Words of wisdom from ELC students

Once called California’s best kept secret, Santa Barbara is now known all over the world for its exceptional climate, stunning scenery, and palm-lined, white-sand beaches. White stucco buildings with red tile roofs heighten its Mediterranean charm. Beyond that, Santa Barbara combines the cultural and recreational offerings of a major city with the warm, friendly, and relaxed atmosphere of a small town.

A short ten-minute walk from the beach, ELC is perfectly situated across the street from the Santa Barbara Courthouse (an architectural and historical landmark) and two blocks from State Street. The neighborhood around the school is pleasantly crowded with outdoor cafes, restaurants, music clubs, historical attractions, and fabulous shopping. It is known as the cultural and shopping center of Santa Barbara.

Throughout Santa Barbara there are fascinating things to see and do. For example, there are the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Botanical Garden, the Old Mission Santa Barbara with its eighteenth-century chapel and cloister gardens and the Santa Barbara Art Museum. Step away from downtown and there’s the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Santa Ynez mountains, picnicking and wine tasting at some of Santa Barbara’s many outstanding wineries, horseback riding, sailing, windsurfing, whale watching cruises, and much more.

Santa Barbara is just 90 miles north of Los Angeles and easy to get to from there or from San Francisco. Over 30 flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) land at Santa Barbara everyday. From San Francisco there are more than 15 flights daily. And the Santa Barbara Airbus offers bus service from LAX to Santa Barbara 8 times a day.

If you like the idea of studying American English in a friendly and uncrowded small city, where it’s warm all year round and the beach is waiting just down the street, then Santa Barbara is clearly your best choice.