Is Morro Bay right for me? (Monterey, Pacific Grove: leasing, homes, tenant) - California (CA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

kimyart · 01-03-2011, 05:58 PM

I currently live in Los Osos, but prefer Morro Bay, where I have my shop. Morro Bay is adorable and safe and quiet. Tourists hit the Embarcadero to watch the seals bark, while town stays pretty quiet all the time. For night life with the twenty somethings, you have SLO, which is also cute, safe and affordable. The roads are all along farms, cows and horses, which is what made me decide to raise my daughter here as it is so beautiful. Inland also has different weather, with warmer temps in summer and less fog. I have lived here for over two years now and love it here. I'm also a property manager and compared to the rents in Orange County, where I come from, I find this place incredibly affordable. You can find studios at the rent that you mentioned or roommate with a two bedroom for even less.
I suggest you get here and then check the places out one by one, over time. Each town has a different feel and the weather changes over the course of the year.

.highnlite · 01-03-2011, 07:37 PM

Kimyart, you also have one of the gems of the California State Park system, Montana De Oro.

kimyart · 01-03-2011, 08:15 PM

Haha, that is the OTHER reason I moved here! Little otters in the water, shells on the beach and spectacular views and the very best part NO CROWDS!!

Hawk J · 01-04-2011, 07:37 AM

There used to be a lot of ground squirrel colonies close to the beaches. There might still be some.

kimyart · 01-20-2011, 07:41 PM

Sewer is still up and coming. They have the okay to move ahead now and plan to start building it this year. Figure another 5 yrs before all the houses are hooked up. I currently live in Los Osos and am not looking forward to all the street noise as they dig up town.
As to the poster, Los Osos is cheaper but not by much. Morro Bay is quainter and a little more hip. SLO is where all the younger people hang out.

clokverkorange · 03-09-2011, 12:02 PM

If you're single, female, and 23, Orange County or San Diego may be your best bet. I would look at Oceanside or Carlsbad, both relatively small and sleepy, compared to the OC, and you can find reasonable rents more inland from the beaches. The population density is higher, though, and since you mentioned you were single I would assume you're looking to date - what you'll find up north is mostly tourists passing through, students that don't plan on settling down there, or older folks that bought when the market was low.

bigcaat · 03-22-2011, 12:13 AM

Quote:

ON EDIT: Morro Bay is not a conservative town. It's just a town. There are people of all political stripes, but trends toward the left of center. SLO is not conservative either, and is probably more left-leaning. Anything over the Cuesta Grade/North County is conservative, because it's more rural.

Obviously, this is all perspective. I lived in Morro Bay for 10 years. There were high points and low points, but I found Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo to be highly conservative, both politically and otherwise. It's a white, very 'non-diverse' area. My husband and I are both liberals.

People in the area are 'nice' in a 'Pleasantville' kind of way. In 10 years no one ever started a conversation with me at the grocery store or otherwise. If I started one, we would chat, but I found people generally wanted to keep to themselves and not get too friendly.

The area has mainly two types of people, retirees and students. Anyone in between is firmly rooted in their children going to school or whatever, but the bulk are either old or young. If you are looking for someplace quiet, Morro Bay is it, but it was far too cold, too often, and far too foggy too often for my liking. There would be days that I would drive in from San Luis, or on my way home from work in Santa Maria and it would be warm and beautiful, but I would hit that curve, come over the hill, and there was just a blanket of fog hanging over the town. It socks in there, which can be pretty, but it just gets to be too much. I used to call it "Morro Gray".

I loved my house there, I loved being close to Big Sur and Montana de Oro, but there are basically three things to do...stay home, go out in nature or go to bars. I liked living in Avila when I was 23, but I'm not sure how much it has changed or I have. I'm sure a lot of both.

I am also a psychic and animal communicator, and that's the other type of 'conservatism' there is there. People are not really open to anything outside their bubble. If you want to live a student's 'party' life, it's probably an option. If people want to retire, it's an option, but I could have lived with all of it if it weren't for the people. I loved my home, I loved the quiet, but I just couldn't take the attitude of the people anymore. If you're an outgoing person who may have life viewpoints 'outside the box', look elsewhere.

bigcaat · 03-22-2011, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clokverkorange

If you're single, female, and 23, Orange County or San Diego may be your best bet. I would look at Oceanside or Carlsbad, both relatively small and sleepy, compared to the OC, and you can find reasonable rents more inland from the beaches. The population density is higher, though, and since you mentioned you were single I would assume you're looking to date - what you'll find up north is mostly tourists passing through, students that don't plan on settling down there, or older folks that bought when the market was low.

I agree. I now live in South Carlsbad. I certainly wouldn't call O'side or Carlsbad 'sleepy', but there are some nice little pockets in each, with nice weather and a population large enough to date. It is rather expensive to rent here, however. Someone else suggested the Russian River. It's been a long time since I've lived in that area but it was pretty. I just know that at 23 I would have wanted to be around enough people to socialize. North San Diego County certainly has that.

Capt. Dan · 03-22-2011, 09:46 AM

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Originally Posted by Hawk J

There used to be a lot of ground squirrel colonies close to the beaches. There might still be some.

When I lived in SLO we were told that alot of the squirrels that lived in the rocks at the parking lot at Morro Rock were rabid.

bigcaat · 03-22-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt. Dan

When I lived in SLO we were told that alot of the squirrels that lived in the rocks at the parking lot at Morro Rock were rabid.

Probably not, but even if they were, it's not like a lot of 'squirrel biting' goes on. I'm not sure which parking lot we're talking about, there are lots of parking lots in Morro Bay, but the animals were very nice there all the way around. Much nicer than the people, in fact.