What's so great about Santa Barbara?

Having lived in Santa Barbara for over 15 years as well as having the benefit of coming back as a visitor I believe I have a unique perspective on this city of 89,314 folks, many of whom I refer to as friends, most notably the bartender at Brophy Brothers who's name I have forgotten but who always remembers me. This perspective of mine is called upon quite often by those who have never been to Santa Barbara and ask me: "What is so great about Santa Barbara and why the heck (not really their word) do you do this blog?"

To answer this can be difficult since 100 small things make up the answer. But in short here is my list:

1. Perfect Weather without Question. Everywhere in the world people are obsessed with weather. Not here. Why? Because it is perfect and perfect every day. In fact some kids reached their 4th Birthday without having experienced rain because it went that long. (Go Google it for crying out loud if you don't believe me. This isn't some tall tale.)

2. Ocean, Small incredible strip of land, Mountains. Nowhere else in California, Oregon, Washington or on the East Coast has such an amazing landscape. Go have a cocktail on top of the Canary and spin 360 degrees and tell me you aren't amazed at this landscape. Wow.

3. People. This is not LA. This is not Orange County. This is not New York. Leave your attitude at home and relax. People are nice, courteous, appreciative of their lives and generally all around good. If there are doubts, go have a drink at Harry's or Joe's and you will experience the nicest bartenders around.

4. Architecture. This we can thank to the 1925 Earthquake that destroyed downtown allowing businessmen to rebuild to stricter codes. Now even the downtown grocery store resembles Spanish Architecture. It is a truly amazing site to see. Walk through Paseo Nuevo finished in 1990 to get an idea of what I mean.

5. Beaches. Amazing, crowd free beaches are for the taking. All of them are perfect in their own way. Go check them out and let me know what you think.

6. Love for Life. The folks here really do love their lives. And why not, they live in one of, if not THE, most amazing place on the planet. But if you live here or visit you will experience this fact by the amazing festivals that celebrate the seasons throughout the year: Solstice in Summer, French festival, Greek Festival, Irish Festival, Music Festival, Fiesta in August, etc. etc. These folks know how to have a good time.

These are my top 6 reasons. Now why do I do this blog? Why that is easy; because I am the most interesting man in Santa Barbara who else can I trust to give you the skinny.