Waiting for a film to start at this year’s Santa Barbara film festival I overheard a conversation where one person suggested that although there is this perception that we are all six degrees of separation from one another, in Santa Barbara it is more like one degree! “Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps, according to Wikipedia.
The statement that Santa Barbara is a small town with a big name could not be more true. Because of Santa Barbara’s small-town nature, it’s probably not the place to flip someone off in traffic because there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be running into that person at the grocery store in the near future. It almost seems like everyone is on their best behavior. And, why not, we’re all lucky to be here. My take is that it is this small-town vibe that makes living here so exceptional. People here really care about this community, and it shows.
Community character makes a difference. Obviously, Santa Barbara is a great place to live because of its climate and semi-rural character. But if you dig deeper into what makes living here so exceptional you’ll find that community character is the glue that pulls it all together.
A great example of this is the Unity Shoppe organization that reaches out to those that need help here. Their motto is “Neighbors Helping Neighbors!” If you’re looking for a great community with a small-town feel, then Santa Barbara is the place to be!
