Santa Barbara, Santa Maria or San Luis Obispo? (Oxnard, Camarillo: rent, amusement park)

[eekwine]

LDD Girl, I don't think you are rude or rich & find your posts rather amusing. I recognize your 'tude from other Ohioins (is that a word?) I have met & in spite of the 'tude, I have enjoyed them. I think you'd find a much better fit in Orange County rather than SLO.

[BHGirl]

RE: I prefer snobby, rich people who smell good, are polite and educated and run businesses that please customers over people who have no work ethic, run their business like its a kindergarten class, don't give a hoot about pleasing anyone but themselves and their surfing schedule, and smell like cigarettes, alcohol, and unwashed hair at 9 a.m. in the morning.

I don't understand how you can state "FACTS" that pertain to the population of an ENTIRE city in that statement and believe you are telling the truth? In ALL CITIES (including SLO) there are people that exist that you described, but I have lived in Palos Verdes, Newport Beach, Santa Monica in the last 5 years and have met people that fit that description.... I don't know what type of business you are running or the type of people that you happen to associate with in SLO, but please do not clump everyone together. Most of the families I grew up with had gorgeous houses - manicured lawns, awesome views (of the ocean or rolling hills).. most well educated.. (my father went to an ivy-league, my mother - USC).. I grew up with great clothing (just a 1.5 hour drive away!), I played CIF Tennis, swimming, volleyball, have traveled almost every country I want. I live in Beverly Hills now and am friends with some of the people that you see in tabloids you see everyday. I definitely do not think that I stick out like a sore thumb and I definitely do not smell like cigarettes at 9am... The main thing is that NONE of my friends from SLO fall into that category you are describing (and I happen to know a big % of the locals - not CP students of course)...

I don't even know if I am making sense.. I am just kinda blabbing - haha.. but, I know that I think you are wrong in your assumptions and maybe if you would give SLO a chance instead of sitting here thinking about all the negatives (BECAUSE THERE ARE NEGATIVES ABOUT EVERY CITY).. you might enjoy it a bit. If not, business or no business - you should MOVE.. because noone deserves to be stuck in their version of hell and if SLO is yours... then you should leave because life is short...

[Westward]

I've noticed a post or two about the "high" cost of living in SLO. Are we talking strictly the cost of housing, or other things? When I came through, I didn't notice any especially high prices on anything...compared to where I live, anyway. What do you think is "high" in SLO?

Another question: do folks tend to spend a lot in SLO, or is everyone a spendthrift?

[overrestored]

I don't think the cost of living in SLO is any higher than anywhere else in coastal CA. The demographics of SLO city are 45k people of which about 20k are students in one of two colleges. These numbers skew SLO's averages with the US census because most of the students tax returns put them at or below poverty level. This in turn puts SLO at the bottom of the country's affordability curve when demographers use the census data to compile wage v/s housing price curves.

This is why there is the perception that SLO is more expensive.

Prices of consumer good are the same here as everywhere. People are not spendthrifts... They are not mass consumption oriented in the way that Orange County is either. I would put them at average there.

BTW..... the ugly houses that some folks refer to here in SLO... with the dry lawns etc. Those all belong to slumlord landlords... who rent primarily to students. These rentals are not making as much financial sense as they used to because property values are not appreciating any more. The rent to value is way out of whack and I think that unless the owner is a senior citizen who bought the property many years ago...these crappy rentals are selling slowly and being bought by actual owners who will live in them. Nobody is buying these scrappy houses to rent anymore.. because they cost too much and the new buyer cannot rely on appreciation the way they have been. This kicks out a lot of the buyers that buy stuff for their college age kids... unless mom and dad are planning on retiring here when the kid finishes school... which is happening a lot too. I know of three houses like that.

The trend away from rentals has been happening over the past 3 years or so.... and I think it is picking up steam even though sales overall are down. I would say that 40% of the crappy houses have turned around over the last 4 years or so.

This is nice. Many streets are really looking a lot better. We are all just waiting for a few of the older slumlords... in their 80's... to die... then the houses will sell after the estate gets the "stepped up basis" on the property... and doesn't have to pay such high taxes on sale.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by LDDiamondGirl

And, by the way, I am not rich.

OK, that's a little disappointing .... but I can handle it. Are you any good at cooking?

