Firstly, the necessities of mobile phones. In America, there are a wide range of networks you can choose from. For example, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Usually people say Verizon and AT&T have the best Santa Barbara coverage. With this in mind, it's probably best to decide if you want a top-up/ pay-as you go phone, or a contract. If you opt for a contract, you pay a monthly amount and have a fixed number of texts and calls. A pay-as you go phone, you just add money every time it runs out. Both have positives and negatives. If you're here for under two years it is probably best to go for the pay-as you go option. Or you'll be tied into a contract for longer then you're here!
Best advice is to go on their website, see which phone/contract appeals to you.
AT&T: http://www.att.com/#fbid=vZPISwgYWYO
Verizon: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
Sprint: http://www.sprint.com/
T-Mobile: http://www.t-mobile.com/
Then once you arrive here, you can go into the store. There are two Verizon's on State Street: One located at 2980 State Street, the other 636 State St. AT&T's are located in 7060 Marketplace Dr, Goleta or 3839 La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara.
One problem I found, was when setting up a contract, some stores may ask for a Social Security number. If you're international, you're unlikely to have one. Only place I found this was in Best Buy though. When I set up a contract with Verizon, they were able to get around this. I chose an iPhone, because of the fact it has Skype on it. This becomes your new best friend when you live here! Of course, other phones will have this too. Not only this, but it has iMessage. This means you can text without limitation, to others anywhere in the world. It is also a good idea to inquire what will the costs of international texts/calls be. Last thing you want is some huge bill!
AT&T: http://www.att.com/#fbid=vZPISwgYWYO
Verizon: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
Sprint: http://www.sprint.com/
T-Mobile: http://www.t-mobile.com/
Then once you arrive here, you can go into the store. There are two Verizon's on State Street: One located at 2980 State Street, the other 636 State St. AT&T's are located in 7060 Marketplace Dr, Goleta or 3839 La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara.
I ended up canceling my phone contract at home, in England. I just use a cheap pay-as you go phone when I'm home. It's up to you what you decide to do, depending on the amount of time you will be here. I did find that contracts are more expensive here. So do shop around for a good deal! Hope this helps.
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