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Affordable Living
updated: Sep 05, 2012, 1:24 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

If you had to live somewhere other than in the Santa Barbara/Goleta area that was much more affordable, where in the world would you live?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 316433	2012-09-05 01:29 PM
Marysville
COMMENT 316434	2012-09-05 01:32 PM
Colorado
COMMENT 316435	2012-09-05 01:32 PM
Portlandia!
COMMENT 316438	2012-09-05 01:35 PM
Florida. Great fishing there. Big houses for cheap.
COMMENT 316444	2012-09-05 01:41 PM
Portland and Bend, Oregon
COMMENT 316445	2012-09-05 01:45 PM
BajaCaliforna , Pacific coast
COMMENT 316448	2012-09-05 01:48 PM
Montana!
COMMENT 316451	2012-09-05 01:50 PM
Costa Rica
COMMENT 316452	2012-09-05 01:54 PM
Welsh coast
COMMENT 316453	2012-09-05 01:54 PM
Portland
SHOREBIRD	2012-09-05 02:03 PM
I vote Portland too, but "much more affordable?" not so much.
COMMENT 316458	2012-09-05 02:05 PM
Midwest.
COMMENT 316460	2012-09-05 02:07 PM
Santa Fe, NM
COMMENT 316462	2012-09-05 02:08 PM
Lompoc
COMMENT 316464	2012-09-05 02:11 PM
Portland.
COMMENT 316465	2012-09-05 02:12 PM
Savannah, Georgia - Was just there and it is an amazing community!
COMMENT 316466	2012-09-05 02:14 PM
Upstate NY
COMMENT 316467	2012-09-05 02:15 PM
To Shorebird, I own homes in both Santa Barbara and Portland and while Portland isn't as cheap as say, Florida, it's half the cost to buy or rent. That said, I'd rather have a smaller place in Santa Barbara than suffer through 9 months of rain. There's always trade-offs.
COMMENT 316469	2012-09-05 02:18 PM
San Antonio. Awesome city.
COMMENT 316472	2012-09-05 02:22 PM
we have friends who grew up in SB and moved to the Portland area to buy their first home. I couldn't deal with the lack of sun and surf myself, but they are better off financially than we are.
COMMENT 316475	2012-09-05 02:29 PM
NW Montana or coastal Oregon
COMMENT 316477	2012-09-05 02:34 PM
Portland rains will have you begging for this Ca. weather. The grass is always greener...
COMMENT 316480	2012-09-05 02:42 PM
Midwest??? That's just crazy talk. I agree about Savannah as well as Charleston though or even San Antonio. But I vote for Columbia. The cartels there are nowhere near as off their rockers or as dangerous as the theocrats (aka the American Taliban) are in this country. I wonder if they have MTV or HBO over there?
COMMENT 316481	2012-09-05 02:43 PM
Belize.
COMMENT 316484	2012-09-05 02:50 PM
Carolina coast
COMMENT 316492	2012-09-05 03:03 PM
Austin, Tx
COMMENT 316493	2012-09-05 03:04 PM
My cousin lives in the midwest (Lincoln, Nebraska). With my downpayment on my house here, I could've bought the house next door to him outright and retired. haha.
EZ2	2012-09-05 03:09 PM
Eureka!
SHOREBIRD	2012-09-05 03:13 PM
-477 Yes the grass is always greener but Portland grass stays green by itself. ;-) Santa Fe is a good choice too. Just about the same size as Santa Barbara.
COMMENT 316503	2012-09-05 03:18 PM
Seattle area everyone i know up there is doing good and they have nice house,s and the sea food is hard to beat, Portland is nice also Montans is wonderfull till you spen a hard winter but it builds character
COMMENT 316504	2012-09-05 03:19 PM
I love Portland and dream of the day I can go back to visit - of course I hope to live there at some point also. The Lompoc comment made me laugh - lived there for 10 years - not by my choice - and I'd rather live in Compton (which I have also lived).
COMMENT 316505	2012-09-05 03:19 PM
Cornwall, England
SHOREBIRD	2012-09-05 03:24 PM
-503 I survived the winter of 68-69 in Montana. One day the HIGH temperature was 22 degrees below zero. That's enough "character" to last me a lifetime.
COMMENT 316515	2012-09-05 03:28 PM
Honestly, no place. To me, it's worth the extra work and extra small house to live here.
COMMENT 316521P	2012-09-05 03:41 PM
Ojai or Oak View, then you can still visit.
