The city and county seat of Santa Barbara is located in California and has an impressive variety of arts and cultural events, education institutions in all levels, as well as parks and recreations and athletic activities. With its estimated population of 91,000, the majority of residents are locally born and range between 5 and 34 years of age. There is also about approximately 10,000 people who have migrated to Santa Barbara between the ages of 18 and 45, represented in college students who decide to study in one of the colleges or universities in the city and then stay. There seems to be a continuous increase throughout the past five years of non-native Santa Barbara residents, which in great part is due to its education, house and living, and health and safety. The diversity in Santa Barbara is quite evident with the majority of its population being composed by mostly Mexican, Chinese and German descendants. In comparison to the state of California, the United States and other local sectors, it has a lower percent of citizenship than the rest at 82.9%, where California is at 86.1% and the United States at 93%. Despite the diversity in the countries of origin of its residents, Santa Barbara is made up of mostly white people with approximately 48,600 people, and coming in second are Hispanics with 35,700 people. The rest of the population is spread out thinly among different ethnicities in order from Asian, mixed, black, native, Hawaiian, and other. There is no surprise based on the data that the language that is most spoken after English is Spanish with quite a huge gap with the other languages. Spanish speakers add up to almost 25,900 people, where the third most spoken language, which is German, as nearly 1,030. These stats are also quite higher than the national averages.
Educations seems to be one of the features that most attracts people from other states and countries. In Santa Barbara and in at least a 50-mile radius, there are 12 colleges that cater a great variety of undergraduate degrees to other superior studies like professional or research doctorate. Liberal Arts and Sciences and Biological and Physical Sciences are the most popular majors in Associate’s Degree, whereas for Bachelor’s Degree it’s Photography, followed closely by Liberal Arts and Sciences. In the Research Doctorates the top degree is in Clinical Psychology, followed by Organizational Behavior Studies, and in Professional Doctorates, Law is leading the pack by quite a lot and followed by Clinical Psychology. There are other studies that require two years or less o be awarded the certificate and in these, there is a great variety of degrees like Medical Insurance Coding, Child Care Provider, General Sales, Distribution and Marketing Operations, Liberal Arts and Sciences and General Cosmetology. As for where the students are attending school, the majority at a 78.8% attend the Santa Barbara City College. Other schools in the area in order of students is Fielding Graduate University, Antioch University – Santa Barbara, and Brooks Institute, just to mention a few. Most students are enrolled at Public 2-year institutions.
Another big attraction to the city of Santa Barbara is the art and culture that lives and breathes in the city. Santa Barbara is a magical location that is nestled between the mountains and the sea as has served as an inspiration and muse to artists, writers, philosophers, celebrities and basically anyone who is interested in art and culture. The many activities that go on in the city entertain local residents and visitors alike as mentioned in the Kenny Slaught blog that went into detail about two cultural events that could make you fall in love with Santa Barbara. From a cultural aspect, the city is rich with historic landmarks like the Chumash, where a Native American tribe had settled at the dawn of the city. The museums and galleries are all over the city and harbor the creative spirits that currently live in the city. You’ll find places like the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Lotusland and Casa del Hierro. At the same time, you’ll find festivals that you can look forward to all year long. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, which is one of the ones mentioned in the other post. In April they host an Earth Day Festival at Alameda Park, where they sell organic food, an eco-marketplace, live music and other events that all focus on going green and protecting the environment. During the springtime, between April and October, there are tons of events in the outdoor venue, Santa Barbara Bowl. In May you can’t miss the plaza of the Old Mission Santa Barbara which is the setting for the Italian Street Painting Festival. The festivities continue throughout the year with the Summer Festival at the Music Academy of the West, the California Wine Festival, Old Spanish Days Fiesta, the California Lemon Festival and the Parade of Lights in December. Don’t miss out on visiting Santa Barbara and joining in on the fun.
* Featured Image courtesy of Maciek Lulko at Flickr.com