Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-21-2011, 10:45 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,603 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hello, I am a soon to be college student, and I'll very, very thankful if anyone would take the time to give me advice on my situation.

I have been accepted into both Cal Poly Pomona and San Luis Obispo. Although I love SLO's program, I have serious doubts if I would be comfortable living there, because of how secluded it is compared to LA.

Although I don't have much experience with small towns, I do know about large cities outside of LA based my travels overseas. I loved Tokyo, Osaka, and Taipei during my short visit there. I feel quite comfortable when I see huge masses of people, to the point I find the atmosphere of LAX exciting. I've also grown to love how you can drive to anything in 30 minutes in LA. However, I honestly can not say I have a good grip on what living in a small town is like.

I have visited the campus; I loved the campus itself and attitude, but I honestly cannot say the same about SLO itself. The streets felt so lonely, and walking into the stores, I was shocked to find how employees often outnumbered the customers. I kept trying to tell myself that I'll like it the more I got the know the town, but it only made the sinking feeling in me grow deeper, as I just as more fields of grass and quiet buildings. I also found myself an as a double minority there. I have heard there is lots of nature to see, but I've grown up always thinking nature was a place to have your fun a while before you go back to society. But, it is a strange new place, and I could learn more about life by being exposed to it.

Have you been in this situation before? Should I follow my intuition, and conclude that I am just a city person that would probably fare better in Pomona? Or am I just naive and will adjust to SLO eventually?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-21-2011, 11:00 PM
 
Location: The High Seas
7,372 posts, read 15,961,068 times
Reputation: 11866
Well, you're there for an education and you'll want plenty of time to study. It's also good to go outside your comfort zone in life and try something new. SLO is a great town. You'll make friends and enjoy another side of CA. You're also still close to L.A. and a bit closer to S.F. than you were down in L.A., if you decide to take a weekend trip to the big city.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2011, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Sacramento, Placerville
2,511 posts, read 6,275,339 times
Reputation: 2260
You will like SLO. While not a big city/metro, SLO has 99% of what 99% of what most people living in bigger places do.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:24 AM
 
158 posts, read 603,192 times
Reputation: 156
Just remember, SLO doesn't have any drive-thru's
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 08:07 AM
 
Location: San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
6,390 posts, read 9,642,757 times
Reputation: 2622
SLO isn't for everyone. Your job is not to move to a town you like, but to get the best education you can for your major. If Cal Poly is the place, that is where you need to be, even if your only travel is dorm to library to mess hall to dorm. You are not going to college to experience the town it is in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:00 PM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,492,013 times
Reputation: 16449
SLO has a population of 260,000.

I can assure you SLO is not a small town.

Most people would consider a town of a quarter million to be a mid sized city.

Most people would consider a town with a population under 5000 to be a small town.

Now you know.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Northern Colorado
4,932 posts, read 12,722,764 times
Reputation: 1364
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
SLO has a population of 260,000.

I can assure you SLO is not a small town.

Most people would consider a town of a quarter million to be a mid sized city.

Most people would consider a town with a population under 5000 to be a small town.

Now you know.
Uh, SLO had 45,000 population. But the SLO County Metro has 269,000 population.

I got accepted into both schools too. I am staying closer to home. I would always suggest to stay closer to home. If you don't like small towns, then staying at home is best. I went away from my freshmen year to CSU Northridge and did the switch. I hated and it came back and now I am going to the hometown school.

Here are some differences....
-Majority of population is white
-space in between cities. SLO is actually considered a city.
-not alot of shopping choices
-concentration of upper middle class and middle class in SLO
-you are 10 min from the beach
-there are alot of students from the LA and Bay Area
-Most voters in the city are democrat
-hikes within the city
-plays, arts, and bars and clubs for 21 and over (found in larger cities)
-cost of living and everything else is high for this area!
-you have to drive or take the bus to get to the beach or out of SLO
-good bus system within SLO, but not for whole county
-no traffic jams except on Los Osos Valley Road
-noticable elderly population

Hope that helps. BTW, Pomona is one of the more affordable colleges.

And for shopping, here are the large retailers we have:
-Costco
-Home Depot
-Target
-Sears
-Kohl's
-Forever 21 department store
and I believe eventually we will have a Macy's store.

and in other cities is Walmart, Kmart, and OSH.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,492,013 times
Reputation: 16449
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city View Post
Uh, SLO had 45,000 population. But the SLO County Metro has 269,000 population.

.
I stand corrected.

I picked the wrong referrece from Google.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Northern Colorado
4,932 posts, read 12,722,764 times
Reputation: 1364
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
I stand corrected.

I picked the wrong referrece from Google.
It's okay. But population doesn't really matter.

Honestly, population shouldn't matter. The economic output of cities and overall population of the metro is more important. SLO's economy is one of the best in California and we are the 23rd largest county in California. Typically, more populated cities bring in more cash. Heck, population and density and metro area shouldn't matter at all. Economies are most important. SLO generates more cash than many other larger cities such as Modesto.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2011, 12:58 PM
 
315 posts, read 365,728 times
Reputation: 149
Is it possible for you to spend a weekend in SLO? Obviously that's not the same as living there, but if you have some extra time to explore the city you might get a better idea of what it's like.

It is a real college town and size aside, there are a lot of businesses, services, and culture geared toward college students. If things looked empty during the day that's because it isn't tourist season and classes were going on. Things are much more lively in the evenings, I promise.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:51 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top