COMMENT 316523	2012-09-05 03:42 PM
This is a big discussion at my house. Spending all the money on a house in Santa Barbara leaves little to save for retirement. So here we are, ready for that phase of life and the majority of our money is tied up in a house. The weather and the scenery are spectacular but I don't fancy working until I'm 70. We are thinking Portland.
COMMENT 316524	2012-09-05 03:42 PM
Austin, tx! Bomb. Com
COMMENT 316528	2012-09-05 03:49 PM
Austin, or almost anywhere in New England.
COMMENT 316529	2012-09-05 03:51 PM
Sequim Washington. On the ocean and forest! The way SB was back in the 50's!
COMMENT 316530	2012-09-05 03:53 PM
Austin
COMMENT 316532	2012-09-05 03:59 PM
Cornwall? No thank you. The heating bills are killing and have you tried swimming in that ocean?!!!! It's freezing. We had a summer cottage in Lyme Regis when I was a child. Santa Barbara is the place for me.
COMMENT 316534	2012-09-05 04:00 PM
To all you Austin peeps, what is it about Austin that you like? (I've never been)
COMMENT 316536	2012-09-05 04:09 PM
Used to live in Monterey, Ca. would love to have a victorian home there in Pacific Grove. Cheaper, not by much. My husband and I would love to go somewhere on the east coast, with the lovely colors of fall, but our family live in California and we're already too far away from them.
COMMENT 316542	2012-09-05 04:17 PM
I can't afford to tell. Don't want to ruin the new, inexpensive uncrowded, SB!
COMMENT 316546P	2012-09-05 04:23 PM
SB, no contest. Have lived in the NW, and it's green because it's either raining or is overcast with gray skies. TX no, including Austin which I thought was the greenbelt and educated but was sorely disappointed in. Almost moved to Santa Fe, but came to SB instead. Santa Fe gives me nosebleeds and chapped lips it's so dry and the terrain is desert. We have good friends there who we do visit but they are now the only reason I'd go there. Had some illusions about the east coast where I lived til I was 13, but have been there now enough to love CA all the more. Though more poor in SB than I'd be elsewhere, I'm very happy and feel SO lucky to live here.
COMMENT 316550	2012-09-05 04:26 PM
Maui, with the depreciation of property you can live in a pretty nice condo in Kapalua and shop at Costco and Walmart like the locals do and live simply because you don't need a "wardrobe" other than shorts, bathing suit and flip flops...yep simplicity and perfect weather all the time!
COMMENT 316552	2012-09-05 04:35 PM
Equador is very tempting, Love the Galopagos!
DILLYDALLY	2012-09-05 04:40 PM
Baja, Sea of Cortez
ROGER DODGER	2012-09-05 04:54 PM
Ely Minn. or Eagle River Wis.
COMMENT 316574	2012-09-05 05:08 PM
Montecito
COMMENT 316580P	2012-09-05 05:24 PM
Arcata-people are refreshingly nice and it seems no one is in a hurry there. But.....you better like rain, as it is bloody wet.
COMMENT 316585P	2012-09-05 05:40 PM
-580 I've been to Arcata. It has a shaggy look. Everything painted is peeling due to constant moisture. But the people there sure are laid back.
COMMENT 316596P	2012-09-05 05:53 PM
San Luis Obispo, Los Osos, Morro Bay
COMMENT 316604	2012-09-05 06:18 PM
san luis obispo / avila / shell beach, taos NM, oregon coast, islands off of washington, maine
COMMENT 316606	2012-09-05 06:20 PM
mexico. I hear you can get a neck tattoo cheap.
COMMENT 316608	2012-09-05 06:23 PM
OP, you did ask "where in the world? I would opt for either Australia or New Zealand. It's not as easy (as in U.S.) to get into those countries, green card-wise, but it would be worth it----IF I had to leave my home town. Problem with Hawaii is, there are loads of mosquitoes and ants, and some lovely tame cockroaches. (The geckoes are pretty cool, though.) We have it so good here, with no "mozzies" and only a mild flea problem. Australia has tons of flies. Loads of poisonous snakes. New Zealand has blackflies (ankle-biters) in the grass. The other states in U.S. have chiggers, huge cockroaches (Texas), water bugs, bed bugs, all sorts of nasty little pests we don't have in SB. I sure hope I never have to relocate.
COMMENT 316609	2012-09-05 06:25 PM
Moving back to SB later this year! Can't wait! I live in PHX now and want to move back to the "Barb" as I call it. Don't really care about being poor, been that way a very long time. Better there than here.
