Lompoc, Whats the story? (San Francisco, Fresno: appointed, renting, houses)

[rantboy]

Hello
the Mrs been offered a job in Lompoc , like the idea of Cali , but we dont know or have ever heard about this place , would love some feed back on just about the lot , school's ,renting , lifestyle ,weather , any and every reply would be great , thanks

[Charles]

I think a some or a lot of people who work at Vandenberg Air Force Base might live there.

Now, what is happening with missile defense? How will that affect people's jobs on VAFB? If they lose their jobs, what will happen to housing there?

Not sure if they are a huge component of the residences of Lompoc but some information is better than no information.

[rantboy]

Thanks Charles will investigate , like I said any info is great

[CESpeed]

I lived in Lompoc from 2000-2004. When I lived there, it was beautiful. It's what I call a mini-city. It has big city conveniences, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Big Lots, Mervyn's, Von's, Foods 4 Less, Albertson's, Coco's, several restaurants, 2 first run movie houses, etc. You can walk from one end of town to the other in less then an hour and the moment you are outside of town, you are completely surrounded by nature. Vanderberg Village is less than 5 miles away as is Vandenberg Air Force base. Lompoc is known for the base and it's amazing flower festival. The closest towns are Buellton 19 mile south and Santa Maria 25 miles north. Lompoc is about 1 hour north of Santa Barbara. The Chumash (shu-mash) casino is just past Solvang which is 5 miles south of Buellton.

[Snort]

There's a good sushi restaurant downtown and a pretty good hole-in-the-wall Thai in a strip mall. Rancho Sisquoc Winery isn't too far, and well worth a visit (one of the best wineries around). La Purisima Mission is quite nice to see there as well. There is a bit of a gang thing going on there, just so you know. Orcutt is just north of Lompoc and worth looking at if you're thinking of moving to the area. A bit more of a haul to the base, but a fairly safe place to live.

[LadyKLO]

I have monthly meetings in Lompoc so I am used to going there. I don't know about the housing but I suspect it's relatively inexpensive compared to Santa Barbara which is an hour away. Lompoc is a "military" town for all practical purposed. Vandenberg is a nearby Air Force Base with plenty of rocket launches among other things. The area is beautiful and they have the yearly flower festival. I only know the local restaurants like the Jetty, La Botte just to name a few. Good luck!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by rantboy

Hello
the Mrs been offered a job in Lompoc , like the idea of Cali , but we dont know or have ever heard about this place , would love some feed back on just about the lot , school's ,renting , lifestyle ,weather , any and every reply would be great , thanks

You don't say where you're coming from, but I'll fill in with some details others haven't mentioned. Be aware that the cost of renting an apt. or owning a home in Lompoc (or anywhere in CA within an hour's drive to the coast) is quite high. What Californians consider "cheap" is still well above the US average.

The weather in that area is great. If you are coming from the East or Midwest, though, you might be disappointed that the summers are not as hot as you might expect, and the ocean water is cold.

Most of that area has summer high temperatures in the low to mid 70s and highs in the low to mid 60s in winter. Nights can be cool year round with occasional freezes on winter mornings. Generally a sunny place, but there is frequent morning fog/low clouds.

[Greenchili]

Cant disagree with what everyones posted! Thanks for being fair! I live here and its pretty darn nice! Especially when everyone else is sweltering,we are just having a pretty nice day,mid to low 70s. Life is good. Housing here is cheap compared to what it used to be. But still, for a nicer home its probably pricy compared to say...Temecula,Fresno,Modesto. But then we dont have high utilities...and we sure do get good produce.Especially strawberries!

Greenchili

[Coolhand68]

I lived there from 1995 - 2003. If you enjoy moderate climates, beach combing and fishing, hiking, camping, biking, and a small city then you'll like Lompoc. The air force base and federal prison are the primary employers in the area. Chumash Casino also provides a lot of jobs on the central coast. It can get foggy in the mornings and afternoon, especially in summer, but it usually burns off in the morning. It gets windy every day at around noon, some days it's a nice breeze, other days it's fairly brisk. Temps are much closer to San Francisco than L.A. Cost of living is higher than most other cities of it's size, but you get what you pay for, it's the central coast and it's beautiful.

[rantboy]

Thanks everybody , some interesting posts , not much about the place on the net .Gettting close to making up our minds , so thanks again , cheers