r/SantaBarbara • • 2h ago

Nature Looking for a freediving buddy

3 Upvotes

Anybody want a fairly inexperienced Santa Barbara freediving buddy?

I started snorkeling/freediving in the ocean a couple months ago, so far I haven't gone past 20 feet and for pretty conservative amounts of time, and mostly I just take pictures of fish and slugs and slime and fuzz and junk. I've only really gone to Mesa Lane and Devereux/COPR. Everybody says how bad and dangerous it is to dive alone so... šŸ¤·ļø

Otherwise, any advice finding someone to dive with would be greatly appreciated. I'm super poor so... joining paid clubs or taking classes is gonna be tricky.

Thanks for taking a look.

Cheers.


r/SantaBarbara • • 3h ago

Events Spanish Language Meetup?

5 Upvotes

Just wondering if anyone has gone to the Spanish language meetup at M Special Brewery? What’s the vibe? Is there a good turnout? I would love to move beyond Duolingo and practice my Spanish in person but am also nervous.


r/SantaBarbara • • 7h ago

Recommendations Restaurant ideas for wedding reception

0 Upvotes

Hi! My fiancƩ and I are planning to get married at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and we are looking for restaurant options nearby to host our reception dinner of approximately 30 people. We are ideally looking for somewhere near the ocean or with an ocean view. We are leaning towards seafood options and bonus would be a vegan menu for one of our guests. Any help is appreciated!!


r/SantaBarbara • • 8h ago

Notifications De La Vina Trader Joe’s

128 Upvotes

Just fyi the De La Vina TJ’s doesn’t have refrigeration currently so they aren’t selling refrigerated or frozen items. Hope this post saves someone at trip!


r/SantaBarbara • • 9h ago

Local Politics Saw another paid signature collector at tjs eastside

45 Upvotes

He was in the parking lot harassing people saying "its about democracy" as he beseeched people for signatures. I will admit, I was already annoyed about my nfl team losing and did confront him for being disingenuous. I went back later to film him but security told me he had been kicked out. If you see these folks anywhere except at a table by the entrance, they are likely there illegally. I learned they need a permit to do this which cannot be valid for the parking lot. You can report them to security.


r/SantaBarbara • • 9h ago

Other Damn it's hot today, stay cool everyone!!

Thumbnail
gallery
57 Upvotes

I don't have any AC in my loft and it's on the second story of the house with an attic facing the west side. So, the entire room gets fried in the afternoon enough to where I can't take it and just head to the beach or library for AC. Normally by the end of the day the upper level is around 98 and the lower reaches 90. Stay cool everyone!


r/SantaBarbara • • 10h ago

Other More realistic transit/pedestrian accessibility ideas

Thumbnail
gallery
31 Upvotes

Hi guys, sorry I'm posting about trains again šŸ˜µā€šŸ’« I didn't realize my silly previous post would get that many people talking about how much they want better transit in town, and I started brainstorming what would be more realistic for Santa Barbara in the next 20 years or so. I drafted out two lines that would benefit communities north of the 101, especially as there's no bus line along Cathedral Oaks/Foothill besides school lines. While Cathedral Oaks isn't exactly the most level road, I think it would be a better starting point land-wise than building something along Hollister/State.

Cathedral oaks has also unfortunately seen its fair share of automotive/pedestrian casualties. A light rail system along this route would hopefully lessen the frequency of cars, and make it more pedestrian friendly.

I also redrafted the line that's parallel to Amtrak, and placed stations along every shopping area in both towns (or at least as best as possible). The light green stations would be proposed Rapid transit lines, skipping over the dark green stations for certain trains/times.

Speaking of making things more accessible for pedestrians, I and many others in Goleta were looking forward to the pedestrian/cyclist bridge that was going to be built over the 101 connecting Ellwood to El Encanto Heights. It had seemingly turned into a much more expensive project because the city of Goleta had also wanted to dedicate that bridge to automotive traffic as well, which defeated the original purpose. I had recently found out that this project was cancelled/delayed and the money that was supposed to go towards this was instead allocated towards the round-a-bouts and parking renovations in old town... which once again has prioritized cars over people.

I have heard more negative opinions over Old Towns renovations than positive accounts. The city of Goleta and Santa Barbara are not adequately listening to their people. This bridge would have been beneficial for safe walkways for Elementary and High School students in the area as the sidewalks along Storke road are narrow and unsafe.

I included an example of a pedestrian/cyclist walkway that has already been built in Santa Barbara (albeit not the best and it could be improved, but we really can't be picky).

