State Street is both the highlight and the heartbeat of Santa Barbara. And downtown revolves around it. The street divides the city into East and West halves and begins at Stearns Wharf. It begins at Stearns Wharf and beelines out to Goleta, a suburb just west of Santa Barbara. A series of one-way roads and avenues flush into State Street making it the most highly populated portion of the city.
The historic red-tiled roofs polka-dot downtown making it a magical place to be. The beauty and history are mesmerizing. The atmosphere is engaging, thought provoking, yet relaxing and rejuvenating. Take your time here or hurry up, but there’s always something to see and enjoy.
Because downtown is the lifeline of the city, it makes sense for people to want to live here. Housing in downtown Santa Barbara consists of apartment buildings, condo complexes, and single-family homes. The houses are older, quainter, but that’s what makes them more desirable in today’s modern day real estate. Downtown homes have character and age-old stories to share with newcomers. No two homes are the same, because track homes don’t exist downtown. Enjoy being unique as you move into the neighborhood.
Residents of downtown enjoy being in close proximity to all things entertaining in Santa Barbara. Theaters, shopping, restaurants, beaches, museums, parks. Downtown has all the bells and whistles, and because maneuvering your way through the one-way street system can get a little erratic, it’s convenient to live here, and travel by foot, bike, or trolley. Downtown is always buzzing; the energy is contagious. Find yourself getting caught up in the dizzy rush and then fall down in the sand laughing, because that’s what Santa Barbara is about.
Living downtown provides ample opportunity to experience the raucous nightlife that blusters through here and because Santa Barbara City College is right around the corner, the college kiddies certainly flood the streets at night. Thursday night is college night, so if you’re not feelin’ the college vibe, steer clear of State Street that night. It’s certainly entertaining to be an innocent bystander though.
Coffee shops on every block, wineries embedded in off street warehouses, historical paseos everywhere you turn, creative street-side entertainment, and a cultural mod-podge of tourists, all provide for a lifestyle you’ll grow to obsess over.
Because of its close proximity to the beach and the main industries of Santa Barbara, downtown property is pretty highly priced and highly sought after. But so very worth the fight to find it and the money to pay for it.