My Experience Living in Santa Barbara

As many of you know, I attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and majored in Communication while receiving a certificate in Technology Management (which involved mostly business courses.)

Being a transfer to the school, I only had two years to finish up my degree, so I had a lot to experience in that short period of time. Not to mention, I spent a quarter (3 months) studying abroad in the U.K., leaving me only a year and half in the American Riviera.

FYI: This post will focus primarily on my overall experience living in Santa Barbara/going to school at UCSB and less on the specifics of my courses and thoughts on the academic system. If you’re interested in learning about how I liked my courses + major, getting involved on campus, etc. leave a comment – I’d be happy to go into detail on this on a future post!

Living in SB

Since I’m always 100% real with you guys, I’ll admit; my first year living in Santa Barbara/being at UCSB was not my favorite. There were a couple of things that contributed to my dissatisfaction despite living in the most gorgeous place in California. First, I moved into an apartment in Isla Vista, which is where most of the students live. It was gross, noisy and just NOT my vibe. Being my boujie self, I couldn’t take it for long so I moved out within the first 2 weeks – begged the leasing office to get me out of my 1 year contract, found another tenant and got TF out of there.

Aside from my gross initial living situation, I found Santa Barbara to be too slow for me when I first got there. Living in LA my whole life, I was used to the fast passed(ish) mindset, and didn’t know how to slow down.

Things changed when I went abroad, came back and found a new appreciation for my new home. I’m not sure what happened, but I came back with a fresh pair of eyes, perspective, and a crazy amount of gratitude for living in Santa Barbara.

I began writing for a local magazine, made great friends, lived across from the beach and when graduation time rolled around, I wasn’t ready to leave.

Fast-forward to today, I’m considering moving back to Santa Barbara. The SB community is loving, strong and really there for each other. After the fires, the community came together like I’ve never seen any city unite – fundraisers, people opening their home to strangers, etc. made me feel a part of a community, which you typically don’t get living in LA.

In short: Santa Barbara is a dream. If you have the opportunity to visit or live there, DO IT!

UCSB

Like I mentioned, I won’t be going into the specific details of my courses or major but overall, I enjoyed my major. I started off feeling like it was a waste of time and that I should major in something that would be more ‘useful,’ but the truth is communication is the BEST major I could have chosen.

Working in digital marketing, blogging and having my own business, communication is key.

Courses were rigorous – many exams, essays (like all comm majors) and late nights. Professors were great and approachable.

Overall, the school has a laid back vibe – people are friendly (as they should be living by the beach) and are always ready to have a good time. UCSB has the reputation of being a ‘party school,’ but I have never met college students who really know how to work hard play hard and that has instilled in me since my college days.

In college, I worked a fulltime job, had an internship, a full course load, kept an apartment clean, worked out and still managed to balance it all with some fun.

A few years later, I can say that yes, some material I learned has benefited me in my career but what I really gained was my network of friends, my experience abroad, learning how to manage multiple aspects of my life, and that I’ll move back to SB or have a house there in the future.

Have you been to Santa Barbara or are considering UCSB? If so, leave me a comment – I’m happy to share any tips/advice I have!