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We have visited San Luis Obispo for many years. We love it. We are thinking of moving there. We have a young daughter who will be starting school in a couple years.
I know the job market in SLO is tight, and homes prices are on the high side --- we've already taken that into account.
Other then the tough job market and high home prices, are there any other negatives re living in SLO? And how are the public schools? (We would most likely live in one of the older areas adjacent to downtown.)
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you can offer.
Other negatives would include the distance to a large airport. You would most likely have to drive down to LAX or up to San Jose to fly somewhere. Also, to live there you might need to be more creative about finding entertainment. This is due to the small size and population of the Central Coast as you know. Don't know anything about the schools.
Really pretty area though. Always love driving on 101 down there. Even scenic at night! Good luck.
It's a nice place. About the only thing potentially wrong with it is the big nuclear power plant about 13 miles away. But every place has something, I suppose.
As mentioned, not living near a large airport is a pretty big negative. I hate driving to LAX to fly out for vacations. The 2nd is the lack of high end shopping such as create and barrel, west elm, peek aren't you curious, or even an IKEA which would necessitate a drive to either EPA or Burbank, pick your poison and which direction of the state you like the best (if you got what EPA means, than obviously you know where i come from and which one i go to hehe). Always end up going to Santa Barbara for shopping, but the internet can solve most of those problems (i don't buy clothes on the net, wife does, especially from anthropology as well as furniture).
As for public schools, they are pretty good. We send our daughter to the local public elementary school (supposedly the worst public elementary school in the district, because the "poor" kids go there, or so every Realtor told us) but in reality it is the most diverse elementary school in the district with a wide range of kids from the economic spectrum since it is the school located in Downtown, which is where we live. Honestly the teachers are great at pretty much all of SLCUSD schools, and yes, the scores are the lowest, but factor out all the ELS students and the range shoots up comparable to the other schools. The district has a wonderful after school program, but unfortunately the PTA my daughter's school is terrible due to the lack of involvement of parents when compared to other schools in the City.
Other than that, my kids love San Luis. My wife manages a children's boutique downtown, which is doing gangbuster sales and we are just booming in this economy, and I work in the north county, so I reverse commute, but my job is very political, so i enjoy that
Jobs are hard to come by, which is the real down side to living here. It can be very difficult to fine a job with a living wage.
Good luck.
Last edited by Shawn_Estrada; 07-12-2012 at 10:13 AM..
There is that cosmopolitan feel here with different ethnic restaurants, religious groups, ethnicities, ethnic markets, etc...
I don't consider San Luis cosmopolitan at all. The town is 84% white, with hispanics/latinos making up the majority of the rest of the population. San Luis is very white washed.
Webster's defines "cosmopolitan" as having a "a worldwide, rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing" i.e. its a mover and shaker such as LA, NYC, Paris, Hong Kong, etc. San Luis is hardly that so let's not kid ourselves. Maybe taking a vacation outside of the California or the States can teach you what really a "big city" is, especially in international terms.
It may be the largest City in the County, but it certainly doesn't reflect any bearing in terms of scope for things in this State, let alone on a national stage. It is just a quaint little coastal town, and there is nothing wrong with that.
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Originally Posted by Shawn_Estrada
As mentioned, not living near a large airport is a pretty big negative. I hate driving to LAX to fly out for vacations. The 2nd is the lack of high end shopping such as create and barrel, west elm, peek aren't you curious, or even an IKEA which would necessitate a drive to either EPA or Burbank, pick your poison and which direction of the state you like the best (if you got what EPA means, than obviously you know where i come from and which one i go to hehe). Always end up going to Santa Barbara for shopping, but the internet can solve most of those problems (i don't buy clothes on the net, wife does, especially from anthropology as well as furniture).
As for public schools, they are pretty good. We send our daughter to the local public elementary school (supposedly the worst public elementary school in the district, because the "poor" kids go there, or so every Realtor told us) but in reality it is the most diverse elementary school in the district with a wide range of kids from the economic spectrum since it is the school located in Downtown, which is where we live. Honestly the teachers are great at pretty much all of SLCUSD schools, and yes, the scores are the lowest, but factor out all the ELS students and the range shoots up comparable to the other schools. The district has a wonderful after school program, but unfortunately the PTA my daughter's school is terrible due to the lack of involvement of parents when compared to other schools in the City.
Other than that, my kids love San Luis. My wife manages a children's boutique downtown, which is doing gangbuster sales and we are just booming in this economy, and I work in the north county, so I reverse commute, but my job is very political, so i enjoy that
Jobs are hard to come by, which is the real down side to living here. It can be very difficult to fine a job with a living wage.
Good luck.
For the area's size, there is a good range of clothing stores. Such as:
Chico's, Pottery Barn, White House Black Market, Sephora, Apple, Barnes N Nobles, Sunglass Hut, Solstice Sunglasses, Flip Flop Sandals, Victoria Secrets, Papyrus, Patrick James, Gap, Express, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Bath and Body Works, and Urban Outfitters (all downtown)
Non-downtown we have Macy's (coming soon), Sear's, Kohl's, Forever 21, Men's Warehouse, and Motherhood Maternity.
Also, on Palm Street they are redeveloping the area and adding 46,000sq. ft more retail for higher end shops.
And also, when Macy's comes to an existing shopping center we might see some new higher end stores replace the old discount shops.
Sure, for SLO's size we won't see a Nordstrom's or Bloomingdale's. But Macy's, 20 higher end speciality stores, and Trader Joes and New Frontier's is great.
For the area's size, there is a good range of clothing stores. Such as:
Chico's, Pottery Barn, White House Black Market, Sephora, Apple, Barnes N Nobles, Sunglass Hut, Solstice Sunglasses, Flip Flop Sandals, Victoria Secrets, Papyrus, Patrick James, Gap, Express, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Bath and Body Works, and Urban Outfitters (all downtown)
Non-downtown we have Macy's (coming soon), Sear's, Kohl's, Forever 21, Men's Warehouse, and Motherhood Maternity.
Also, on Palm Street they are redeveloping the area and adding 46,000sq. ft more retail for higher end shops.
And also, when Macy's comes to an existing shopping center we might see some new higher end stores replace the old discount shops.
Sure, for SLO's size we won't see a Nordstrom's or Bloomingdale's. But Macy's, 20 higher end speciality stores, and Trader Joes and New Frontier's is great.
Shopping doesn't make a city "comso" but it takes me you look certifiably insane
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Location: Pismo Beach, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn_Estrada
Shopping doesn't make a city "comso" but it takes me you look certifiably insane
I never said shopping makes a city look cosmo. Look at the ethnic make up for Cal Poly and the county. Poly and the county have a good Asian and Hispanic percentage. Cosmo doesn't always mean ethnicity either. It can mean different religions, cultures, and ideas. I think we have different cultures and religions and age groups in SLO. And that 84% Caucasian doesn't reflect if the people are Italian or Irish or German.
SLO is great...but it's expensive, jobs are scarce, food is 'eh' and many of the people are very superficial and stuck up.
I'm leaving this winter. Grew up here, but it's very difficult to make a name of yourself or advance in your career because there really aren't any opportunities. It can also be irritating to be a part of the '2 degrees of separation' with people. Nearly every single person I've come across knows one of my friends, it's hard to branch out and make new friends when everyone basically knows each other. Bring on the slight anonymity!
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