' to LA, as well as other further destinations.
The city suffered from a huge earthquake in the 1920's and as such, most of downtown Santa Barbara dates from that time, and was re-built in the Spanish colonial style, which together with the fabulous year-round climate gives the place a mediterranean feel.
The people are very friendly and there is a strong Hispanic (largely Mexican) community that adds to the mixture of cultures in the area, with annual festivals and of course excellent Mexican cuisine.
Wildlife is rich and varied throughout the county, with many resident and migrating birds and creatures. From the brown pelicans and gulls at the beach, to the hummingbirds, hawks and vultures inland, as well as mountain lions (quite rare!) and racoons, to name but a few.
Entertainment in Santa Barbara is plentiful, although generally not cheap. There is a myriad of cafes, bars and restaurants, cinemas and theatres (including the famous Lobero) to keep you well fed and entertained.
The beaches are, like all of Santa Barbara, very clean and safe. There are bike lanes everywhere and hiring bikes is easy and inexpensive.
For those seeking arts and culture there is the Santa Barbara Art Museum on State Street, the Museum of Natural History, Stearn's Wharf, the Courthouse (with great views from the clock tower) and of course, the old Mission. There is also one of my favourites, the Santa Barbara Zoo. The sea life centre on the wharf is currently closed for refurbishment.
Shopping is quite good downtown with places like Nordstrom's, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic a
nd Restoration Hardware, but for knock-down prices you need to travel further afield to Camarillo Outlet Mall (about 50 miles).
I have lived in Santa Barbara for just over a year now and, contrary to the views of the Rough Guide to California ("You will grow tired of Santa Barbara in half a day") I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

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