Before you arrive
Housing Resources & Advice
When & how to look
- The housing & rental market in Santa Barbara is small and competitive.
- 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.
- Also try the NCEAS [email protected] listserv (see below)
- Expect to pay $900-1500 USD, depending on the number of roommates, per month for a room in a shared house, $1800-3000 for a studio apt (beware these often lack a full kitchen), $2300-3200 for a 1-bedroom apt, $3200-$4500 for a 2-bedroom apt.
- You can also look for housing options through the University and the BIOnews list serv (see 'UCSB Campus' tab)
- 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
Email Thomas Hetmank to first help you set up your email & register for the following listservs:
- [email protected] - links you to everyone at NCEAS
- scientists@nceas.ucsb.edu - links you to all researchers at NCEAS
- [email protected] - links you to social activities with NCEAS folks
Parking is difficult, so consider biking or riding the bus
... the environment thanks you!
- 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. There are a few streets about a 10-15 minute walk free all-day parking. For most garages, the first 75 min. are free!
- We suggest you bring or purchase a bike; UCSB staff also get discounts of between 15-60%! Craigslist or Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition (Bici Centro) are other good options.
- Santa Barbara also has a bus line bewteen Goleta, Isla Vista, Downtown, and Elwood. See map for more details.
- The 24X is the express line from Isla Vista area to downtown Santa Barbara, and back. The Transit Center in downtown Santa Barbara is only a couple blocks from NCEAS! It generally takes 20-40 minutes to get to the Transit Center on this line, depending on where you get on and how traffic is.
- 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
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