Isla Vista

Isla Vista, or IV as it’s called, is a one-square mile community bordering the campus of UC Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. Its hundreds of apartments house over 20,000 people, mostly college students. Isla Vista is a place of paradoxes: it has palm trees, parks, near-perfect weather, fantastic views and a relaxed beachside culture. It is also known far and wide for its wild college party scene: kegs, raves, live bands, drugs, sex and lots of general revelry.

Isla Vista has a high concentration of crime compared to the County in general, including burglary, public intoxication, sexual assault, battery, narcotics-related crimes and vandalism. Its annual Halloween extravaganza draws up to 30,000 people.

In IV the dominant forms of transportation are bicycles and skateboards. With classrooms, stores, restaurants, parks, beaches and hundreds of friends and classmates in one square mile, it's the perfect place for college students.

Isla Vista is diverse and very fluid, with a constantly revolving door of students moving in and out and from apartment to apartment every year. International students from all over the world live and party in Isla Vista, as well as US military personnel on leave, students from other colleges, and even underage kids from local high schools.

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