santa barbara, ca

Seems like developer jobs are everywhere, but spouse mostly does systems stuff. I think. I don't really understand what he does. Types into the black screen a lot. His dream job would be at an airport because he loves aviation.

And caek I don't exactly know where you are these days! LA? Do you get to marfa anymore?

Yes but are you skillz linux and lol fortran

― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Monday, July 6, 2020 5:09 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

in all seriousness if that's his resume then he should live in altadena and work at JPL. altadena is relatively cool weather (foothills) and cheap (terrible schools). most of the aerospace stuff is down by LAX which would be a rough commute from anywhere horse-friendly. there's more up the coast. spacex launches from vandenberg AFB.

hi! i used to live in the areas i am suggesting to you but i moved west (near culver city) because i could not handle the absolutely calamitous heat of the SGV, and it is ten degrees cooler on the west side. i haven't been to marfa for a couple of years because sprogs but i spent a bunch of time there since our paths crossed! i guess one of the nice things about LA is marfa is driveable with ~1 overnight and you can stop in ... phoenix on the way.

hi hi! Terrible schools are perfect for the non-sprogged. Are you sure altadena wouldn't be to hot for me? I am not a crazy texan like the spouse.

it might be! of course this is dry heat not texas heat. but yeah i generally find the SGV too hot. i think of pasadena as a special case because it has shade (due trees, legit tall buildings and blocks with no setbacks) and altadena as a special case because it also has trees and it's got a bit of a microclimate that's good for a few degrees of cooling due to the elavation.

Trade offs. For me - I'll take a higher temperature here in Sierra Madre (one city over from Altadena) than the traffic and concrete heat islands as you go further west.

yeah north of the 210 is lovely imo

I'm in the flatlands of Pasadena but I don't mind the heat (as long as it's dry). If you can buy a place in a canyon in Altadena that would likely be noticeably cooler.

Would a canyon place in Altadena be walkable to stuff, is my question. That is definitely still a requirement.

Altadena doesn't seem to have as many horse options as SB?

There will definitely be trade-offs regardless of where we land, this is most definitely true. At this point I'm happy to just pull the trigger and land somewhere in the SF-to-LA stretch before next summer! Getting across the country is the heavy lift, the rest will sort itself.

Would a canyon place in Altadena be walkable to stuff, is my question. That is definitely still a requirement.

That part of the world makes sense to me because it seems like it should have horse options but if it doesn’t in fact have horse options then lol.

Yeah horse options within like two hours of a major city are generally pretty scarce, unless you are OK with your horse having zero turnout. The LA Equestrian Center is a nice place to take your horse to a show, but horses who live there can, at most, spend like 45 minutes in a tiny "sun pen" as a break from their 12x12 stalls. This is akin to keeping a small elephant in a two-car garage.

My horse lives full time in a 5 acre pasture with his buddies. The only time he is in a stall is if I'm keeping him in for the vet or farrier or something for an hour or two.

Where do all the horses that race at Santa Anita live? The must be somewhere up there.

I know of one in Altadena. https://www.altadenastables.com/

True though, that if you find a place tucked into a canyon it's not gonna be walk-friendly to much else.

Race horses spend 23 hours a day in their stalls at the track. They don't get turned out unless they are on layup for a while, in which case they get shipped out to country livin'

Nickin I took a look at that place's website and was immediately put off by "parties and events!"

If you have 30 million dollars, Hope Ranch may be the best fit

Alas, I. . . don't

OK now here is a really interesting option: ucsb has a boarding stable on the west campus, run as a co-op, with a few spots for community boarders (most spots reserved for students and faculty). It's nothing fancy but RIDE ON THE BEACH and holy shit is it cheap. Like under 300 bucks a month (and a bunch of co-op work, which is fine by me). https://www.ucsbhorseboarders.com/

Turnout is probably not awesome, but I could be so close that I could go basically every day to let my guy out to run around, and get some california blonde co-ed to take care of him when I travel.

That is interesting. I didn't know about that. In many of those ocean shots on the website, there's a pretty tall cliff before you get down to the beach. But it's beautiful over there. There's a nice butterfly grove nearby as well.

Good birding, that. There is an owl family that lives in the eucalyptus

Oh hey I go to SB in two weeks. What must I not miss (other than the 5 horse boarding options I will be checking out)?

Things I like to do most: be in good weather, shop for foods, eat foods, gardens, hiking, foods. Bookstores, theater (not so much theater these days), coffee. Foods.

Also is Isla Vista all students/student housing or could a normal non-student person consider living there?

where ur horse boarding places

1. UCSB Boarding Stables, Isla Vista
2. San Marcos Stables, San Marcos Road foothills
3. Big Valley Ranch, als San Marcos Road (Pass?) foothills
4. In the Irons Farm in Goleta
5. Foxdale Farm, Alta Mesa
6. (I guess it is 6 not 5) Santa Barbara Stables, Montecito-ish

4-6 may be too fancy and A-circuit show oriented for me and my pony, but doesn't hurt to look I suppose

Nice! At the risk of stating the obvious, the mission is nice if you like gardens. The city hall has some nice gardens and you should climb the tower to get the lay of the land downtown. Otherwise I got nothing on your list.

chaucers is your local bookstore; idk what's open right now in terms of attractions.

wind caves:

https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/gaviota-wind-caves/

butterfly grove:

https://www.cityofgoleta.org/projects-programs/parks-open-space/goleta-butterfly-grove/

Thanks!