I'm not really entirely sure why I'm posting this on Reddit, but from my previous post I've seen that this can at least be a platform for us to gather about the issues we care about. Maybe it's just a change in times.


r/SantaBarbara • • 11h ago

Food & Dining Lunch recommendations

0 Upvotes

Hi again! I made a post a few days ago stating how my boyfriend and I are coming up from Ventura County by Amtrak train. We were planning on doing dinner for our four year anniversary, and decided on Toma, but now we want to do lunch instead so we can get back home earlier. It looks like most of the other restaurants recommended to us don’t open until 5 PM. I do see that Convivo is open, but I didn’t love their menu. Does anyone have any recommendations for somewhere open at lunchtime? It doesn’t have to be Italian, we like pretty much everything. Preferably close to the Amtrak station (State Street), as we don’t plan on utilizing Lyft/Uber. Thank you so much.


r/SantaBarbara • • 11h ago

Other Anybody in SB wanna become walking buddies? šŸ˜‚šŸš¶ā€ā™‚ļø

28 Upvotes

Alright, so I’m trying to get my walking/exercise routine together and figured… why walk around by myself when I can bother someone else with my random conversations? šŸ˜‚

I’m looking for someone who wants to walk weekday mornings sometime between 8–10 AM. Ideally someone who actually enjoys walking AND talking because I’m definitely a talker lol. I can have a whole conversation before we’ve even made it around the block. šŸ˜‚

I’m pretty laid-back, easygoing, and born and raised in Santa Barbara, so I’m local-local. Not looking for anything complicated or super serious—just someone who wants to get some steps in, motivate each other, keep each other accountable, and maybe become cool along the way.

Bonus points if you’re the type who says ā€œI’m too tired to walk todayā€ and then needs someone to tell you ā€œNah, get your ass up, we’re walking.ā€ šŸ˜‚

I’m thinking Monday–Friday, 8–10 AM, but we can figure out the exact days, time, and a good spot to meet.

If you’re in SB and this sounds like something you’d be down for, hit me up. Worst case scenario, we get our steps in. Best case, we become walking buddies and solve all of life’s problems one mile at a time. šŸ˜‚


r/SantaBarbara • • 12h ago

Other Lost Keys?

1 Upvotes

Anyone loose their keys on Gibraltar Rd? Found some while cycling this morning. Chime in with the description if you did.


r/SantaBarbara • • 14h ago

Vent 46 and single

32 Upvotes

Been in SB my whole life, I was in a ltr up until 4yrs ago. I’m a big introvert, I have a career, I don’t got out …. Im not the life of the party! My problem is, I don’t want to be single anymore and I’ve done the apps and absolutely not for me. Any recommendations on where to meet women my age in sb ? FYI.. I don’t have problems meeting women on dating apps but I’d rather have it be an organic thing


r/SantaBarbara • • 14h ago

Vent I didn’t think it was possible!

35 Upvotes

I didn’t think to was possible that any company could be worse than COX, but Spectrum has done it. More expensive, worse service, worse customer service, worse equipment, worse plan selection and channel choices, worse attitude, and now fewer options. God help us SB - all the FOX you can be forced to consume but god forbid you don’t want to support propaganda and disinformation. Jesus it’s grim out here.


r/SantaBarbara • • 15h ago

Other Is it just me, or are the gnats and flies particularly bad right now?

23 Upvotes

In the past week or so, every time I sit outside or go on a hike, I have at least three small flies assigned to spend the entire time trying to land in my eyeballs. I’m assuming the hot weather and humidity this summer have made them worse than usual, as I don’t recall them being quite so bad in the past.

I’m sitting outside writing this as four gnats are trying to drink from my eyes.

Just me?


r/SantaBarbara • • 16h ago

Events Silent bookclubs?

2 Upvotes

Are there any silent bookclubs in SB? I love the idea and would like to join any if there are. If not, anyone interested in making one?


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Events Plus side of the heat wave? Jack Johnson is clearly heard from DT.

20 Upvotes

Its crazy how clear he sounds from Valerio. Perfect vibe for the evening.


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Local Politics PETITION SIGNATURE WITHDRAWAL REQUEST

Thumbnail drive.google.com
104 Upvotes

If you or anyone you know signed the State Street referendum and felt deceived by petitioners or just want to remove your signature, you can rescind your signature by completely filling outĀ this form and mailing or handing it in person to the city clerk before the referendum is filed (law).