COMMENT 316626	2012-09-05 07:00 PM
No matter where we've travelled in the world, and we've been to Society Islands, Tasmania, Sydney, South Island NZ, Europe, USA, Paris, returning to Santa Barbara ALWAYS give us wonderful feelings. There's no place more suited for the bulk of our lifetime. Right here in Santa Barbara, 34 degrees north latitude, on the Central Coast, in the Kingdom of California. We've had friends check out Austin TX, Charlotte N.C., and what the news articles don't tell you is what it's like living in places where rednecks or racism still exist. You cannot assume the culture there is identical to the South Coast--it isn't.
COMMENT 316646	2012-09-05 07:49 PM
After living in Santa Barbara for about 25 years, I moved to the Santa Ynez Valley -- I gladly gave away my share in our in SB house; I rent now and I'm as happy as a pig in clover. The Valley is heaven: friendly people, peace and quiet, love love love it here !
BULLSEYEB	2012-09-05 10:43 PM
Florence, Italy in a heartbeat. I fell in love with the city and surrounding area in 1978 when I went with my high school choir.
COMMENT 316678P	2012-09-05 11:35 PM
many places all over the world are wonderful, but for comfort and ease of lifestyle - this town beats most out by a long shot. The ocean was warm at 5:30PM a few days ago...and last night I walked on the beach at 7PM....beautiful and balmy. Great fresh food, and enough to do...convenient location....can't beat this place.....
COMMENT 316687	2012-09-06 06:53 AM
I just moved to Paso Robles from SB four months ago. I love it up here. Plenty of elbow room, the streets are wide and the people are nice. Lovely town square with great restaurants and wineries. The wine country is fabulous and there are plenty of stores to shop. Target, Wal Mart and other stores that save you money. Centrally located and so close to many other towns. The humidity is low so the heat is more tolerable. You can buy a $400k house with great views of the city. On the Riviera that would cost about $1.2m - $1.4m. It's been worth the move.
COMMENT 316689	2012-09-06 07:01 AM
SCOTTSDALE!
COMMENT 316691P	2012-09-06 07:06 AM
Somewhere in northern California on the coast maybe not too far from Santa Rosa. Or a bench in the Tuilieries in Paris.
COMMENT 316693	2012-09-06 07:10 AM
After 18 years in town, we have just made the move from SB to Charleston SC. Firstly it's gorgeous and the colonial backdrop everywhere you look, from all the buildings gives more of a European feel to the quality of life. But more importantly, we just purchased a small but lovely 2 bed house, set in a 1/3rd acre grassed/ treed garden with lovely mature oaks and blossoming trees draped in moss, close to downtown with a 10 mile bike path literally adjoining the back of the garden, for less than you can buy a tool shed in SB. THAT's why we moved here. $110k ... that's a $400 mortgage a month :O) Last night ate downtown and walked along the waterfront in tea shirts and shorts after supping Peach Julips with Tapas and thought how great life here feels especially when you don't have to chase the money so hard. Love it!!!
SEEDLADY	2012-09-06 07:21 AM
Weather and real estate prices aside, it's the political and social climate that makes a city feel like "home". To be truly comfortable, you have to feel like you're with kindred spirits wherever you settle down.
COMMENT 316712P	2012-09-06 07:35 AM
I've lived in SB for 43 years and it's not the same place it once was. Used to be able to ride my bike without fearing for my life, drive into town without getting gridlocked, find a place to park in front of my own house, sit in the back yard without listening to my neighbors yelling and listening to bad music. Too many people now, not enough neighborliness, not enough peace and quiet. I'm moving to Utah.
COMMENT 316725P	2012-09-06 07:59 AM
I think the weather doesn't get any better than SB in the USA, and the ocean is, well, the ocean, and there is no replacement. Santa Fe is great but I missed the ocean. By the way, once you acclimate to the evelation the nose bleeds and chapped lips go away. However, I have been watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations to get some other perspectives on life in other countries and I have done my own survey by traveling to almost every state in the lower 48 and HI. The Big Island at 1,000 ft elevation was interesting (nice cool ocean breezes and clean air). There are some very interesting places out there also, like the Azores, Croatia, Vietnam (Anthony's favorite), Sardinia, etc. In SB high crime and homelessness seem to come with the territory and seem to be constantly dragging us down.
SBJULES	2012-09-06 08:09 AM
Ventura
COMMENT 316733	2012-09-06 08:16 AM
There is the freshest air just near Auburn ca
COMMENT 316736	2012-09-06 08:16 AM
Act like wherever you are, that's the place to be. "Isn't this great?" -- from Mike Damone's "five-point plan"
COMMENT 316737	2012-09-06 08:18 AM
Punta Arenas, Chile
COMMENT 316743	2012-09-06 08:27 AM
Bayfield,Wi
COMMENT 316744	2012-09-06 08:28 AM
Cardboard box on Linden Ave., Carpinteria.
