Santa Cruz - San Luis Obispo ?? (San Jose, San Francisco: big home, high school, quality of life)

[CADRMNDANES]

Looking for a nice area with good schools for the kids in or between these two places. We don't mind small towns either. We currently live in a small town close to Sac. Looking for a good quality of life for them.
Thanks!

[lexi]

Actually, I have just moved near Santa Cruz and have been to San Luis Obispo many times. I'd vote for San Luis Obispo.. or you might like Templeton
which is like a half hour away with good schools. I was a little disapointed
to see Santa Cruz. Seems a little dirty to me and a large homeless population. Soqeul and Aptos are nice though. Good Luck.

[Sorcerer68]

Templeton is NOTHING like SLO. Everything changes when you go over the Cuesta Grade. I went to high school there. Summers are blazing hot and culture is kinda rednecky. I'm still trying to figure out why they have southern accents. SLO is beautiful and clean with a lovely walkable downtown area and really nice weather.

[CADRMNDANES]

Thanks for the info! I'm looking for cooler weather in the summer.

[lexi]

Originally Posted by CADRMNDANES

Thanks for the info! I'm looking for cooler weather in the summer.

Actually, I was in downtown Santa Cruz again... yesterday and it's really
a fun place, and we felt completely safe but there is a big homeless problem.
San Luis Obispo has a homeless problem but not as big. It's really a tough
decision. San Luis Obispo is really nice but the bad thing is you are so
far from a major airport and the closest mall is in Santa Barbara (forget the
santa maria mall) where as Santa Cruz is only a half hour to San Jose for
flights or San Francisco is an hour and a half away.

[CADRMNDANES]

Thanks Lexi.

It's been years since I have been to Santa Cruz.
I rarely shop at malls, so I could survive. I usually get my fix while on vacation.
We will have to check both areas next spring. They both sound nice.