What should I eat?

Also what ilxors live in SB, I don't even really know. FAP?

Also is Isla Vista all students/student housing or could a normal non-student person consider living there?

it isn't all student housing -- some professors and families live there. Del Playa is an insane place filled with young people trying to figure their shit out, but things are a bit calmer on the other side of Camino Corto. and you have some good hiking/beaches right there. during the school year, it would probably be the most densely populated area you could choose, so I'd avoid it over virus concerns. Students will pack themselves 3 or 4 to a bedroom in those Del Playa houses. Campus is great for hanging out or walking. You won't find much great food in the area. I don't know. If you dig the energy of a younger crowd, I suppose it could be fun? Or maybe you mean the Goleta area surrounding Isla Vista? You are definitely not in a city at that point. It's not E.T. california suburb homogeneity bad, but you should check it out on your visit before signing a lease.

Will need a minute for food recs.

I think the far end of IV (away from campus) is mostly single-family houses, at least near the beach. Or was when I was in school there, decades ago.

Thanks!

What should I eat?

La Super Rica. Inevitably, someone will say that it's not worth the wait in line but just go at an off-hour.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-super-rica-taqueria-santa-barbara

Follow it up with ice cream at McConnells. They've been around since 1949 - it's my fave ice cream in the state.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mcconnells-fine-ice-creams-santa-barbara

those are both good. No sauces on anything at La Super Rica. Everything has gravy on it. Even the salsas congeal if left in the fridge.

What should I get at La Super Rica? I am excited that Julia Child was a fan. Spouse is currently reading all about McConnells. We will probably end up there a lot!

Any bbq worth seeking out?

bbq is a weakness here. there was one chef good at bbq and the ventures kept closing. be warned that there's a lot of "santa maria style bbq" available which just means tri-tip. it's a great idea for making yourself, but i don't recommend paying for it at a restaurant.

i enjoy the tamals, enchiladas, and chile rellenos at super rica. these will usually be on the specials board and will be gravy'd up. they call it a "light cream sauce", but i swear it is gravy.

If La Super Rica's specials board has anything with chile verde on it, be sure to get it - even if it's just the onions/peppers plate with chile verde. We got their early once - maybe a half-hour before opening just as their purveyors were dropping of the day's produce and we were knocked out at the quality of the goods. Every onion, head of lettuce, tomato, etc. perfect. FWIW, Sonic Youth were also big fans of this place.

"Santa Maria style BBQ" was trademarked by the Santa Maria chamber of commerce. There's great butcher shops around town, just make your own.

For gardens I'd try to get into Lotusland in Montecito. It's expensive, and they may not be allowing visitors at all now, but really incredible.

Wilcox property too.

la super rica: ORDER EVERYTHING.

I think SLO is better for BBQ than SB

If u wanna go have a quest check out The Spot in Carp. Julia Child used to eat there so *shrug*

My family is really hard up on Palace Cafe (doing takeout rn). It’s kinda dumb but tasty

Lotusland is $50 per person, and it was worth it to us. You have to schedule a guided or unguided tour ahead of time, and they are only open wednesday to saturday or something. Beautiful garden with some great stories about the woman behind it all (if you get a guided tour).

(so seconding nickn there)

I think I went 15-20 years ago and I think it was $35, and that was a group rate. But it's worth it.

Seconding La Super Rica - anything on the menu is good but I would highlight the Chile Relleno and Queso with Chorizo. If you are into burgers the original Hamburger Habit (before they franchised) is in Goleta and it's good and charming.

You probably won't be able to experience the classic Santa Barbara restaurants in full due to Covid - Brophy Bros., Arnoldi's (bocce ball court in back, booths with curtains) and Joe's will most likely be offering only limited service or take out.

Cold Spring Tavern (approximately 25 minutes on highway 154 or the "San Marcos Pass") is open for lunch apparently. Absolutely worth the trip, you will see a different side of Santa Barbara County. One of my favorite places in the world.
https://www.coldspringtavern.com/

For the typical Southern California burrito as big as your leg experience check out Super Cuca's. I prefer the downtown / Micheltorena location, there is also one in Isla Vista that is very college-y if you're out that way.

guess "MFB" doesn't stand for "Mine's a FreeBird" after all

FreeBird's is just a groovier Chipotle to me, Cuca's is the realness.

all burrito-focused endeavors feel like 'groovier Chipotle' to me now. but freebird's, being on the main IV road to campus, tends to attract the drunkest young people shouting 'welcome to the thunderdome', etc. so I go there for the memories.

I spent an afternoon/evening in SB about four years ago. I book shopped at Chaucer's then had a delicious meal at Los Agaves on North Milpas. I dream of surfing Rincon someday.