Jul 16th	Is San Roque a Better Place to Live than The Mesa Neighborhood?
2011	Categories: Random Thoughts & Opinions, San Roque Neighborhood, The Mesa Neighborhood

What area would you choose in Santa Barbara...San Roque or the Mesa? I pose this question simply because I seem to be asked this a few times a month.  I think the obvious reason of this is that both areas are considered by most wonderful "neighborhood areas".  Additionally, much of the real estate values also seem to align with each other...so obviously buyers are looking in both areas.  The average single family home in both areas tends to fall somewhere in the $750,000 to $1.3 million price point. For many, the decision comes down to schools, proximity of the ocean vs. the... Read more

Tags: san roque santa barbara, santa barbara neighborhoods, the mesa santa barbara

0 Comments »

Mar 12th	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – The Riviera
2008	Categories: The Riviera Neighborhood

The Riviera Bridging the two mile span which separates Mission and Sycamore Canyons, the sylvan uplift which the padres knew as the "mission ridge" has for the past 65 years been known as "the Riviera" due to its resemblance to slopes along the Mediterranean coasts of France and Italy. Residents lucky enough to live on this ridge attach premium value to their homes because of their unsurpassed views of the city, mountains, sea and islands.  Most of the area has curving streets with mature trees and foliage.  The topography of the Riviera is relatively steep and not easily reached via walking... Read more

Tags: santa barbara mls, santa barbara neighborhoods, santa barbara real estate, santa barbara views, the riviera santa barbara

0 Comments »

Mar 3rd	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – Samarkand
2008	Categories: Samarkand Neighborhood

Samarkand- Santa Barbara Samarkand meant "the land of heart's desire" in the archaic Persian tongue. It identified the fabulous Asian city where a mythical Queen Scheherazade spent her 1001 Arabian nights. In Santa Barbara, the melodic oriental name was first applied in 1920 to a deluxe Persian style hotel, formerly a boy's school. As the dominating landmark of a hilly, elevated neighborhood, the Samarkand gave its name to an area bounded on the east by Oak Park, on the north by Hollister Avenue (now De La Vina Street), on the west by a ranch boundary fence centered on modern Las Positas... Read more

Tags: samarkand, samarkand real estate, samarkand schools, santa barbara neighborhoods, santa barbara real estate

0 Comments »

Feb 28th	Santa Barbara Neighborhoods – San Roque
2008	Categories: San Roque Neighborhood

San Roque - Santa Barbara Few residential neighborhoods of Santa Barbara can boast the rich historical background of the San Roque and Rutherford Park areas. Ten thousand years ago the area, bounded by Ontare Road, Foothill Road, Alamar Avenue and State Street, was an open expanse of treeless grassland, sloping up to the knees of the foothills and bisected by the jungled course of San Roque Canyon. Now a built-up, economically stabilized suburb, it is admired for its sweeping curved streets, its luxuriant landscaping, and its harmonious blend of many architectural themes - Spanish Colonial, English Tudor, French Normandy, California Redwood,... Read more

Tags: family neighborhood santa barbara, san roque, san roque real estate, san roque santa barbara, san roque schools, santa barbara neighborhoods

2 Comments »

Feb 8th	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – The Westside
2008	Categories: The Westside Neighborhood

The Westside - Santa Barbara The “Westside Story” of Santa Barbara is laid in our city’s first suburb to be initiated by Anglos rather than Hispanics; the Spanish genesis of the city was located on the Eastside. In 1850, when the United States annexed California to the Union, the Westside was open grazing range and farmland, turning marshy near the beach. Today this area is solidly overlaid with urban development extending inland to the Goleta Valley, making it the most densely populated neighborhood in Santa Barbara.  The earliest historical reference to the Westside came in 1793 when Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer-scientist,... Read more

Tags: real estate santa barbara, santa barbara neighborhoods, the westside, westside real estate

0 Comments »

Feb 4th	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – The Mesa
2008	Categories: The Mesa Neighborhood

The Mesa - Santa Barbara Mesa, a Spanish word meaning “table”, has been applied to the flat bench of elevated land fronting the ocean along Santa Barbara’s southwestern border since the mission days. Stretching from the Santa Barbara City College on the east and extending two and one-half miles to Arroyo Burro County Beach (or “Hendry’s/The Pit” to locals), the Mesa is an extremely desirable neighborhood and has often been voted the “Best Neighborhood” in a local paper’s poll. Residents of the Mesa cherish their accessibility to the beach and to two of Santa Barbara’s most wonderful open spaces. Shoreline Park, a magnificent... Read more

Tags: douglas family preserve, santa barbara city college, santa barbara neighborhoods, shoreline park, the mesa, the mesa real estate values, the mesa schools, wilcox property

1 Comment »

Feb 1st	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – Downtown
2008	Categories: Downtown Neighborhood

Downtown Santa Barbara Santa Barbara's main thoroughfare, State Street, which divides the city of Santa Barbara between East and West, begins at Stearn's Wharf and continues for miles throughout the city. State Street itself is a microcosm of the entire city: filled with architectural beauty, performing arts and cultural centers (including the stately Arlington and Granada Theaters and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art), numerous fine restaurants and cafes, and world class shopping from chic boutiques to modern malls (including the historic El Paseo, California's first shopping center built in the 1920's). The downtown area is very walkable and gently slopes up... Read more

Tags: downtown, granada theater, real estate in downtown santa barbara, santa barbara museum of art, santa barbara neighborhoods, state street, stearn's wharf

0 Comments »

Jan 31st	Santa Barbara CA Neighborhoods – The Upper East
2008	Categories: The Upper East Neighborhood

The Upper East - Santa Barbara It is generally believed the Upper East is one of Santa Barbara’s most prestigious neighborhoods. The “Upper East” is defined by its location east of State Street and above Valerio Street, and then eventually merges into the Mission Canyon neighborhood and the Riviera foothills. The Upper East is a wonderful walking neighborhood, though residents often do not get too far for the frequency with which they run into friends to chat with along their way. Because the topography is relatively flat to gently sloping, a healthy walk to downtown is very doable, as is a stroll through... Read more

Tags: mission rose gardens, roosevelt school, Santa Barbara, santa barbara neighborhoods, the upper east, upper east real estate

0 Comments »