After awhile, one room for all of your belongings gets old. Venturing into the town of Isla Vista to rent a house can be quite intimidating, so here is a cheat sheet to guide you through the process of finding a house in Isla Vista:
1. Start looking in January, and try to sign a lease by March. Pick some friends and walk up to houses you like, knock on the door, and ask if the house is available to rent for the upcoming year.
2. Some houses will have applications available right away, while some are in a lottery.
3. Go to the rental companies like Sierra and Meridian Group and get their rental lists in order to apply for the houses they own. The Housing Department in the UCen has a good list of “who not to rent from.”
4. If you are late in doing all of the above, turn to the Daily Nexus and answer some ads. Sometimes housing cooperatives, such as an all vegetarian house or an athletic team house, are a good way to meet people like you and to find a place to live.
5. Get used to expensive rents, but if you start early enough, you can find some deals. Houses on Del Playa, although pricey, have great balconies and decks that sit on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Most people say it was worth living on Del Playa for a year, just to experience it.
Goleta and downtown are also good areas to rent in. Goleta is mostly residential neighborhoods, a short drive from campus, and fairly quiet—reminiscent of the neighborhoods some students may have grown up in. Rent can be cheaper in Goleta, as well. Downtown is as expensive as Isla Vista. Many students live downtown during their senior year, once they are over the Isla Vista party scene and old enough to go to the downtown bars. Plus, lots of jobs and internships are downtown, but it’s a 15-minute drive to campus. Overall, Santa Barbara has enough housing options that students will most likely find the type of arrangement that best suits their interests—it’s only paying for that “perfect place” that can be the problem.
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Off-Campus Housing at University of California - Santa Barbara
A
I Still Live on Campus, Have a Couple of Friends Happy Off-Campus
I'm a freshman don't plan on moving off campus til Junior year, I have a couple of friends who waited to late to get a dorm, they live off campus and they love it.
Apr 26, 2012
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Off-Campus Housing at University of California - Santa Barbara
UCSBlove
Neuroscience and Neurobiology '12
5.0
A+
Expensive, but Amazing
Anywhere in IV is a great place to stay, although oceanside DP obviously has its perks.
Apr 10, 2012
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Off-Campus Housing at University of California - Santa Barbara
C
Apartments Are Expensive
The apartments in IV are expensive and definitely the quality is below what is should be for the prices we have to pay.
Apr 05, 2012
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User rating for University of California - Santa Barbara - Off-Campus Housing is
3.5 out of 5
based on 57 user reviews.
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