The housing & rental market in Santa Barbara is small and competitive. Importantly, look for a house near NCEAS (downtown Santa Barbara), not near the University (in Goleta, which is about 10 miles away from NCEAS).
Most housing is advertised less than 1 month (sometimes only 1-2 weeks) in advance of availability. Good places are often snapped up within a few days of posting so act fast if you see something you like!
For renting or buying, subletting the first few months may be the best option to give you time to find a more permanent and/or budget friendly place to live. The best place to look for a sublet is Craigslist, but beware of scams on Craigslist. Anything that looks too good (too cheap) to be true usually is.
Expect to pay $800-1500 USD per month for a room in a shared house, $1100-1750 for a studio apt (beware these often lack a full kitchen), $1300-2000 for a 1-bedroom apt, $2,000-$3,000 for a 2-bedroom apt.
Some rentals include utilities, others don’t. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of choice (actually no choice) in utilities companies in Santa Barbara. While this means rates are less competitive than elsewhere, the upside is you don’t need to spend time comparing options! http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/services/utilities
Water: City of Santa Barbara
Electricity: Southern California Edison (SCE)
Gas: Southern California Gas (SoCal Gas)
Internet: Cox
Craigslist and the Goodwill store at Bath & Carrillo are your best bets for finding used furniture and kitchen wares on the cheap.
Asking for help / sharing resources
Use the #santa-barbara Slack channel to ask questions and for help with things like housing, moving, etc.
E.g. finding housing remotely: Having someone local to help (lab mate, etc.)
Contracts
Request your contract before you move. It is the responsibility of your P.I. to communicate and work with Michelle Morris, NCEAS Business Officer. So, make sure he/she keeps you in the loop and don't be shy to email Michelle directly if you have any questions or concerns.
Listservs to join
EmailThomas Hetmank to first help you set up your email & register for the following listservs:
There is only street parking and paid-garages - no dedicated NCEAS lot. Street parking near NCEAS is 75-90min and some sides are closed to street sweeping throughout the week. For most garages, the first 75 min. are free!
If you own a bike or are thinking of getting one, check out Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition (Bici Centro). These guys sell second-hand bikes and super discounted spare parts. For $5 an hour you can use all their equipment to fix or maintain your bike, and there are always lots of volunteers around to help you learn how to do it. They often run classes on bike maintenance & cycle safety. It’s a great way to meet a bunch of super nice people!
Working group members, weeks when your working group convenes you can get reimbursed for paid-garage parking.
Getting to and from Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara has an airport with direct flights to SFO, OAK, SAN, LAX, PHX, SEA, PDX, DFW and DEN, and continues to expand.
LAX is the nearest international airport, it is about two hour drive from Santa Barbara (though it can be more if traffic is bad). Security lines at LAX can take a long time to get through as well.
Santa Barbara Airbus runs buses every 2-3hrs between Santa Barbara and LAX and costs ~$50 one way (prepay to save).