San Luis Obispo- Too good to be true?? (Soledad, Diablo: sale, 2010)

[Quaqi]

I lived in Atascadero, just north of SLO for five years. San Luis Obispo, both the city itself and the county in general, is gorgeous, clean, and quiet. It's a paradise if you have a job lined up and like a SLOw paced life. Gangs, crime, etc are just about non-existent, it really is a mellow, lovely place.

Like a previous poster said, there are no airports nearby, so if you need to travel frequently it's not a convenient place to live. If you're not a jet setter, though, SLO is a gem

[itlchick]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

Is San Luis Obispo all it is said to be in home relocation guides and books?

I am trying to research its many attributes and I notice on the City-Data it says it has 3 hospitals. However, I only see 2 listed in the yellow pages. What happened to San Luis Obispo General?

And, the statistis for crime seem very low. Does it have the gang problems that have been discussed in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara?

Does SLO have a water problem as in the other towns in the area such as Cambria and Los Osos?

I have heard that jobs are difficult to find there? True?

Are the travel guides too rosy in their praise??
Real people want to know......

There are 2 hospitals that I know of, both of which seem pretty good.

There is no crime here that I've ever seen. It is extremely safe.

The water is fine.

The people are nice, involved in the community.

Generally, it is a calm, gorgeous town with great food. It really is a rosy place. It seems like a great place to raise children.

There are a few major drawbacks in my opinion:
1. There are no jobs. Seriously. Noooooo jjjjjjoooooooobbbbsssss. I have a specialized job but my husband can't find one for the life of him
2. The kids (college kids) seem pretty spoiled.
3. There isn't a lot of diversity. I think I've yet to see an Indian person. And there is very few black people. It's weird.
4. It's just very remote. If you want a particular store, or want cheap flights, you have to travel to LA or San Francisco.

But besides that, it has a lot to offer and generally people are dying to live here. There is a lot of nature stuff to do too. Hope that helps!

[jdf718]

Of the ex-urbs listed, I'd pick Santa Barbara.

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

If you're not a tenured professor at Cal Poly, I don't know where you're going to get the money to afford it.

Originally Posted by goozer

I share this sentiment. It's a very nice little college town, but unless you have independent money or get a high paying job at the university, you are not likely to have much success buying a house.

Originally Posted by itlchick

1. There are no jobs. Seriously. Noooooo jjjjjjoooooooobbbbsssss. I have a specialized job but my husband can't find one for the life of him
s!

C'mon, Cal Poly isn't the only game in town. This is the bottom line. Where are the good jobs in SLO Co.? Unless you own a business or are a professional, it's mostly the govt. or Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) who have most of their employees in SLO Co. at Diablo Canyon, a nuke plant. You want a good paying job in SLO? go become a prison guard at CMC, you don't have to work at Cal Poly to live here. Go become a psych tech at Atascadero St. Hospital. These jobs are attainable here and they pay very well. Tell your husband to drive to the prison and fill out an app., or try his damndest to get out to that nuke plant.

The county closed the general hospital years ago, not sure why. not sure what's housed there now. There are two in the City of SLO, one in Templeton and one in Arroyo Grande.

Where are you from Dean Trails? what do you do for a living?

It can be tough here, but not impossible.

[JetJockey]

Originally Posted by Quaqi

I lived in Atascadero, just north of SLO for five years. San Luis Obispo, both the city itself and the county in general, is gorgeous, clean, and quiet. It's a paradise if you have a job lined up and like a SLOw paced life. Gangs, crime, etc are just about non-existent, it really is a mellow, lovely place.

Like a previous poster said, there are no airports nearby, so if you need to travel frequently it's not a convenient place to live. If you're not a jet setter, though, SLO is a gem

There are no major airports nearby, but there is a decently sized airport in SLO, where you can get moderately priced flights to any major airport hub in the western US.

