Best and Worst about Living in SLO?? (Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo: apartment complex, to rent)

[kansaslady]

Anyone here from San Luis Obispo, or has lived there? I know the cost of living is expensive just about anywhere in CA, but I like the SLO area and would like input about what you like and dislike about living there.

Thanks!
Katie

[enlightenme]

I have never lived there, but close to it and have stayed there quite a bit. I love SLO! The only drawback for me is there isn't much of a job market.

[Steve97415]

I think the major disadvantage is getting in at all (1. finding employment and 2. finding housing that you can afford). Most people who can afford the COL seem to like it a lot. Many would live nowhere else

[sayfrog]

We lived in SLO for over three years and loved it. We lived in the downtown area the whole time and both had jobs that we could walk to. There are tons of places to hike and the weather's as close to perfect as you'll get in the U.S. If you want to buy a home it's expensive, but if you're just looking to rent it's really not that much more than any where else in the coastal U.S.

[kansaslady]

I appreciate all of your replies. I grew up in CA, left in the mid-90's. I'd love to get back someday, but the high cost of living sure isn't helping.

Oh well, no place is perfect, that's for sure.

Katie

[stellar9]

We live in SLO county right now. The worst:
If you don't own a home now, you'll never be able to buy one here.
Jobs are a little scarce and Cal Poly grads get a lot of them.
The price of gas is horrendous right now. We live in Atascadero and to drive to SLO and home costs our old, gas guzzling van over $12.

The best:
With the micro-climates, you can live where you like best: On the coast, inland just a ways where the marine layer keeps the weather cool, or inland farther where the summers get really hot.
Good schools.
Good homeschooling groups if that's your thing.
Low crime
Minimal rush hour traffic

Micki

[grimstuff]

Hi, my wife and I live in SLO. I am a senior at Cal Poly (the local State University) and my wife is a student at Cuesta College (the local community college).

We moved here specifically to attend school, so we knew we would not be settling down here, but we are enjoying our time here. As a previous poster mentioned, if you don't own a home comparable to the market here, you will never be able to own one. Homes around town commonly run in the 550k-650k range just for a typical, small 2 or 3 bedroom stucco house with a tiny backyard and overgrown front lawn.

With that said, I can't really think of any other major drawback. The quality of life here is great. The city of SLO is very clearly defined on the western and northern edges and allows for residents to easily escape into the country and go hiking, biking, or drive to the coast out at Morro Bay or the great Montana de Oro State park. Lots of outdoor activities - the town is very active. Keep in mind though, about 35% of the population are student. That can be a good or bad thing. Good because it brings in a ton of money to local businesses and jobs, and adds to the liveliness of downtown, but bad with some frantic traffic around town and late-night partying. But the problems are typically associated with certein student housing neighborhoods and arn't a problem in the more established residential neighborhoods. Even then, I wouldn't say it is a huge problem, compared to other CA cities.

The weather is probably the mildest you're likely to find anywhere in California, or the entire country, for that matter. It gets about 80-90 in the summer, and about 60 in the winter. Note: these are extremes. Most of the year you can wear shorts and a t-shirt and sandals, as is attested to by the hordes of students who can not be seen wearing anything different.

What do I consider to be the best about SLO? The clean air is great. Fresh air is something you forget about when you have it, but long for it if you live in places like the Central Valley or somewhere like that. Environmentally, its just a very nice, clean place to live, (generally speaking of course). We like the fact that we can walk 3/4 a mile and be in downtown, have a wide choice of restaurants (cheap or expensive - most are good) theatres, bars, outdoor events, and of course, the Thursday night farmer's market. Every week they close down Hiquera Street and have local farmers come and sell their fresh foods - it makes for lively evenings with little to worry about as crime is concerned. We also like living here because there are many hiking trails to enjoy with spectacular views (especially from Mt. Bishop).

