Hi all,

Is there anybody who has any experience of Carpinteria, CA? Or the surrounding area? We've been to Santa Barbara before and quite liked it but it was on a holiday to California years ago and we weren't looking at the area as a potential place to live then!

I've been Googling like mad for the past few days but would like to get anybody's actual experience and impressions of the place. I'm particularly interested to hear how family orientated it is, what the schools are like, and what any of you would consider a good wage for the area to give us a nice standard of living with two young children.

Many thanks for anybody that can help.

That'll be a no then? I'll get my coat...................

Hi Chris,

We spend a couple of weeks there normally twice a year. I'm probably no help to you as you probably want info from someone who actually resides there ?

However, we've been going there for the last 10 years so if i can help, ask away !

I like SB...it can get REALLY hot in summer....and the real estate is VERY expensive...but it has a lovely feel about it

Not been there, but assuming SB costs are similar to LA or SF then I guess a 3 bed house is going to cost you $3K - $4k pcm to rent http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/s...max&bedrooms=3

At $3K pcm this would be $36K pa of net equating to around $60K pa of gross - I suspect therefore you would need at least $120K pa salary to have a nice (ish) standard of living, depending upon how much health (etc) the employer covers. Not sure what you guys do but tax accountant here http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/acc/895151075.html at $110K pa. Other jobs here http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/s...ry=carpinteria

Thank you very much all. I had figured on $5k per month on rent as that's what a decent 4 bed house in Carpinteria seems to cost judging from Craigslist etc - but I guess we don't necessarily have to live in Carpinteria, that's just where the job would be so we could live somewhere cheaper if I can find it!

The salary will be six figures, we know that much, but they haven't yet given us an exact figure so we're waiting on that.

Not liking the sound of the v hot summer though, we went in April when it was lovely but I might struggle with the children in the summer if it's ridiculously hot. I did want to go somewhere with 'proper' seasons so was hoping New England or similar but this job is amazing so hubby is keen. Right, off to Google temps in summer in central CA....!!

Oh well, we'll see what happens as negotiations continue. Thanks for your help.

Oh I dont' think it gets horribly hot there does it? You're right on the coast so get the beautiful breezes. That is one of THE most beautiful parts of California!
You can always go to the mountains if you need a snow fix; I'd take the beach ANY day!

It was mid to v high 30 celsius when I was there - I had sweat running down my legs!!

Hi - We live in Santa Barbara and while it can get hot in the summer we often get socked in with fog (May Grey /June Gloom) and that keeps the temperatures down. September's usually worse - in fact we've had several mini heatwaves during the last two months when it's been up in the 90's. Check out the website for the Santa Barbara TV station KEYT Channel 3 - for a really local weather forecast. For unrelenting summer heat you'd have to move over the hill to the Santa Ynez Valley or the Ojai Valley - where it's usually near 100 degrees in the summer.

We've lived here for 20 years and love it. Housing IS exorbitant and you have to be willing and able to either rent, settle for a smaller house and/or throw all your money into a mortgage. Once you're past that hurdle there is so much available that is free or low-cost - hiking, kayaking, surfing, swimming, kid's activities and classes and activities put on by organisations like the Sierra Club. I don't know what Carpinteria School District schools are like specifically but it's pretty easy to find information on the internet. One school I am aware of is a new small Charter School that is (free) and I gather takes a similar approach to education as Montessori or Waldorf. There's a website called SBParenting.com that probably has lots of the information you're looking for.

Good luck. Let me know if you have more questions.

BTW - housing prices have come down from their peak here and it's possible you might be able to find a "bargain". If you're moving from the London/SE England area they might even be comparable.