[Westward]

Originally Posted by overrestored

BTW..... the ugly houses that some folks refer to here in SLO... with the dry lawns etc. Those all belong to slumlord landlords... who rent primarily to students. These rentals are not making as much financial sense as they used to because property values are not appreciating any more. The rent to value is way out of whack and I think that unless the owner is a senior citizen who bought the property many years ago...these crappy rentals are selling slowly and being bought by actual owners who will live in them. Nobody is buying these scrappy houses to rent anymore.. because they cost too much and the new buyer cannot rely on appreciation the way they have been. This kicks out a lot of the buyers that buy stuff for their college age kids... unless mom and dad are planning on retiring here when the kid finishes school... which is happening a lot too. I know of three houses like that.

The trend away from rentals has been happening over the past 3 years or so.... and I think it is picking up steam even though sales overall are down. I would say that 40% of the crappy houses have turned around over the last 4 years or so.

This is nice. Many streets are really looking a lot better. We are all just waiting for a few of the older slumlords... in their 80's... to die... then the houses will sell after the estate gets the "stepped up basis" on the property... and doesn't have to pay such high taxes on sale.

What is the market like in SLO today? Are houses sitting for a bit, or selling overnight? I noticed a few forclosures last time I looked.

[KC in PT]

Originally Posted by cre8

The shabby area next to the hill could have been either the Lower East Side (Milpas Street) or the West Side (San Andreas Street). Don't be fooled. Those areas are not so good. There is an avid and active gang problem in Santa Barbara and the rivalries between east and west are deadly.

Areas south: Some would take exception to your statement about this. Carpinteria is a beautiful town. Ventura County may not have the "glamour" of Santa Barbara, but then again, VC is not stigmatized by having a name to live up to. Points south do have just as nice of a climate -- even better because SB is in the lee of the prevaling ocean breezes and gets quite muggy and sticky on hot days. Points south, especially south of the County line, are far more affordable, too. (So, what's in a name? Twice the housing cost.)

Any suggestions for neighborhoods to look at in VC or Carpinteria? I'm looking for a quiet safe neighborhood that gets less fog. Thanks.

[LDDiamondGirl]

OK, that's a little disappointing .... but I can handle it. Are you any good at cooking?

Oh, hey, Champagne taste, Beer pocketbook......yes, but I wouldn't disappoint you in the Kitchen..................You know, when I got married, I told my husband that, with regard to a marital partnership, the only thing I was interested in "bringing to the table" was the Thanksgiving Turkey............

He married me anyway. Now Thanksgiving is always at our house.

[LDDiamondGirl]

I don't mean to insult you.......or anyone in SLO. IT's the home of several really really nice people whom I have gotten to know. I just found things there to be very negative in so many ways that it embittered me (and my husband) to a lot of things. I found it an extremely frustrating place to live and try to have a high functioning life. Hey, come on, it's not called SLO town for nothing. There is good as well as bad to that. The bad is that if you happen to be on the receiving end of the SLO when you need something fast........you are in big trouble.

So, I'm out of there now. I moved. I am sure that I will enjoy it there when I visit my friends. It's for me, a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there, that's all.

Best regards....and no offense intended.

[LDDiamondGirl]

I think you'd find a much better fit in Orange County rather than SLO.

O M G......O M G..........!!! I hate OC. So there you have it ! See, you know nothing about me after all......and it's amazing that after I just got back from a visit down there, I said to my husband, "Aren't you glad we don't have to live in that Messopolis?"

Haaaaa......that is so funny......that you think I'd like it there. I used to live in OC for a couple years...in the nineties. It was better then, but I still wouldn't have stayed. But NOW? Gee....it looks like the Moon down there. The infrastructures of Freeways are staggeringly hideous concrete movie-set looking twisters....(Soylent Green anyone?.....where's Edward G. Robinson?)

So, no I wouldn't like that better. I would like something that probably doesn't exist in too many places I could afford to live. Small and quaint, with resources and culture available and close enough to a big city for my now and then shopping Jones and Culture-thon. Newport Rhode Island? Hello Martha Stewart, John travolta, Stephen Spielberg....where did they all move to again to get their kids away from the crassness of California?

Anyway, home is where the heart is.....so I guess when you have good friends and family in a place, that's what matters most. And, of course, the surfing.