If you read the number one state on our list, you may have already realized that we and our opinions without question untainted by outside forces. We have never been approached to change our list of the best states. Our phones do work, we checked. Our email is up and running but we have never once been solicited to change our opinions considering the millions of readers online that have such clout and spending power that we are surprised and a little depressed. Regardless, we will continue putting out our unbiased list so that people can benefit from a true list of the best states to live and spend their billions of dollars.
California is one of our favorites as the climate is the closest thing we can get to Hawaii without leaving the continent. California is also one of the largest states in the country so we had to limit our study to the southern portion of the state. This is not to dismiss cities such as San Francisco, Monterey or Menlo Park. Each have their own personalities and very attractive and well educated political and economic leaders that could benefit from more people being swayed to move their by reading a blog post. But we had to focus on the portion of the state that allows us to hone our study down to the most important factors. Weather, generosity and ability to read between the lines. Santa Barbra is as close to perfection as a city can get in sunny southern California. Tourism is a large part of the local economy and the population is diverse and they are all pretty darned welcoming. This is one of the reasons we select cities and glance in another direction when the local population is not as friendly. It is hard to call a place unfriendly as people don’t take kindly to being referred to as unkind. Don’t believe me? Ask someone in New York city for the time or if you are feeling daring, ask if they are friendly. The answers you may get could cause actual physical pain. This is not the case in Santa Barbra. In Santa Barbra you may get the time and also asked what Country Club you belong to. Be prepared with a good lie or tell the truth and tell them that you are still considering several. There is a difference between friendly and being welcoming. Knowing the difference can help navigate the social circles that smaller populations have and the best way to avoid saying “I am new here and may not be Santa Barbra-ish enough to live here?” but don’t let that deter you from becoming a “Santa Barbian” as most people are transplants and the only way to be a local is to start being a local. Give directions to tourist even if you have no idea. They may just think you are rude..but they will also think that you are a local and that is all that counts. Plus it could keep some of them from over populating your new home town.
Remember to donate to the Mayor Schneider’s reelection campaign as she is very smart and knows how to donate money herself in order to increase the local economy. She is also very stylish and knows a good thing when she reads it. Qazzoo is looking forward to cleaning her pool if needed and carrying her bag at The Bacara Resort for a quick round.
Matt Steinmuller