Santa Barbara, a primer. (weather)

I've never been to Santa Barbara. Not once. The only time I was ever in California (not counting layovers at LAX on trips to Asia) was for a long weekend to San Francisco/ Napa with Michaela and Lisa and Chris. I thought, briefly, about moving to San Francisco, but decided a few months later that Thailand on the Andaman Sea was a better fit.

I've been doing some research on the city though, because it was the program that solidified the decision, and the town was a nice benefit, but I don't know much about the town.

Some info from santabarbara.com:

Santa Barbara Climate Conditions

* Over 300 days of sunshine a year.
* Humidity: Ranges from 40-60% and varies according to season.
* Altitude: Sea level to 620 feet

The coastal climate of Santa Barbara is always a enjoyable surprise to the first-time visitor. This is particularly true during the winter months – roughly from October through March. Around the turn of the century, many prominent Eastern families came to visit and, unable to resist the lure of the pleasant climate, established their winter residences here.

Santa Barbara is a “get out in the sunshine and fresh air” place, with all the activities that implies.

The average annual rainfall is only 15 inches – about the same as many desert resort communities experience. Unlike those resorts, however, there are no sandy windstorms or blistering hot days. Absent, too, are the cold, fierce winter ocean storms that plague many California coast resorts.

What allows Santa Barbara to escape inclement weather, is its unique geographic location. For roughly 40 miles on either side of Santa Barbara, the California coastline runs almost due East/West. This alignment moderates the ocean currents that flow past Santa Barbara’s front door. Towering mountains, very close to the sea, shelter the coastal strip from inland heat and cold. The Channel Islands, 20 to 30 miles off shore, break the force of ocean storms and quiets the surf.

The result is a comfortable year-round average temperature of 64 degrees, with an average maximum of 74 and an average minimum of 56 degrees.

All this means there is no “off-season” in Santa Barbara.. Warm sunshine, beautiful scenery, invigorating, clear, fresh air and congenial people await you year-round.

It actually sounds a bit ridiculous, and extraordinary, and hard to believe, that if such a place really exists, why would anyone live in places where there's winter, and crazy humidity (but also with beautiful autumn, and spring!) and no ocean or mountains...