San Luis Obispo: Culturally more connected to NorCal, or SoCal? (Fresno: 2014, hotel)

[eureka1]

You just got placed on my "ignore" list. Bye-bye.

[Lifeshadower]

SLO is just SLO to me. Growing up in LA, I always conceptualized it to be part of Central California, with really no allegiance one way to the other. The Central Coast, by purist standards, would be Santa Barbara, SLO, and Monterey Counties.

If "Central California" isn't an option, then I'd probably say its connected a bit closer to SoCal than NorCal. When I was there a month ago, I went to the Target on Los Osos Valley near US 101 to buy some snacks for the drive back to LA. I noticed that in the sports section, there was more LA Dodgers and LA Angels gear than there was SF Giants or Oakland Athletics gear. Contrast that with Monterey, where there were more SF Giants and Athletics gear than Dodgers (there was zero) or Angels (maybe a few hats here and there) gear. It's an extremely poor indicator, but its an indicator nonetheless of what would sell in a given area, since Target doesn't solely specialize in sports memorabilia.

My friend who went to Cal Poly SLO told me his campus was pretty much nearly split between people who were from NorCal and people from SoCal, with a significant minority of internationals and out of staters.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Well, the transition highways from the Bay Area to the Central Coast -- and from Southern California (L.A. / San Diego) up to the Central Coast -- both clog in mind-numbing aggravation. I always camp and wander in the Bay and north.

Yes, but this is sorta my point, Southern California is just too big and divided up in odd ways (by highways, the geography, etc) to consider it one big region. Those in the northern portion are going to feel just as connected to SLO county than to San Diego county.

[.highnlite]

spelling their own farts

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[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

The Central Coast, by purist standards, would be Santa Barbara, SLO, and Monterey Counties..

I'd definitely put Monterey in the NorCal camp. A lot of their tourism comes from the Bay Area and historically they're more closely tied to there.

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I'd definitely put Monterey in the NorCal camp. A lot of their tourism comes from the Bay Area and historically they're more closely tied to there.

Well, the same can be said about Santa Barbara being more connected to LA and the rest of SoCal (though past the Gaviota Pass, definitely Central Coast) but if there was a designation about where the Central Coast would be, it would always include those three counties.

Santa Cruz, San Benito, and sometimes even Ventura Counties are added to the Central Coast, but not to the same degree that SB, SLO, and Monterey are.

California Central Coast Tourism
Central Coast Online : California's Beautiful Central Coast Business and Travel Directory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Coast_(California)

Technically, Northern Monterey County would be the halfway mark between Oregon and Mexico along the coast, but due to the placement of the SF Bay Area much further south than most people in SoCal realize, Monterey County as as whole seems closely connected to SF Bay.

In any case, for anyone that lives in the Central Coast area: I am extremely jealous.

[the city]

Depends on the community. SLO I would say is more culturally like NorCal where as Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, and Grover Beach are more culturally like SoCal. North County would be more like NorCal areas near San Jose. Paso like Napa. Atascadero like Morgan Hills.

[TrueTimbers]

I am going to go with neither.. It is a region unto its own.. More culturally connected to the west than norcal or socal..

[Gnutella]

From the times I've been out to California, I'd say there's a central California to go with northern and southern California, and the boundaries for each aren't very linear either. The line between southern and central California would follow the Santa Ynez Mountains, then pass between the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests and up to the Tehachapi Mountains, and then follow the Sierra Nevada up to near Bishop. The line between central and northern California would start between the Santa Lucia Mountains and Monterey Bay, and it would go in the general direction of Mammoth Lakes, keeping Monterey, Merced and Yosemite National Park to the north. The major cities in central California are Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo and Atascadero near the coast, and Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno in the interior. That's just my perception.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

SLO was NorCal / SF / Chronicle / Giants / 9ers prior to the late 1980s but with all the LA retirees and escapees that's no longer true. It's "gone South" pardon the pun.