Thousands Move Back to Isla Vista, Boosting Local Economy

ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) - The Isla Vista economy, quiet for the last two months, is waking up again.

Thousands of students have arrived for the new school year at UC Santa Barbara nearby, which starts later this week.

Over the weekend, the new and returning residents on and off campus were busy bringing their belongings in and getting their living areas organized. That includes dorms, apartments and shared homes.

The businesses in the area, in a summer slump are now ramping up with more customers and say they calculate their business on a 12-month cycle but also know the weeks when the students are not around will be significantly slower.

Off campus there will also be a boost in sales in Goleta at Target on Hollister Ave. and across the street at stores such as Costco, Home Depot and Ross Dress for Less with the student population stocking up.

To manage all of this on Saturday and Sunday, extra staff was on hand to help shuttle large carts full of belonging to the dorm rooms and assist students and their families.

(More details, video and photos will be added here later today.)

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