COMMENT 316746	2012-09-06 08:33 AM
While the weather and setting of SB is very seductive ... I was seduced 20+ years ago ... Moving away from here seems more and more sensible. Where? Princeton, NJ ... ?? Beautiful area. Culturally alive and politically progressive AND an easy commute to EITHER Philly or NYC. And the shore isn't too far either.
COMMENT 316752P	2012-09-06 08:57 AM
Santa Barbara local here - still enjoy living here and plan to stay for many more years but if I had to pick somewhere else it would be in Oregon - Portland, Eugene, or Bend. Lots of great food, lots to do, beautifully green, and I like rain. For out of the country, either Costa Rica or Belize.
COMMENT 316755	2012-09-06 08:59 AM
If you don't mind abrupt changes of seasons, hands down Vermont is the dream location. (But let's keep it a secret so it doesn't get ruined). If you don't mind heat, check out Natchez, Ms. A historic dream of a little city.
COMMENT 316767	2012-09-06 09:25 AM
Southern Oregon coast, or back to the Nashville area - my favorite city in America. My hubby wants to check out Belize, though - still more of a British colony than a typical Central American country... not sure I'm up for that.
COMMENT 316782	2012-09-06 09:53 AM
CARPINTERIA!
COMMENT 316789	2012-09-06 10:05 AM
Carp really isn't an affordable alternative to SB/Goleta. When we were house shopping, we looked there, but it's not really any cheaper and there is even less home inventory. Not to mention that you will probably have to commute to SB/Goleta anyway for your job.
COMMENT 316805	2012-09-06 10:24 AM
Cambria
COMMENT 316808	2012-09-06 10:35 AM
This is a GREAT post! I wish everyone would move OUT of SB!
COMMENT 316818	2012-09-06 10:58 AM
SOLVANG, CA
COMMENT 316835	2012-09-06 11:24 AM
Just visiting from the NW and finding this so interesting---as I think about coming to live HERE!
ARCHIE	2012-09-06 11:25 AM
What a nightmare thought. I would find a way to stay in Santa Barbara.
COMMENT 316856	2012-09-06 12:12 PM
How about Mendocino County? Has anyone checked it out?
COMMENT 316872	2012-09-06 12:43 PM
if everyone literally moved out of SB you wouldn't have a job, or any services. lol.
COMMENT 316879	2012-09-06 12:50 PM
Asheville, NC. Small town feel like SB, charm, great music and potters, weather is great, people nice and housing very reasonable.
COMMENT 316891	2012-09-06 01:08 PM
Vancouver British Columbia Canada beautiful city!
COMMENT 316924	2012-09-06 02:05 PM
Have to agree with Austin, TX. Beautiful, progressive, great food and entertainment options, and Whole Foods flagship store (it is so awesome!). Downside is the huge bugs and lake instead of ocean.
COMMENT 316942P	2012-09-06 02:38 PM
Bloomsburg, PA. It's near NYC & Philly, houses are very inexpensive, and there's a good small university and a good hospital. For the area, it's quite liberal. It's the first town in PA to have municipal recycling, and it has the only Chinese and Indian restaurants in the region, the only playground in the region, and at least one place to buy natural/organic food. There's a summer actor's training program there that brings in serious New York talent. Of course the river floods every few years, it's a coal-mining region so you see the fracking trucks go by, the town of Centralia (a few miles away) has been on fire for decades, the klan has been known to rally somewhere around there, and no one has yet cleaned up the former site of U.S. Radium.
COMMENT 316954	2012-09-06 02:58 PM
Much more affordable? Where in the world...ummmmmm-Back into my parent's apartment? I think they have a framed picture of the president on the wall with the word HOPE emblazoned on it above my old bed. I'm reminded however, "Wherever you go there you are". So, I guess I'll just stay put-
MESAJIM	2012-09-06 03:33 PM
I was going to say Big Sur, but you said more affordable...so, Cambria?
COMMENT 317062P	2012-09-06 06:21 PM
808, I hate to say it, but I do agree with you. Maybe we should make it so only people born here can live here?
COMMENT 317079	2012-09-06 08:02 PM
062P, great plan! such a wise and well thought out idea!
RAINE5360	2012-09-06 08:34 PM
Oahu or Maui.
COMMENT 317931	2012-09-09 11:44 AM
KAUAI !!!

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