giraffecat

There are plenty of 2br apartments for ~$2.5k on the east side of the bay (San Leandro, Richmond, etc.), and you will have better job opportunities as well.

Santa Barbara is a terrible place to consider for buying/building a house. Sky high property taxes and inflated property values are begging the local economy to dry out due to rental prices (The Bay is cheaper if you compare similar apartments with similar interior/exterior). The city can't expand because of geology, and it refuses to build up to preserve the "historical view of the Riviera". Sure it's a pretty city, but it won't mean much if it's dead.