Where the mountains meet the ocean.
A beach town with a quiet, serious tech economy, a top research university and some of the best trails on the coast.
I love Santa Barbara.
Growing up in California, I got down to SLO and further a decent amount, and I spent time in Santa Barbara along the way. My sister did her undergrad at UCSB, and I visited when I could.
Life first, then work. And here, your network is the search.
Some of the best work on the South Coast happens quietly. Quiet work, big results.
The Santa Barbara career landscape.
UC Santa Barbara is the county's largest employer, and the South Coast from Goleta to Carpinteria has a tech and advanced manufacturing scene the local chamber calls TechTopia.
UC Santa Barbara
More than 9,500 employees, and the root of many local companies.
AppFolio · Procore · Invoca · Sonos
Real estate software, construction software, marketing tech and consumer hardware.
Google Quantum AI and the labs
Quantum computing, lasers and space engineering, often sprung from UCSB research.
Teledyne FLIR and Goleta's infrared cluster
Goleta is the county's employment hub and is known as the infrared capital of the world.
A lot of South Coast companies keep a low profile. The best roles here travel by word of mouth, so the network is the search.
Networking in Santa Barbara, done the long way.
Show up more than once. The second visit is where the real conversations start.
Cost of living and housing.
Santa Barbara is one of the pricier places to live on the California coast. Know your number before you fall for the view.
Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria or up the 101: the commute to Goleta's tech corridor shapes the choice.
Numbers change fast, so we link the live sources instead of printing figures that go stale.
Where to clear your head.
Los Padres National Forest
Nearly 2 million acres behind town.
Plan it →Channel Islands National Park
Five islands, about 25 miles offshore.
Plan it →Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
78 acres of native plants above the Mission.
Plan it →Basecamp Santa Barbara on the map.
Coaching runs by video. When Coach Leighty is in town, in-person conversations happen over coffee or on a trail. Book a call first.
Protect it. Live it. Visit it.
Live it
Listed as local resources, not partners or sponsors. Something closed or missing? Email mike@longgamelife.live.
Your long game has its own map.
Every Basecamp starts with the same trail markers. Yours might need a fabric store, a card shop, a maker space, a climbing gym or a quiet place to write. Tell us what belongs on this page and Coach Leighty adds the ones that fit.
What's open right now.
Go see it for real.
Wildlife, landmarks, trees and flowers, night sky and tide pools. Find one, tap it, and it gets a stamp.
Brown pelican
Pelecanus occidentalisWhere to lookGliding in lines over the waves.
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Western snowy plover
Charadrius nivosusWhere to lookTiny and protected. Nesting areas at Coal Oil Point are roped off.
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Acorn woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorusWhere to lookStores acorns in tree holes in the oak woodlands.
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Island scrub-jay
Aphelocoma insularisWhere to lookLives only on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park.
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Island fox
Urocyon littoralisWhere to lookSmall fox found only on the Channel Islands.
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Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippusWhere to lookWinters in Goleta's eucalyptus groves.
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California sea lion
Zalophus californianusWhere to lookBarking from buoys and the harbor.
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Stearns Wharf
WaterfrontGetting thereThe oldest working wooden wharf in California. Look down for sea lions.
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Old Mission Santa Barbara
Upper State StreetGetting thereCalled the Queen of the Missions, with a rose garden out front.
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Moreton Bay Fig Tree
Near the train stationGetting thereA giant fig planted in the 1870s, with roots like walls.
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Inspiration Point
Tunnel Trail, above townGetting thereHike up for the whole city, the ocean and the islands.
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Channel Islands National Park
By boat from VenturaGetting thereIsland foxes, sea caves and whales. Boats book up, so plan ahead.
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Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Mission CanyonGetting thereNative California plants, a redwood grove and a historic dam.
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Coast live oak
Quercus agrifoliaWhere to lookBig shady oaks with prickly, cupped leaves.
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California poppy
Eschscholzia californicaWhere to lookCalifornia's state flower. Orange blooms close up at night.
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Matilija poppy
Romneya coulteriWhere to lookGiant white 'fried egg' flowers in early summer.
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Jacaranda
Jacaranda mimosifoliaWhere to lookTurns whole streets purple in late spring. Not native, but famous here.
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Western sycamore
Platanus racemosaWhere to lookPatchy white bark along creeks.
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Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifoliaWhere to lookRed winter berries. Its nickname, California holly, may have helped name Hollywood.
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Big Dipper and North Star
Ursa Major and PolarisWhere to lookFind the dipper, then follow the two stars at the end of its cup up to the North Star.
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Orion the Hunter
Winter constellationWhere to lookLook south after dark for three bright stars in a row: Orion's belt.
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Perseid meteors
Meteor shower, mid-August peakWhere to lookLie back after midnight around Aug 11 to 13. No telescope needed.
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Geminid meteors
Meteor shower, mid-December peakWhere to lookOften the year's best shower. Bundle up around Dec 13 to 14.
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Milky Way
Our home galaxyWhere to lookNeeds a moonless night away from town lights. Summer shows the brightest part. The Santa Ynez Mountains above town are much darker than the waterfront.
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Space Station flyover
International Space StationWhere to lookA bright, steady dot crossing the sky in a few minutes. NASA's Spot the Station app lists times.
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Ochre sea star
Pisaster ochraceusWhere to lookOn reef rocks at Carpinteria State Beach. Stay out of posted seal areas.
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Aggregating anemone
Anthopleura elegantissimaWhere to lookGreen anemones packed together on rocks.
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Giant green anemone
Anthopleura xanthogrammicaWhere to lookBright green, low in the pools.
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Purple sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus purpuratusWhere to lookSpiny purple balls tucked into rock holes.
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Owl limpet
Lottia giganteaWhere to lookBig flat shells that 'own' a patch of rock.
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Hermit crab
Pagurus samuelisWhere to lookTiny crabs wearing borrowed shells.
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Never feed wildlife, stay on trail, and follow posted closures. Hours, permits and seasons change, so check before you go. Months are a guide. Photos from Wikimedia Commons under the free licenses shown. Stamps stay on this device only.
Everybody has a long game. Some come with an ocean view.
UCSB, the tech corridor or something of your own: start with a free 20-minute call.
Or email mike@longgamelife.live