[nevergoingback]

SLO is one of the nicest areas in Ca.
Housing prices are not going down there.
Lots of money? Nice life.

[grimstuff]

Originally Posted by itlchick

There are 2 hospitals that I know of, both of which seem pretty good.

There is no crime here that I've ever seen. It is extremely safe.

The water is fine.

The people are nice, involved in the community.

Generally, it is a calm, gorgeous town with great food. It really is a rosy place. It seems like a great place to raise children.

There are a few major drawbacks in my opinion:
1. There are no jobs. Seriously. Noooooo jjjjjjoooooooobbbbsssss. I have a specialized job but my husband can't find one for the life of him
2. The kids (college kids) seem pretty spoiled.
3. There isn't a lot of diversity. I think I've yet to see an Indian person. And there is very few black people. It's weird.
4. It's just very remote. If you want a particular store, or want cheap flights, you have to travel to LA or San Francisco.

But besides that, it has a lot to offer and generally people are dying to live here. There is a lot of nature stuff to do too. Hope that helps!

I'd concur with most of these points. Here's my impression of SLO after living here for almost 4 years:

Diversity: None.
Isolated: Yes, four hours to either SF or LA.
Housing: Prices have eased a little bit, but if you were shut out of the market by a wide margin before, you're not going to find it affordable now. Retirees keep the demand for housing high.
Cal Poly Student: Saying they're "spoiled" is using a pretty broad brush. Yes, there are students from rich families from Southern CA, but there are others too, like me, a first generation college student who returned to school after 6 years. The majority of students get financial aid and do not have parents paying their way through and providing them with sports cars to drive. That's a stereotype that, while can be found here and there, is NOT the reality of most students.
Jobs: It's not that there is a huge lack of jobs here, but that there are limited job sectors. As a poster said earlier, there's either government (County, City, Men's Colony, ASH, etc.), or higher education (Cal Poly, Cuesta). There's not a lot of industry. Also, as the latest Economic Forecast has brought out ("the city" would know something about this ), SLO County is going into a recession like everyone else. Here are some highlights of this report that was just issued this month (Nov 7th):

For San Luis Obispo County:

The economy will decline 1.2 percent in 2009.

By 2010, 3,500 jobs will have been lost since 2007.

Unemployment will peak at 7 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994.

Most job losses will be in construction, finance, the public sector and professional, technical, leisure and hospitality services.

Sectors least affected by job losses will be mining, quarrying, education and healthcare services.

Personal income will decline through 2010, and by 2013, real median family income will be 6.5 percent lower than in 2008.

Real taxable sales have been falling since 2007 and won’t grow until 2011.

Hotel and motel occupancy rates will decline through 2010.

New housing permits will be near zero in many cities in 2009.

Source: http://slochamber.org/cm/Relocation_...0Forecast.html; http://www.timespressrecorder.com/ar...ews/news01.txt

So, with that in mind, no, I don't think SLO is too good to be true, because it's not. Economic considerations aside, of course, yes, it's a great place to live.

[itlchick]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

I'd concur with most of these points. Here's my impression of SLO after living here for almost 4 years:

Diversity: None.
Isolated: Yes, four hours to either SF or LA.
Housing: Prices have eased a little bit, but if you were shut out of the market by a wide margin before, you're not going to find it affordable now. Retirees keep the demand for housing high.
Cal Poly Student: Saying they're "spoiled" is using a pretty broad brush. Yes, there are students from rich families from Southern CA, but there are others too, like me, a first generation college student who returned to school after 6 years. The majority of students get financial aid and do not have parents paying their way through and providing them with sports cars to drive. That's a stereotype that, while can be found here and there, is NOT the reality of most students.
Jobs: It's not that there is a huge lack of jobs here, but that there are limited job sectors. As a poster said earlier, there's either government (County, City, Men's Colony, ASH, etc.), or higher education (Cal Poly, Cuesta). There's not a lot of industry. Also, as the latest Economic Forecast has brought out ("the city" would know something about this ), SLO County is going into a recession like everyone else. Here are some highlights of this report that was just issued this month (Nov 7th):

For San Luis Obispo County:

The economy will decline 1.2 percent in 2009.

