By Greg
What two places or events would you miss if you moved away from Santa Barbara?
What Would you Miss About Santa Barbara?
greg
January 7, 2019, 8:09 am
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Written by greg
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Hmm, only two things…well, I’d certainly miss Harry’s Plaza, which offers both good food AND good drinks, and is only a stone’s throw from Chaucer’s bookstore. I’d also miss going just about anywhere in town and running into friends, relatives and acquaintances. Oh yeah, and Monday Night Trivia at the Uptown Lounge.
The Bowl. The winter light. Sailing on a westerly, almost any day. John Palminteri – a local treasure and the last of a dying breed. The constant flow of new restaurants to try. The walkability of downtown. EdHat.
I give you one good winter in Montana before you are back here and sipping martinis at Joe’s . They have real weather there.
I will miss the avocado tree in my back yard and foggy days tossing the disc through the Eucalyptus grove.
Weather, beach, topography, hiking, arts & music, restaurants, and proximity to wine country. Would not miss the growing transient population.
afraid you’re wrong. I drink scotch which I can buy anywhere. Enjoy the snow much more then the sand and sun. It’s well past time for a new adventure and my family is going with me so I shall not miss them.
Things I’d miss: Family and old friends. Without them we wouldn’t think twice about leaving. FYI, second generation, born and raised here (go Chargers!), kids in local public schools, good jobs, homeowner. Not bitter about SB, just recognize that there are so many other amazing places that one could live besides SB/Goleta.
Things I would miss: Friends and family, the beaches, weather, mountains nearby , scenic drives along the coast, familiar faces at establishments , less traffic and simpler street designs, high- quality bike trails and bike lanes….the list goes on. Not a fan of the high cost of living though.
I agree 100% with everything you write. Just surprised that people fail to realize, everything you write is why there is a high cost of living. Strip mine the mountains, oil spill the beaches, and rent etc will go way way down.
To be honest, I won’t miss a thing. I’ve lived all over the US and SB isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. If only looking at SB compared to LA, Bay area and NYC, maybe, but there are so many incredible places with amazing natural beauty, and outdoor lifestyle in small towns without the traffic, the noise, the stress, etc. Can’t wait to return to small town Americana and a simpler, calmer lifestyle. Plenty of other places where you can walk/bike to work, there are local colleges with Adult Ed, lots of local hiking/fishing/kayaking, friendly neighbors and fresh produce. Amazed how people seem to be fixated on SB as some sort of ‘paradise’. I will miss the friends I have here, but that’s what traveling is for. Can always come back for small doses.
And Chaucer’s, right? Don’t forget that, best bookstore between LA and SF.
These days it seems like it’s the ONLY bookstore between LA and SF.
I wouldn’t miss people comparing SB to NY, LA or SF because we are NOT those places and it used to be much better before the whole start up/new funk zone boom. It brought a wave of really annoying people. Other than that I would miss everything about my hometown.
Why are you asking, are you moving away?
The Summer Solstice Parade & Parade of Lights in the harbor at Christmas time
The Spanish-Moorish and the Craftsman architecture. The Italian stone wall.
We just moved to Lompoc. Nice!
Off leash dog beach and all the nice smart people. *caveat* We don’t yet live full time in SB but have visited family for 30 years and just inherited a condo, considering a move after retirement. Anyone sorry they moved to SB?
We did move from SB after being obsessed with living in SB County for the better part of 43 years.
We miss the idealized Andalusian architecture, the harbor, the restaurants and the theaters.
We miss the family and friends we left behind, but not the cold wet winters.
We’ll never get Santa Barbara out of our system, and we’ll be back for Fiesta!
Born here and never lived anywhere else. After 70 years I can’t stand living in CA any longer and am leaving for the mountains of NW Montana for open spaces and the government out of my back pocket. What I won’t miss is stinky State St, the gangs, City Council, and Board of Supervisors. Adult Ed programs are nice.
Moved out of SB 5 years ago to the SYV. Only miss being 10 mins from the beach, now it’s 16.3 miles and 22 mins from Gaviota. Nothing about Santa Barbara beyond that is missed-
The weather and year round local produce. You don’t realize how great that is until you live somewhere else and shop for produce in January.
It’s always funny to see the things people complain about here in SB. If you think SB is overcrowded, try living in LA, San Diego, the BA, or any major metropolitan area in the US. SB is the Goldilocks of places to live. It’s not a large city, but it is not a small town either. We have a little bit of everything a large metropolitan area has, but on a small scale and with a semi-small town feel. I fear the day I am forced to move and have to deal with traffic and crowds everywhere. I dread the thought of commuting an hour or more to work each day and scheduling your life around the inevitable traffic and crowds (commuting to Goleta from SB sometimes traffic causes a whopping 10min delay on bad days). Add to that the weather and ocean access 12 months of the year it’s a tough place to leave. Yes, it’s extremely expensive and I don’t always agree with the politics of the officials. But, my lifestyle in SB (ocean/mountains in the backyard, walk/bike to everything) is worth it. I’m not yet enough of a Grumpy Hermit to retreat from society and fear change.
After growing up in Los Angeles, I moved to the SB area back in 1985 (when I go to L.A. now, I can’t imagine how I survived there for 28 years). It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else (which I may have to consider when my only child gets a job after graduate school). Here we have great weather, the beach, places to walk or hike, and still some open space (which I hope will not disappear, as it has in L.A.). It’s not too hard to get around town, and we have great schools. I would also miss my religious community, which is warm, inviting and inclusive.