Santa Barbara, Santa Maria or San Luis Obispo? (Fresno, Bakersfield: sales, apartments)

[LDDiamondGirl]

As everyone knows, opinions are relative and there is no accounting for tastes. I, personally, would rather live where the "stuffy, rich, cosmopolitans" are any day. The reason is this: the towns will be clean and fresh and so will the restaurants, stores, and people. There will be neighborhoods with zoning (no car-parts piles rusting in people's yards), beauty, progress, culture, good customer service, resources at your fingertips when you need them, and entertainment. The people who service you (including your health care providers) will be among the "best and the brightest." You will not have to wait a year to find a doctor because there is such a shortage of professionals that there is a long wait list. The supply and demand will be reversed and you will find yourself with buying power because there will be competition vying for your business and giving you great service instead of one little supplier who is the "only game in town" and therefore, they really don't give a crap about what you need.

I now live in SLO county where my husband and I relocated a year ago from a Metro area. We are miserable. The standards are low, the people are slow, everything takes twice as long and ends up costing us twice as much as it should as a result. If you are romanticizing living in a slow paced world as being mellow, just wait until you can't get any services, things are wrong, damaged, low quality, late, forgotten, spaced out, etc., etc. If you own your own business in a place like this I can only say ....caveat emptor. Time is money and money is time. Of course, if you work for wages, who cares, it's the business owner's headache, and you just get your paycheck. So do your due diligence before moving. We did not. We have found you get what you pay for....even in choosing your city. We find ourselves driving to Santa Barbara regularly for entertainment, fine dining and shopping. If you are a "Metrosexual" or if you have any cosmopolitan tastes in food, clothes, travel or entertainment, I would say skip SLO. If you are a laid back, jeans only everday, not too fastidious, not too fashion concscious, and definitely not too discriminating in your tastes, you will like SLO. Personally, if I had it to do over, I would rather rent in Santa Barbara than buy a home and live in SLO.

[greatbasinguide]

That was one of the most bizarre posts I have ever read. The workforce,, that is the blue collar workforce in SLO has the highest average IQ of any workforce in the state. The doctors and health professionals and professionals of all kinds are top notch. They have chosen to live on the Central Coast precisely because of the amenities.

The restaurants are great, some of the finest restaurants of their genre are located on the Central Coast.

If a person could not be happy in San Luis Obispo, that person will have difficulty being happy anywhere.

[fairweathergolfer]

I must agree with many thoughts, experiences and points brought up by the poster regarding "doing one's do diligence". That is what this site is all about and I appreciate someone sharing such an experiential point of view.

What she brings up is one of my biggest fears in making a move. It is posts like this that reminds me that I not only will be purchasing a new home, but a new community as well.

[grimstuff]

I must agree with many thoughts, experiences and points brought up by the poster regarding "doing one's do diligence". That is what this site is all about and I appreciate someone sharing such an experiential point of view.

What she brings up is one of my biggest fears in making a move. It is posts like this that reminds me that I not only will be purchasing a new home, but a new community as well.

I agree about doing your due diligence - however, it is helpful to remember that life is all about experiences, and everyone has a different one. I have gathered a wealth of information on this website, but I have had to learn to filter, sift, and glean appropriately, in order to not get muddled up with useless and heavily slanted information. I have tried to give as balanced and objective viewpoints as possible, but I have stopped expecting that from others, or expecting it from myself.

[LDDiamondGirl]

