2025 Compare Cities Rankings:
Ames, IA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Rankings for Ames

Ames Ranked
#12 Emerging Metropolitan Areas
Emerging Metropolitan Areas... Read More

Ames Ranked
#39 Best Green Cities
Country Home magazine, in conjunction with Sperlings BestPlaces, reveals that Burlington, Vermont is the 2007 Best Green Pla... Read More

Rankings for Santa Barbara


Santa Barbara, CA has never been in one of our rankings. Do you think this is a mistake? Tell us what you think is great or not so great about his place.
Reviews for Ames    12 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

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Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

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Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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