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Santa Barbara Love
updated: Sep 08, 2012, 2:00 PM

By the Dedicated Staff

In lieu of a game this week we want to hear your love for Santa Barbara. What is it about this place that makes you smile? Is it the weather, the scenery, the people, the food, or a combination of it all? Let us know!

Do you have an idea for an Edhat contest or game? Send it to Ed at ed@edhat.com

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

COMMENT 317669	2012-09-08 02:38 PM
Everything! The mountains, the ocean, the dining, the weather, the hiking, and the Mission City Brawlin' Betties!
COMMENT 317671	2012-09-08 02:44 PM
Really?... hundreds of topics that could and should be discussed and you wanna hear about the love we have for Santa Barbara? Please... sorry if that was not nice... but damn... =/
COMMENT 317672	2012-09-08 02:45 PM
Edhat!
COMMENT 317685	2012-09-08 03:14 PM
I love the food. The restaurants. There is so many good restaurant options here if you're into food! I especially love the Mexcian food. Not sure I could move away from here based on food alone!
COMMENT 317695	2012-09-08 03:31 PM
SOOO good to focus on the good for a change, it is out there if you look for it. Love the pelicans on the wharf walking around like they own it...they do as far as I am concerned. Love the sound of he train at night as it passes thru. Love our beach walk/bike path with all the tourists and locals enjoying our beautiful beaches. Love really love the architecture of our white stucco and red tile roofs. Love all the choices for shopping and eating....for such a small town we have it all.
COMMENT 317706	2012-09-08 03:45 PM
Two young Hispanic boys who jumped into the ocean to save a man
COMMENT 317707	2012-09-08 03:46 PM
671, what is wrong with you? We don't always have to talk about the heavy issues. Sometimes it's nice to relax and remember why we choose to live here. The question was Edhat's decision. This is HIS site, REMEMBER?? That said, I love being so close to the beach where my kids can play.
TISHERSELF	2012-09-08 03:50 PM
AMEN to that 695 =)
COMMENT 317715	2012-09-08 03:56 PM
Santa Barbara has all the amenities (airport, harbor, symphony, theatre, restaurants, university) combined with natural beauty of mountains AND ocean within a relatively small geographic and without a large population.
BULLSEYEB	2012-09-08 04:33 PM
~the happy giggles and laughter of kids playing at Kid's World ~the gorgeous weather most of the year ~the serene beauty of our local mountains, beaches, preserves and sloughs ~the friendliness of most of the people in town ~the sounds of many languages spoken in downtown, the wharf and Chase Palm Park on the weekends...or any given day ...just to name a few
COMMENT 317746	2012-09-08 05:30 PM
I love the peace and quite when my roomate leaves. AHHHh so refreshing!
COMMENT 317758	2012-09-08 06:31 PM
The view from my house. All the birds. And the butterflies. Flowers. Dolphins. Whales. Off-leash beach. Wilcox. MTD. Farmer's mkt. Grassroots groups. Arlington Theatre. Mission lawn in middle of the night. Snakes. Sunsets. Pomegranates. Lemons. Adult Ed. View from Courthouse tower. Huge trees. Wildlife at night, especially bats and Barn owls. The list is endless.
COMMENT 317776P	2012-09-08 07:28 PM
I like what Santa Barbara used to be, before it became taken over by my former town, LA. That said, the main aspects of Santa Barbara that are lovable, are unchanging. The view from the end of the breakwater, looking back at the transverse range. The fact that it IS a transverse range and the clouds that hang on the ridge line, never making it over. I love the many different coves. The fact that there are literally hundreds of different vantage points that are scenic. Many towns have a view-seldom have vistas all over the place. There are tons of nature-lovers and environmentalists who want things to be preserved. It may have lost it's hippy-dippy charm-and has been replaced by Yuppies, but the natural aspects are mostly the same and the old folks work hard to maintain the charm.
COMMENT 317785	2012-09-08 07:50 PM
Santa Barbara mornings! They are glorious, quiet, and for me, contemplative. Also, sitting at the bar at Brophy's.
COMMENT 317800	2012-09-08 08:17 PM
The rent prices.
COMMENT 317806P	2012-09-08 08:30 PM
776, sounds like you are part of the takeover by LA...but so am I. We must adopt the customs and ways of the locals to keep this a relative paradise for as long as possible.
COMMENT 317811P	2012-09-08 08:38 PM
Well...............funny I should come across this because I am away for a sports events and just took advantage of how easy it would be to find a nice decent place to stay and eat.......oh my goodness we are SO spoiled in SB! I was missing it tonight as I drove around looking with kids in LA. SB is so clean and nice!
COMMENT 317813	2012-09-08 08:41 PM
I was riding my scooter down Shoreline this afternoon and the view was stunning! The blues of the ocean and sky with the white of the sails was breathtaking!!!
STACE	2012-09-08 08:53 PM
I love the weather, the people, the architecture, the hundreds of way we can entertain and amuse ourselves. I love that pretty much anything goes - you don't need to strive to be like someone else to fit in, you just need to be yourself. I love the relative safety of home and that is is a fantastic place to raise children and be a family. I love the airport, the train station the electric trolley and the hidden foot paths. I love the beach. I love the sunrises and the sunsets. When the rain comes I love the rain and getting to use my umbrella. I love that my friends and I stop everything we are doing on Tuesdays after work so we can get together, hang out, laugh, eat, drink and be merry. Santa Barbara makes me merry, and has for all but the first year of my life, when I lived in LA. I love being merry and I love Santa Barbara.
CHERIDIANE	2012-09-08 10:04 PM
