Bryan D. Brown

So after two days of deliberations, Jennifer and I decided that the State Street apartment, in the area commonly known as San Roque, was the best choice for us. After sleeping on it for one more night, that decision became final. The lease is signed and faxed. As of August 1st, we will officially be State Street livin’. We also, technically, will still be living in Isla Vista until the end of August, but that is not nearly as sexy as saying, “We live on State Street.” - a sentence made only sexier when uttered with a Belvedere martini in one hand (or both hands, if other people are to appear sexier to you).

There’s a Trader Joe’s around the corner. There’s a coffee shop less than a block away. There is an awesome bookstore and several townie bars within striking distance. We will become the personification of Santa Barbara snootiness, yet much less snooty than the snootiest of the Santa Barbara snooty (Hope Ranch, I’m looking at you). There’s even a lawn bowling field within walking distance - a sport that I threatened Jennifer with taking up should we move into that area.

So what is wrong with the Goleta cottage? Nothing really. It just wasn’t the location we wanted. Campus would still be our major outlet, which is exactly what we wanted to get away from when we decided to move out of Isla Vista. We really needed a more drastic change of scene, and Goleta was not the direction we wanted to move. Honestly, I still wanted an urban setting without the disfunction I’ve grown accustomed to in Isla Vista. The Goleta cottage didn’t have that, and the State Street apartment did. So there it is.

In any case, I am happy that we’ve ended this apartment search on a positive note, with a place I could see both Jennifer and I being happy with for a long time - State Street style. We just need some olives.