santa barbara, ca

SD is full of cop and navy humpers

SB is too (basically reagan democrats) but they're tasteful about it

True, caek but ask me when I last went to the Kennedy Center, which is about 2 miles away.

Or a museum, of which DC has a billion.

I'm into diff stuff now, I go to bed at 10, I am a boring middle age person, oh well.

Sounds like you’d love San Diego!

For some reason I was under the impression that SD is pretty right-leaning, is that a fair assessment? And with a very suburban feel, but without having an anchoring downtown? IDK why I have a "meh" sense about SD. I haven't been there since I was like 5.

“Santa Barbara without the fire”

I think that’s all true relative to the LA basin but it’s moved left, and it’s left of a lot of the country. It also has sprawl which Santa Barbara doesn’t but the flipside of no sprawl in SB is “it’s a sliver of land that depends on a single freeway and it catches fire/gets covered in mud”. I also don’t know it well. It does have a ritzy farmers market loft living urban core IIUC.

the "outdoors" in SB i think is closer/more diverse than SD. YOMV on that. also, i suppose, your next major cultural centers from SD (in USA) are LA, Vegas and... PHX(?). Whereas I think you could say that with SB it's LA VEG and SF, with the stuff in between SB and SF being "better" than that between SD and PHX. Again, YOMV.

Also the weather is better than LA/SB.

I only hear bad bad things bout SD from friends who live there and are trying to move.

I'm also thinking San Luis Obispo, Monterey, or Santa Cruz, though I don't know the airport sitch there, or how close you want the big city to be.

My impression with SD is “not as bad as it used to be” along all axes, but that may not be good enough, it’s true.

i have never been but the way they talk about it, it seems like SD is the FL of CA but with people on meth setting fires.

re: San Luis Obispo, Monterey, or Santa Cruz. . . I think somewhat closer to a big city feels more comfortable to me? Would have to check out the tech job situation.

For pony purposes, those would be amazing I am sure.

SLO is a bit like charlottesville in that it has American University Downtown Feel that might as well be Bloomington, IN, which I kind of like tbh. Monterey is very beautiful, but that HBO show never shot Nicole Kidman walking by the oddly placed benihana, el torito, etc. San Diego has always felt strange to me. It is littered in smart scooters. La Jolla is very beautiful, though. Renting for awhile is a good idea. You can do weekend trips to all of these places and see for yourselves.

i got head hunted on linkedin for a tech job in SB for the first time recently.

Yes but are you skillz linux and lol fortran

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.