I LOVE living in Santa Barbara. I love: ~the weather ~a relatively safe city ~the architecture - both red tiles and Victorian ~the courteous people (much more so than in LA/SM) ~the ocean and the mountains and all in between ~the relatively relaxed pace of life ~the beauty - sunsets, the light, the air ~the 57 parks, especially Alice Keck ~that I can walk places - for services, for pleasure (foot paths, sidewalks, paseos, parks and beaches) ~a clean city ~SB Historical Museum ~the library ~greenery and so many flowers ....I could go on...
FIRST DISTRICT	2012-09-09 12:24 AM
I love that I feel as if I'm the luckiest person on the face of the earth. I love that my maternal great grandparents settled in the County in 1895. I love that my sons were raised in the same neigborhood as their great grandparents, grandparents and parents. I love that my sons have known the beauty and importance of our beautiful enviornment. Since this is the hub of the modern environmental movement my younger son was so inspired that he has focused on environmental law and works as an attorney with the U. S E.P.A. in Washington, D. C.
COMMENT 317848	2012-09-09 06:35 AM
Santa Barbara has been my home for 50 years. I complain about some of the unwelcome changes but whenever I think about leaving, all the things I love about the city and the surrounding area, flash before my eyes in high definition. I would take one room here over ten anywhere else!
COMMENT 317869	2012-09-09 07:34 AM
thanks everyone for their positive posts - it's a nice change from the negative posters here. I actually feel like SB is a nice place to live again!
COMMENT 317894P	2012-09-09 08:39 AM
Totally agree with 685.
COMMENT 317895	2012-09-09 08:39 AM
Hearing crickets, owls and coyotes and seeing stars at night in the suburb of San Roque
MTNDRIVER	2012-09-09 10:28 AM
I love all the things in the long lists other commenters have posted. I love sitting in my house and looking out the windows and seeing so many trees in every direction, hearing hawks and owls almost every day and night, all the songbirds that visit my garden, smelling the ceanothus blooming in the winter, the pittosporum in the spring, seeing the jacarandas bloom in late spring, the roses in the city rose garden in their first full flush, the beautiful deep red sunsets in the winter, the graceful eucalyptus trees on the bluffs above some of the beaches, the way the islands shimmer in the haze, the way they are so clear sometimes when the wind is blowing you can see the waves breaking against the rocks, seeing dolphins swimming by all year round, walking on the beach during really low tides, hiking in the mountains any time of year, and yes, great food in the restaurants here, the parks and gardens, the architecture, theatre and music, museums, UCSB with all it has to offer, the landscaping downtown, having State Street be only two lanes wide with no parking. No place to stop, really, so I'll just call it quits right here.
COMMENT 317921	2012-09-09 11:04 AM
Grandkids and beaches!
FLICKA	2012-09-09 11:07 AM
I could have written FIRST DISTRICTs comment, only difference for me is my great-grandparents came in 1894; possible our families knew each other. I love everything about SB.
COMMENT 317932	2012-09-09 11:50 AM
<3 that are so many little things to appreciate & that my kids have learned to appreciate them too. <3 walking at Hendrys and seeing dolphins lazily swimming back and forth. <3 that people here are so environmentally conscious. <3 living in a neighborhood where so many wild creatures inhabit our yard (even cottontails that come and go in our garage) <3 the monarchs that find their way to my milkweed and lay their eggs so I can watch caterpillar turn to chrysalis to butterfly - even if they DO wipe out my plants! <3 living where the mountains meet the sea. <3 that we have colleges that attract amazing teachers who are outstanding in their field. <3 the diversity of people. <3 that I can wear flip flops year round and not think twice about it - because it's just a lifestyle. <3 that we can dine outside year round. <3 that the cool night air follows even a hot day. and love that I always look forward to coming home, no matter where in the world I have traveled.
COMMENT 317942P	2012-09-09 12:49 PM
I love that "I" was born here!!!!
COMMENT 317967	2012-09-09 02:09 PM
I love living where I've dreamed of living since I was a teen. Love the ocean, the beautiful views from my house, the soft air, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the train, the birds... It's a beautiful world we live in.
COMMENT 318027	2012-09-09 05:35 PM
I moved away a year ago and wished I still lived there, but the job sitch there is pathetic. Nobody even mentioned my favorite thing about living in Santa Barbara: the Santa Barbara Bowl!!!! There's not too many venues in the country where you can walk from your neighborhood to see a show outside with a view of the ocean and drink wine!
PRAIRIEFEMME	2012-09-09 06:12 PM
Mountains. Ocean. Harbor and breakwater walk. Maritime museum. Visitor center at the harbor. Art museum. Natural history museum. History museum. Weather. Architecture. Sunday arts and crafts on Cabrillo. Rose garden at the Mission. All the parks. Montecito trails (does that count as SB?). State St and the electric trolley. And (sorry Santa Barbarans) being able to live in my favorite place, the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, and still be a short drive to the wonders of SB.
COMMENT 318336	2012-09-10 01:04 PM
The lack of billboards and huge signs everywhere!
COMMENT 318419	2012-09-10 04:43 PM
I am so grateful for this post today!! My husband and I are putting an offer on our first house, which is very small and needs lots of work. We had been thinking of moving out of the area in order to afford a bigger home with more land, but I just couldn't handle a long commute and leaving our wonderful, beautiful life here. Of course after we decided to put in an offer I had a lot of second thoughts, knowing what we could get for our money in a different area. But this list really reminded me of why I love it here so much. And why my quality of life is worth sacrificing the extra space. We are truly blessed.

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