Of course, the real reason we like it here is because Cal Poly is an excellent institution and is very affordable as far as education goes. Our expenses are really not bad here. Its ironic that SLO is an expensive place if you own your own home, but not too bad if you are poor (relatively, of course). The rents around here are not as bad as So. Cal, as they run in the 550-650 for a studio, 750-850 for a 1 bedroom and 850+ for anything more. We have a nice-sized 1-bedroom and pay $800. THe apartment complex houses students, but it is about a mile from campus and most of the students are slightly older, so there are few parties. Plus, I am the on-site manager, so it's not a big problem anyway .

What we don't like about SLO is mostly social and cultural. Everyone is either a student, or a retiree - very few families. This makes things convenient and fun, but it lacks the "substance" of real communities where people have lived for generations. Most of the cultural influence is from Santa Barbara, which is basically the epitome of CA materialism and wealth. Santa Barbarans pride themselves in living an extraordinarily beautiful place, and rightly so, but there isn't much of substance there culturally, as it is all influenced by the transience and weightlessness of southern CA materialism. Santa Barbara is one of those places that is almost unreal - if you are a normal person (i.e. not a millionaire) you are abnormal and don't belong there. Its good for cover pictures of Sunset Magazine - just like Carmel. If you enjoy wandering in and out of pretentious art exhibits and chain stores that try to pretend they are not a chain, then you might enjoy it. Some people may say I am being too hard on Santa Barbara, but its just a reflection of the discontent which has brought me to this website in the first place. I hope no one takes it personally.

One other thing we don't like about SLO - and this may sound absurd to a lot of people - is that the climate is too mild. Simply put, it's boring.

Well, I hope some of this info will help.

-David

[brian_2]

You speak truth grimstuff. That's how I perceive SLO/SB, and I'm not a student or resident. I do like my fix at Big Sky Cafe on Broad Street in SLO, or some Mexican in SB at Super Rica when in the area.
Like most of the best of the best places to live here and abroad, you see visitors walking around with sensory overload, but when someone actually moves to the "dream place", it's just day to day routine after a while.

Last year I was in SB, I went to an Italian cafe where they had opera playing in the bathrooms/umbrellas/mineral water on the tables/typical better-than-most-places food - you know those kinda places. Afterwards walking off the meal, got panhandled twice and smelled urine next to an alleyway, not as blatant as in SanFran, but the distinction between wealth and grittiness is present and pierces the fantasy for the perceptive visitor.
I have a niece who went to Cal Poly - I've heard interesting stories from her. Good luck with your studies, and don't become too cynical with age like me!

[grimstuff]

Good luck with your studies, and don't become too cynical with age like me!

Thanks Brian! I'll try not....

[stellar9]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

What we don't like about SLO is mostly social and cultural. Everyone is either a student, or a retiree - very few families. This makes things convenient and fun, but it lacks the "substance" of real communities where people have lived for generations. Most of the cultural influence is from Santa Barbara, which is basically the epitome of CA materialism and wealth. Santa Barbarans pride themselves in living an extraordinarily beautiful place, and rightly so, but there isn't much of substance there culturally, as it is all influenced by the transience and weightlessness of southern CA materialism. Santa Barbara is one of those places that is almost unreal - if you are a normal person (i.e. not a millionaire) you are abnormal and don't belong there. Its good for cover pictures of Sunset Magazine - just like Carmel. If you enjoy wandering in and out of pretentious art exhibits and chain stores that try to pretend they are not a chain, then you might enjoy it. Some people may say I am being too hard on Santa Barbara, but its just a reflection of the discontent which has brought me to this website in the first place. I hope no one takes it personally.

One other thing we don't like about SLO - and this may sound absurd to a lot of people - is that the climate is too mild. Simply put, it's boring.
-David

David,
We moved here in 1990 when my oldest kids were 1 and 3. They are now at Cuesta, getting ready to move to Cal Poly. There is a vibrant community here that I don't think students see very much. Yes, there are lots of students and seniors, but there are lots of families, too. Because we moved here as a family, we have gravitated towards other families and that's what we know. If the Original Poster has a family, she doesn't have to worry about not finding others here. I haven't spent much time in SB, so I don't know if what you say about the cultural influence is true or not.

I agree about the climate. The weather is totally boring. I miss the 4 seasons I grew up with.

Micki