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 or Facebook Marketplace, but beware of scams. Anything that looks too good (too cheap) to be true usually is.
  • You can also look for housing options through the University and the Bren Random listserv
  • Some rentals include utilities, others don’t. Surprisingly, there’s actually no choice in utility 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 or Frontier
  • Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, 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

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 they keep you in the loop and don't be shy to email Michelle directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Communication channels to join

You will automatically be added to the following two channels:
  • Google Group [email protected] - Internal announcements of activities and events at NCEAS and on campus
  • Slack #nceas-residents - links you to all NCEAS residents for sharing information on things happening locally and in our NCEAS building
  • The NCEAS events Google calendar
  If you want to connect with NCEAS folks about social activities, you can join:
  • Slack #social
Email Thomas Hetmank if you need help joining other listservs or Slack channels.

Parking is difficult, so consider walking, biking, or riding the bus 

The environment thanks you!
  • NCEAS does not have a dedicated parking lot. Street parking adjacent to NCEAS has a 75-90min limit and some sides are closed to street sweeping throughout the week. There are free all-day street parking options about a 10-15 minute walk from NCEAS Pay close attention to street sweeping signs!
  • For most garages, the first 75 min. are free.

Biking to NCEAS

  • If you live downtown, we suggest you bring or purchase a bike;  UCSB staff also get discounts of between 15-60%! 
  • 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!
  • There is a bike rack on the third floor terrace and an elevator to bring your bike up.

Riding the Bus
  • Santa Barbara also has a bus line between 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.

Getting to and from Santa Barbara

  • Santa Barbara has an airport with direct flights to many airports, and continues to expand.
  • LAX is the nearest international airport, it is about a two hour drive from Santa Barbara (though it can be 3+ 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 ~$60 one way (prepay to save).
  • Other buses are available through FlixBus and Amtrak from various locations.
    • ​The buses generally stop at either Santa Barbara Amtrak Station ("SBA" stop) and/or UCSB North Hall Bus Loop ("SBU" stop). The walk from the SBA stop to NCEAS is about a 1 mile walk.
  • Train: Amtrak has many routes and leaves from downtown Santa Barbara

​For information on international arrivals, see the "INT'L ARRIVALS" tab
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