By 2010, 3,500 jobs will have been lost since 2007.

Unemployment will peak at 7 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994.

Most job losses will be in construction, finance, the public sector and professional, technical, leisure and hospitality services.

Sectors least affected by job losses will be mining, quarrying, education and healthcare services.

Personal income will decline through 2010, and by 2013, real median family income will be 6.5 percent lower than in 2008.

Real taxable sales have been falling since 2007 and won’t grow until 2011.

Hotel and motel occupancy rates will decline through 2010.

New housing permits will be near zero in many cities in 2009.

Source: 2009 Economic Forecast; Times Press Recorder

So, with that in mind, no, I don't think SLO is too good to be true, because it's not. Economic considerations aside, of course, yes, it's a great place to live.

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't say that all the kids are spoiled - that really isn't true. I will say it seems like the kids are well-dressed, fresh-scrubbed, etc. Eh, maybe it's a California thing.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

SLO County is going into a recession like everyone else. Here are some highlights of this report that was just issued this month (Nov 7th):

For San Luis Obispo County:

The economy will decline 1.2 percent in 2009.

By 2010, 3,500 jobs will have been lost since 2007.

Unemployment will peak at 7 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994.

Most job losses will be in construction, finance, the public sector and professional, technical, leisure and hospitality services.

Sectors least affected by job losses will be mining, quarrying, education and healthcare services.

Personal income will decline through 2010, and by 2013, real median family income will be 6.5 percent lower than in 2008.

Real taxable sales have been falling since 2007 and won’t grow until 2011.

Hotel and motel occupancy rates will decline through 2010.

New housing permits will be near zero in many cities in 2009.

Source: 2009 Economic Forecast; Times Press Recorder

So, with that in mind, no, I don't think SLO is too good to be true, because it's not. Economic considerations aside, of course, yes, it's a great place to live.

Those are some rough projections, indeed. As an outlying county, SLO's economy is precariously balanced in good times. The next couple of years could be ugly.

[BayAreaPat]

I lived in SLO from 1985 until 1999. During that time the town changed a lot. When I moved there, the downtown wasn't as remodeled as it is now, and EVERYTHING was closed on Sunday. Even the Safeway on Marsh and Johnson closed at 6pm or so on Sunday. The town had a sleepy laid back atmosphere then. By the time I left, it had become "Santa Barbara North." Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the town has become yuppified. Unless you have a lot of money, say from selling an existing house at a huge profit, buying anything in that area is out of reach for most people, and has been for a long time.

The area is a wonderful place to live- sometimes I kick myself because I moved away. I left due to dissatisfaction with my job at one of the main employers, Cal Poly. One of the problems with the central coast in general, is that it is such a desirable place to live, employers can really treat their employees poorly because good jobs are scarce. They can always find someone to take your place. For SLO in particular, the State University has about 18,000 or 20,000 students. The total population of SLO is around 45,000, and that includes the students. So the town is heavily influenced by the college. Local businesses have no shortage of low wage workers available.

For an area its size, due to the university, there are numerous cultural advantages and oportunities. I remember seeing the band Yes play at the funky old downtown theater.

The climate can't be beat. Crime is low, although there have been "shocking" crimes ocassionally, but what area doesn't have that? I would have no problem walking alone at night in ANY part of SLO. (Of course, I'm a guy). But where I live now, there are many areas I'd stay out of at night.

Bottom line, if you can find a decent job, if you look long and hard, you can find an ok place to rent. Rents are cheaper to the north in Atascadero, Morro Bay, Los Osos, and to the south in Pismo, Grover, Arroyo Grande. If you want to buy, you will need a lot of money. You are close to the beaches, the mountains (well, big hills), and it is a wonderful area.