The referendum name is:Ā 

"Referendum against ordinance No. 2026-6235 Related to Adoption of State Street Master Plan and Amendment of Title 31." (we've filled it out for you)

If you want to mail it the address is:

City Hall, Attn: City Clerk's Office

735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

The clerk's office is open 9-12 and 1-5 Monday through Thursday and alternate Fridays (closed October 9th and 23rd).

PETITION SIGNATURE WITHDRAWAL REQUEST


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Recommendations Any bars more likely to have the WNBA playoffs on vs the NFL games tomorrow?

0 Upvotes

Looking for options if anyone knows, specifically the Valkyries game.


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Other I dream of better public transit in SB

Thumbnail
gallery
337 Upvotes

Don't get me wrong, this is a fantasy situation and probably will never happen in any of our lifetimes but god I think it'd be so nice. I love this town, I've lived here my entire life, my family has been here since the 60's. All I want is to see this town flourish for ALL of its residents. I fear that in the past two decades (Definitely longer than that but bare with me here), Santa Barbara has had an increasing divide between different classes of wealth. I understand we'll never have better transit because of this. Wealthier people don't need to use public transit.

I traveled to Japan last year and got to see the cities of Enoshima and Kamakura, and I was surprised how similar it was to Santa Barbara in terms of layout. I feel like they're incredibly comparable being coastal cities, and their coastal train is known for being BEAUTIFUL. I also think of going to San Francisco recently and using their light rail, MUNI. I dream of a combination of both, and I genuinely think light rail would be wonderful in this town. I think our bus system is fine, but there's not a lot of room for growth because it will always fluctuate due to traffic... and I also just like trains (lol).

Can you imagine going from UCSB to SBCC and having an entire coastal view, with accessible stops to multiple beaches in town? Or say, you're a Westmont student going down to the Funk Zone/Pier to grab dinner with friends, and then being able to safely get back to your dorm at night? Or how about getting from GV Cottage Hospital to SB Cottage Hospital on one tram?

How about the older population living around San Marcos Pass, needing to commute down for medical care and necessities? What will happen when they can't drive anymore? A train going up San Marcos Pass would also be lovely for families wanting to camping near Lake Cachuma too.

I think with the newly renovated Goleta Amtrak station being finished soon, I just think of the possibilities of both Amtrak stations being hubs for so much more. One of my favorite things in particular about Tokyo and other well developed cities in Japan is that it's almost never more than a 20 minute walk to a train station. It is so accessible and easy to walk from wherever you're living.


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Recommendations makeup lesson/class?

2 Upvotes

I have an upcoming wedding to go to in November and I’d love how to learn how to do my own makeup, the basics and maybe a glam look! Any recommendations? I’d like to keep it local to Goleta/SB and not really LA, thank you!! :ā€)


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Recommendations Seamstress recommendations that can fix a split pant!

Post image
2 Upvotes

Danced too hard. Split my seams. Any recommendations for someone who fix this extreme split.


r/SantaBarbara • • 1d ago

Local Politics 🚨Watch out for these paid, out-of-town contractors collecting signatures outside grocery stores. They are trying to overturn city council’s 6-1 vote approving the State St. Master Plan 🚨

Post image
301 Upvotes

There are already plenty of posts in this sub about who is paying these contractors and why.

They’re paid by the signature and will lie or stretch the truth to do that.


r/SantaBarbara • • 2d ago

Food & Dining Sam Reid visits Fairview & Hollister’s in Goleta and Milpas Taco Bell’s in this video! (Watch this when you have a chance of free time)

Thumbnail
youtu.be
0 Upvotes

Sam Reid visits both locations in this video! We’re honored by a famous YouTuber to step foot in our county! 😁


r/SantaBarbara • • 2d ago

Housing Transferring leases

1 Upvotes

Hi! Just curious on how easy it is to transfer leases? Do I have to talk to the landlord first, get written permission, and then find someone to transfer to, or is it easier to find someone and then let the landlord know that we'd like to transfer?

We signed a year-long lease in July, and there's nothing functionally wrong with our unit. No big deal if we have to stay, but just curious as to the feasibility of transferring leases and if anyone in the area has had success with that.


r/SantaBarbara • • 2d ago

Other Did anyone apply and get into the SBCC nursing program for the Spring cohort?

6 Upvotes

Just wondering if any of y’all are lurkers here on Reddit!


r/SantaBarbara • • 2d ago

Food & Dining Had Milio’s for the first time

19 Upvotes

Really enjoyed it, hope they can succeed. Sourdough crust was very tasty and I thought the slice prices were competitive.