Should I be Surprised someone thinks my post was "bizarre?" Guess not.
Like I said, there is no accounting for taste. I read another post where someone described SLO as being a wealthy community, with big beautiful houses, and lots of rich people and manicured lawns. My husband and I just looked at eachother and shook our heads at that one. I thought that was pretty "bizarre." What glasses are they wearing ??
We see far more run down, poorly maintained, and, well, dirty, properties around the area than we'd like. Businesses, as well as homes. In fact, my husband just poured $20,000 dollars of his own money into the building he rents for his business. The landlord wasn't about to, and he decided it was important to have a clean and upscale pleasant environment to do business in, so he paid for it himself. Wouldn't you like to have renters like that? Wouldn't you like to have neighbors like that? Well, let me tell you about our neighbors. We are in the best part of town. The building right next door looks like a trash dump, and has had the same rusting cars on the lawn for a year ????? It's filthy and looks like a biohazard. The building is crumbling, the steps are hazardous, there is no lawn, just dirt and the windows haven't been washed since the Eisenhower presidency. Right in a major business area of respected professionals, and in a year no one has said anything, they don't even care. There are no laws about this I asssume. No zoning. Just do whatever you want. But we have never lived like this before. We have certain standards that we don't find others aspire to here. Just read the posts and you will see people will probably call my feelings about this "bizarre" as well. All I can think is, Don't buy the travel books, they are full of biases and they sugar coat everything. Everything is "paradise." Well, one man's paradise is another man's hovel. You are not going on vacation.......just the natural raw beauty of a place is not enough when it comes to living there. What you need are the real opinions, no matter how stinky they are ! You need objectivity when deciding to choose new friends, new jobs, and a new place where you will feel like you fit in, not where you feel like a fish out of water, or misunderstood, or "bizarre."
One may say rich people are snooty, and unfriendly, but, remember, the working class people can be just as hostile and anti-everything to those who have a little money and would like to see better maintenance, new things, changes, updates, and some progress. Maintenance, new things and changes means money out of pocket, and the people with no money don't want it and are threatened by it. This is no new argument. We have found the body politic in the SLO area to sometimes be divisive, at odds with one another, unwelcoming to outsiders, engaged in a full-on identity crisis, and closed minded to new things, new people, and/or new ideas. It's in the paper every day whether obviously opined or just implied. In fact, just recently, I read a very offensive and sarcastic little piece by a Tribune journalist on the Cal Poly students returning to school. She sarcastically remarked how the students were back in town taking up all the valuable tables at the best downtown SLO restaurants. There they were, ordering the steaks with "daddy's money" while the "poor little matchgirls" like her, who have to work for a living, were left just standing outside in the cold, staring into the windows at the students happily chowing down. That was really telling for me. Cal Poly virtually supports this town and the people in it !!! I shudder to think of what this area would be without the infusion of money, jobs, and a little culture that it brings here. Where was the Editor when that cute little story was up for approval? I feel like I live in a place which disdains the upper classes instead of welcoming them, and I don't get it because, truthfully, they are the ones who pour their money into the community to make it, or keep it, a better place. And, they are the ones who support the local tradespeople and their jobs. So go figure.
I have learned a lot by reading all of the posts on here. I would say to anyone on the subject of moving, just stay away from the travel guides or the Chamber of Commerce as a way to get to know an area. Search the internet for Blogs instead!!!! This is really a great site to talk and share.....thanks, and if any women out there would like a new friend, if they are of like mind......please contact me........it'll be a while before we can move again.

[grimstuff]

LDDiamondgirl,

I agree with you about the unkempt properties in SLO. There are certainly some run-down properties even in some of the nicer areas of town, with the older houses. It's true, that everything is subjective. Someone moving from Bakersfield (not to pick on them) might see SLO as a rich place, while someone from Santa Barbara will likely see it as another ghetto like they see Ventura.

Property investment in SLO is weird. What do I mean by this? Well, you have a City Council which refuses to allow more med. or high-density housing, which in turn, puts major pressure on the single family housing market. Students canabilize the single-family market because housing is so scarce. 4 to 6 students can get together and rent a house for $1,600 to $2,400 per month, whereas the average middle(and even "high")-income family cannot afford that. So who lives in those nice places? The wealthy retirees, AND those who have lived here for decades, and seen their house value apreciate astronomically.

How does this affect property maintanence? The students obviously have less interest in upkeeping their property - however, contrary to public opinion, they are not as slovenly as many long-time home-owners. There is one house on Santa Rosa Street with a man living there (has for decades) which is a complete dump, perhaps you know the house I'm talking about. There is code enforcement for this ("zoning" as you say), but local jurisdictions do not have all the power in the world to make a land-owner come into compliance with small issues like cars in the yard or what have you. And likely, they will not even pursue a minor infraction like this unless there is consistent complaint made by local residents.

