Will Taylor thinks Santa Barbara is “the perfect antidote to Los Angeles.”
On a recent trip to Los Angeles, the New York City-based content creator knew he wanted to tack on a few days to fit in a Kacey Musgraves concert. He weighed seeing her in the City of Angels, then decided to look a little outside of the city limits.
“I know it’ll take me an hour to drive across town and it’ll be busy (with traffic),” he told USA TODAY. He noticed Musgraves was also performing in Santa Barbara, where he’s never been to.
Less than two hours away by car, Santa Barbara felt like another world to Taylor. “It’s much more intimate, you walk or ride your bike almost everywhere, and it’s not that crowded,” he said. As a design blogger, walking around the neighborhoods to marvel at the beach city’s famous Spanish colonial architecture was particularly attractive.
“Travel is restorative, but it can definitely be stressful and exhausting, especially when it’s a huge city and you have to plan a lot and factor in traffic,” he said. “It’s nice to have a few days in a quieter destination so you can relax.”