Someone should put it to a vote: Should lower State Street be renamed “The Sunset Strip?”

I don’t know how many of you frequent the nightlife scene offered by Santa Barbara, but I for one was shocked to learn that it had such a thing to it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to go out. A drink or two here and there is a chance to let loose from a long week full of studies, quizzes, deadlines and work, to socialize, meet new people, and get my groove on.

I just had no idea that Santa Barbara, a quiet peaceful town on the beach, could turn into such a place to be seen at night.

I work late. And I bike to work and school, so when I leave my job at 11 p.m., I head home when the streets are starting to fill. Being a newcomer to Santa Barbara, I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised. The beaches are full of beautiful people, and those beautiful people have to have somewhere to go at night.

Students from City College, UCSB, longtime Santa Barbara residents and people who just came for the sun and warm weather, all mingle together to do nothing productive.

I’m a bartender at the restaurant where I work, and I know how much money can be spent on drinking. So where does this money come from? I surely don’t know.

The skirts are short, and the heels are high. And aren’t those dresses expensive? Chique hair do’s and heavy eye shadows make every girl look the same. They walk in droves, wait in groups outside clubs and bars.

The guys wear designer jeans and designer t-shirts. Less high fashion than Hollywood, to be sure, but the way they walk, and aim straight for the clubs is still reminiscent of the Sunset nightlife-ers.

Why do these things bother me so much? I guess it’s because I lived in Hollywood for four years. I worked in a glamorous restaurant right on the Sunset Strip, and I dealt with the Paris wanna-be’s every night, among the heavy colognes, and bleached blond hair. I guess when I moved to Santa Barbara I was expecting a quieter town.

In my hometown of Boulder, Colorado there is also a big university. There are plenty of rowdy students, and many of them spend their nights drinking. But they go to bars wearing Birkenstocks and Levis. The weekends are the busy times for downtown, but there are no clubs, or big dance scenes.

For all the bars that cater to students, there are late night coffee shops and places to study. It seems a better balance of school and pleasure, and a more relaxed atmosphere. Boulder and Santa Barbara, in the daylight, are almost the same town.

Daytime Pearl Street in Boulder, and daytime State Street are touristy for sure, but they are also places of cafes and shopping, farmer’s markets and relaxing strolls, and people on bicycles.

At night I feel out of place pedaling up State Street, past the taxis and the homeless, making my way home. The thumping bass coming out of the clubs attracts young people like flies to a half empty beer can.

I’m just glad when I turn down Micheltorena Street, the last leg of my ride home. I make my way down my quiet street, leaving the city behind. At least I can’t hear downtown from my apartment.