“Keep an open mind, because your first idea isn’t always your best. Don’t worry, your aha! moment is coming.”
The early adulthood Millennials were in full spirits at the wine and beer bar sitting on cozy couches.
Part Five of Steve and Emma’s Empty-Nest Adventures in Santa Barbara.
Scorpio (Oct. 24 – Nov. 21) “You’ll find yourself cobbling together new theories based on new information that has come to light.”
While we explored the East and West Beaches, David caught some Ventura waves.
He confirmed what we heard before that Santa Barbara, while offering everything else you could possibly want in a coastal resort town, didn’t generate the kind of surf diehards craved.
For that you had to travel north up the coast, or south past Carpinteria to Rincon or Ventura.
Driving 25 minutes or so, really isn’t too much to ask, right.
But after a morning of surfing and the drive back, well, he was tired.
So Emma and I hung out in the late afternoon at the Hotel Santa Barbara on State 
Street while he returned to his bedroom and tried to take a nap.
Turns out, he’s renting a place minutes from the hotel while working remotely from his Irvine employer.
And, turns out that he couldn’t drift off to slumberland.
So he decides to walk over to join us since everything we had considered for the night on the town was just a few short blocks away.
We walk together near the original Presidio, the second red rectangular box of the three on the map.
We’re always craving authentic Mexican food and found it, the top right hand red rectangle.
La Playa Azul Cafe didn’t disappoint
Maybe it started with the ice-cold blue margaritas.
Probably.
By the time we showed up the large outdoor patio had filled.
So we dined inside.
And got caught up.
We pepper him with parental variations of how are you doing, what are you doing, where are you staying?
He and I discuss books and music and podcasts we think the other might find intriguing.
His Scorpio Mom wanted to indirectly get a reading on how he was feeling and if he was still reeling from his break up.
He traded one coastal town (Huntington Beach) for another (Santa Barbara) and his Mom wanted to know if he was happy.
And, I began the cobbling some Scorpio theories as Mom’s questioning shed new light.
Like, how much of a fit will it be for him to live here compared to Coastal Orange County?
First – Huntington Beach.
Where it is.
The mix of lifestyle profiles you’d find mingling in his former neighborhood defined by its zip code.
And, if not in one of Santa Barbara’s neighborhoods where else can you find that lifestyle?
Location At-A-Glance
Region: Western United States 
State: California
Travel Region: South Coast Region
County: Orange County
Patchwork Nation: Monied ‘Burbs
Town: Huntington Beach
Population Density: Second Tier Cities
Zip Codes: 92646
Profile At-A-Glance
Life Stage: Singles, Couples, Families, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers, Seniors
Community Neighbors
04Y2U1 25-54 Mainstream Singles Young Digerati (Chandler, AZ)
29F2U1 35-54 Young Accumulators American Dreams (Naples, CA)
07M1U1 45+Boomer Affluent Empty Nests Money & Brains (Seal Beach, CA)
26M2U1 55+Boomer Conservative Classics The Cosmopolitans (Lakewood, CO)
Community Neighbors
61M4U3 65+Sustaining Seniors City Roots (Seal Beach, CA)
You might say Huntington Beach is a lifestyle mix of Seal Beach and Naples, just minutes away without traffic to the north on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), with a dollop of Arizona (Chandler) and Colorado (Lakewood).
Where Wealthy Influentials and Permanent Temporaries call home.
It attracts side-preneurs and artists and surfers and, well Portfolio Locals and Digitally Mobiles.
So if Kym, from the night before at Jamie Slone Wines Tasting Room, who told us she was a newly transplanted stay at home mom from Arizona until her nest emptied, ever grew tired of Santa Barbara, then she could elevate Huntington Beach to the top of her bucket list.
So then, what about Santa Barbara At-a-Glance.
Where it is.
The mix of lifestyle profiles you’d find mingling along the State Street neighborhood defined by its zip code.
And, where else can you find that lifestyle?
Location At-A-Glance
Region: Western United States
State: California
Travel Region: Central Coast Region
County: Santa Barbara County
Patchwork Nation: Monied ‘Burbs
Town: Santa Barbara
Population Density: Second Tier Cities
Real Estate Phase: Late-Maturity
Zip Codes: 93101
Profile At-A-Glance (Fall 2017)
Life Stage: Singles, Couples, Midlife, Baby Boomers, Seniors
Community Neighbors:
12Y1C1, Brite Lites, Li’l City, 30-44, Couple, Midlife Success, Second City Society (Santa Fe, NM)
Community Neighbors:
24Y2C2, Up-and-Comers, 25-54 Single, Mainstream Singles, City Centers (Napa, CA)
27M2C2, Middleburg Managers, 55+ Couples, Conservative Classics, City Centers (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
35Y2C2, Boomtown Singles, 25-54, Single, Mainstream Singles, City Centers (San Marcos, TX)
60M4C3, Park Bench Seniors, 65+ Singles, Park Bench Seniors, Micro-City Blues (Palm Desert, CA)
So the State Street lifestyle community recipe includes the quality-of-life attraction of Palm Desert, Napa and Lake Tahoe (California desert, vineyards and an awesome mountain lake) with an out-of-state blend of San Marcos, Texas (historic river town) and artistic Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Digitally Mobiles, like in Huntington Beach?
Check.
But, only one Wealthy Influential lifestyle vs. four in Huntington Beach.
And with the other four falling within the High Country Eagle communities.
But, still two mainstream single lifestyles, 25-54 that loosely fit.
Oh, ok.
Cobbling this theory together has become a little too complicated, right?
That’s why before heading back to our hotel, we returned to State Street and mingled with all the 20-29 year olds, the transitional 28 – 32 year olds overlapping with 25 -54 year old singles and couples out on the town.
Oh, and we stopped in for some wine and entertainment and games and, did I say wine?
With a catch tagline: “Less Whine, More Wine”
While walking to the bar, Scorpio Mom tells me later, her number one son said he just wanted his life back.
She feels he had looked forward to his next stage of development, “rooting and extending”, which we all usually embark on between the ages of 30-38.
In Erik Erikson’s theory, you’ll recall, “rooting and extenders” embark on full adulthood near the end of his early adulthood .
Approximate Age: Early adulthood ( 20 – 39)
Significant Relationship: Friends, partners
Existential Question: Can I love
Examples: Romantic relationships
Psychosocial Crisis: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Virtues: Love
The early adulthood Millennials were in full spirits at the wine and beer bar sitting on cozy couches.
We staked our spot out while listening to the solo singer near the entrance.
Not quite the caliber we saw the night before, but you have to start somewhere.
Another couple joined us at the edge of the glass coffee table after grabbing a board game and inviting us to join them.
We politely declined, soaking in the vibe where:
“Friends are therapists you can drink with, and therapy is in session.”
Scorpio Mom leaned in to conduct her own version of therapy, an intimate conversation I couldn’t make out.
She was busy cobbling her own theory.
Less complicated and more about love, romantic relationships and isolation vs. intimacy.
Maybe our other horoscope summarized an important message for me instead.
Scorpio (Oct. 24 – Nov. 21) “Keep an open mind, because your first idea isn’t always your best. Don’t worry, your aha! moment is coming.”
Part One: Quick Getaway to Santa Barbara
Part Two: Hotel Santa Barbara’s Grand Tradition
Part Three: Night TRAPs – Walk. Drink. Eat. Groove.