As far as the Tribune goes - they have a habit of publishing the most radical and narrow-minded letters they could possibly recieve, so no surprise there.

[greatbasinguide]

Compare SLO to Grover City, or Santa Maria, or Oceano, or Lompoc... SLO is heaven on earth

[LDDiamondGirl]

Yes, that's funny, it is Heaven on Earth compared to Santa Maria, I guess,......and Sri Lanka. I thought it was also interesting that someone said it was probably considered to be somewhat of a Ghetto, like Ventura, to some people in Santa Barbara. See what I meant by "One man's paradise, one man's hovel?"

[deeptrance]

Yo, local here.... OK, been in Austin since 1990 but I'm in SB at least 2 weeks out of every year and spent my first 20 years there. You want takes? I got your takes, I got the low-down, I sound like an old white guy trying to be hip and I should be shot, but let's move on....

Santa Barbara --- Massively wealthy, especially Montecito, and it's for a good reason. It's a laid-back geographically isolated alternative to LA for celebs, it has a lot of internationally known wealthy people who wish to be treated as "normal people" and they mostly are in SB because that's part of the culture there. When I see Michael Douglas or Rob Lowe or any other celeb in town, I leave them alone and so does anyone else because that's the social norm, the unspoken rule of life in that place.

SB has it all, a mild climate but not too much fog, great hiking trails, nice beaches (but nothing like San Diego), every type of restaurant, a world-class university, and cultural amenities that a city thrice its size would envy.

On the other hand, SB is a bit uppity, unreal, other-worldly, cut off from the dirt of the real world, and its culture is so "perfect" that it's like the climate --- lacking in exciting, unpredictable chaos that can make life more interesting. Thus, it's a perfect location for rich retirees, of which there are many.

Gang problems? I don't know what that's about, whoever posted that needs to spend time in the outside world.

Santa Maria --- Generic, cold, foggy, flat, void of culture, these are my associations with that god-forsaken place but I will openly admit to being ignorant of the "new Santa Maria." All I know is what I've seen, and I've seen it as recently as 2 months ago. Looks like the same SM I've always known, but with more people. Its appeal lies in the fact that it's a relatively low-cost place to live close to places most of us can't even dream of affording like SLO and SB.

San Luis Obispo --- Paradise. I have not lived there so I plead ignorance. I base my opinion on several factors:
1. Climate - a mix of coastal with an inland influence, an easy 20 minute drive to a different climate if you need it (warmer and drier in one direction, cold and foggy in another)
2. Downtown - It's so freaking QUAINT, I could easily move there if I could get an apartment above a store along the creek that runs through the center of the city. Good planning.
3. Civic life - Great weekly downtown community market (this is a national trend but SLO does it better than most), where they close down the main street and have vendors, entertainment, buskers, organic produce from local farmers, etc. It's such a sweet vibe!
4. Access to geographical variety - Cambria, Paso Robles, Santa Margarita, Pozo, Pismo, you name it, each is different and each has its own unique flavor, climate, topography, culture, amenities and ecology. Truly amazing and destined to continue rising in price, so any purchase of property in that county is guaranteed to go up, though you'd have to ride out the current downturn in west coast prices. But that's what makes this a good time to buy on the west coast. Take your time, it won't bottom-out for a year or more, it's becoming a buyers' market.

My ranking, in summary:
1. SB and SLO -tied for first
3. SM - a distant third, but don't take that too seriously because you could live in Los Alamos or Los Olivos and have a better climate, more interesting topography, and short commute. But probably higher prices.

Bottom line is that the entire central California coastal region is the desired destination of millions of people so you really can't go wrong even if you end up in the worst cheap neighborhood in Santa Maria or Casmalia or (god forbid) Lompoc or Guadalupe.

Best wishes! Would love to hear responses to my comments from others with long local experience in the region.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by greatbasinguide

Compare SLO to Grover City, or Santa Maria, or Oceano, or Lompoc... SLO is heaven on earth

Hello again Greatbasinguide!!! Remember me, from all those other threads? Nice to see you in this one! And in response to your post above, all I can say is a very loud AMEN!!!