Paso Robles or Atascadero (San Luis Obispo, Templeton: low income, sales, real estate)

[CalBerkeley2002]

Which is the better of these two towns and why?

[UB50]

I don't know much about either place, but I was recently looking at some information and photos of Paso Robles and boy! Is it ever beautiful! I can't believe it only has 30,000 people living there! It's not terribly far from LA but I think a trip to LA might be more of an overnight trip than a day trip (traffic isn't the best between LA and that area).

Other than that, I don't know what else to tell you... Paso Robles is really pretty.

[PDXBound]

Paso is a nice family oriented community. The reason the population isn't huge, is simply because of a lack of employment. It is growing, but there isn't a job market to sustain a large population. It is currently the cheapest place to buy a home because the commute to SLO is the longest. The summers can be brutal! Temperatures can reach 110 in the summer! There are hundreds of wineries, which make Paso a great place to live.

Atascadero is nice also, but not as much of a community as Paso. It has a reputation for being a bit trashy. The locals nic-named it "Atrashcadero". There is a larger Meth problem here, and alot of low income rentals. The town is trying to fix up the downtown and make it more upper class living. You could say the town is in "reform". There are some wonderful parks, and a nice lake (non-swimming) that people frequent. The commute to SLO is about 15 to 20 minutes and there is virtually no traffic in the morning.

Templeton is also a really nice community.

Good luck with your decision.

[susie4]

Hi I currently live in Atascadero, but have also lived in Paso Robles for 10 years. I like both towns. Atascadero is a smaller community, always has been considered slow growth, although there are a number of housing tracks being built now here. There are not alot of stores in Atascadero. Most of the building has been done in PasoRobles. They are currently trying to get approval for a super wal-mart in Atascadero--don't know what is going to happen with that. If you are looking for a lot to do in Atascadero, you will not find that here. If living in this town, you find yourself driving to other towns or to the beach which isn't that bad.

Paso Robles has lots of shopping and restaurants. It has grown so much in the past 10 years, its amazing. There are a lot of newer homes in Paso. I've heard just recently that there are plans on annexing the area on Hwy 46 as far out as the Jardine and I'm not sure about the Geneso areas to be part of Paso Robles city. Don't know if and when this will occur. A water park was just built in Paso. There are lots of wineries in Paso and quite a bit outside of Templeton. Atascadero has none that I'm aware of.

Templeton is a town in the middle of the two and is a very small and quaint town. Old buildings and a few good restaurants. Their schools are really good.

[keriish]

Paso Robles is a wonderful city. It's got lots of jobs and places to shop. It's about a 15-20 minute drive to Atascadero.

Atascadero is struggling quite a bit these days. The community is deeply torn over whether or not developments like Wal*Mart should be allowed. Their retail and down-town is MASSIVELY struggling; most people who live in Atascadero drive to Paso or San Luis for shopping because there is simply nothing in Atascadero to take advantage of. Atascadero faces losing their status as a city and could be unincorporated within the next few years if they do not find a way to boost sales tax revenues. They are currently living off of reserves- no money to fix roads or grow safety services. I would not recommend Atascadero as a place to live.

Templeton is a little town between Atascadero and Paso Robles. It is a medical community with a hospital and a high concentration of Doctor's Offices. It is a short drive from there to Paso and San Luis as well.

Paso Robles is more expensive in terms of real estate and renting than Atascadero and most of South County San Luis Obispo. Templeton is comparable to Paso Robles in that regard, maybe a little higher.

Hope this helps.

[CA central coast]

I don't know why people tend to brand Atascadero as trashy. The residential areas are some of the most beautiful in this county. Actually, I'd say Atascdero has the most beautiful neighborhoods(did I spell that right?) in this county. Meth? Paso and Atascadero are only 5 minutes apart. How could there be some significant difference in use? More violent crimes take place in Paso. There are established street gangs in Paso. I'd say Paso is more "dangerous" than Atascadero. Having said that, there both still damn nice places to live.