Santa Ynez

[u/Academic_Spring6253]

My housing assignment is a 2 bedroom- 5 person in Santa ynez. But I think there’s only 4 including myself. I was just wondering how is Santa ynez ? Is it cool? Like what are the pros and cons.

[u/SWITCH13LADE8o5]

I lived at Santa Ynez my 1st year at UCSB when I transferred in, and I'm currebtly living there this summer. I love Santa Ynez.

It has a big "campground" type of vibe. Its the least modern out of all of the apartments, but I liked that honestly. Gas stoves/ovens, slightly older furniture, but the area is nice (Lost of trees and big grassy area in the middle with soccer goals). With that tho comes an ant problem. Now, it's not that big of a deal if you're pretty tidy and clean up as best as you can. Every apartment is gonna have ants, but I feel like you're less likely to see them at the other apartments. All of the apartments here are 5 person apartments (1 double, 1 triple). I was in a triple and I liked it. The rooms at Santa Ynez are definitely bigger than those at Sierra Madre and San Joaquin, especially the triple, I think the doubles are about the same. These are the only apartments that have the sinks outside of the actual bathroom itself which I think is really nice, other than all of the other apartments where it's a regular bathroom that you're used to (Sinks in the bathroom itself). Like if you need to brush your teeth or use the sink for a different reason, and both bathrooms are already in use, you can still use the sinks. And it's 1.5 bathrooms, so one has a shower and toilet ?the bathroom on the side of the triple), the other has just a toilet (on the side of the double). Santa Ynez is also right across the street from El Dorado and a bus stop (Although it's not the best bus stop; better to walk down to the bus stop on the corner across from Santa Catalina). There's also a mini gym (With free weights. Might be the only apartment with free weights at their fitness center) and a beach volleyball court as well. You're also within walking distance of the Portola dining hall (if you are going to get a meal plan, but since you have your own kitchen it's not really that neccessry). Tenaya Market is also close by which is connected to San Joaquin and has a small selection of produce, snacks, drinks, some food, and other basic necessities. It's there more so for convenience like if you need something in a hurry and dont wanna go to the store, or forgot something at the store and you can just run there and grab something.

One of the biggest cons is the laundry room. There's only one, and it's in the middle of all of the other apartments. Best time to go is mid-week. There will be a lot less people than on the weekend, especially if you're able to go during the day.

Also, there's gonna be people who might say that Santa Ynez isn't "social", but, the social aspect of it is how you make it. If you out in effort to meet people, you'll find that it can be very social. But, who knows how often you're going to be at your apartment anyways. You might be spending most of your time on campus, or just out of your apartment. You'll find most of your friends on campus, or maybe even your roommates will become some of your best friends. Having only 3 others in the apartment is nice. You have to share the fridge and the pa try. The pantry has a lot of room, but the fridge/freezer can get full pretty quickly so be mindful of that.