What do you think about San Luis Obispo? (San Jose, Atascadero: college, living)

[CA central coast]

Originally Posted by JenStL4

My husband, 4 yr old son and myself are looking for a great place to live. We currently live in St. Louis, MO and wanted to know how people felt about San Luis Obispo. I know that is a broad question. In general, what is the vibe there?

Nice place to live. SLO County as a whole is. I'm biased since I grew up in the area. But people I've talked to who have lived around the country have all told me they thought SLO county was the nicest area to live in the United States. A good job is hard to come by. That's what's bad. The communities in SLO County are fairly close together. So if you're interested you should explore the county as a whole.

Originally Posted by SHABAZZ310

It’s over priced and boring.

It's over priced only in terms of the available jobs. Boring? maybe if you prefer the big city. If not, then you'r enot looking in the right place.

Originally Posted by blauskies

I looked at SLO but I don't see too many high tech jobs. What do people do there to afford the cost of living?

If you bought your house 8 or more yrs. ago, you're probably doing just fine. Like grimstuff mentioned. You can count the number of employers that "pay" on your hands.

[NYSD1995]

Gorgeous town with expensive housing, few high-paying jobs and a rabid anti-growth stance. Those factors combine to keep it very nice, but very hard to live in. Most communities outside of SLO are not nearly as charming or interesting.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

They don't. They're either retired and have savings built from southern California equity, or they're students who just need to squeeze by for four years. Everyone else works for the state (Cal Poly, prison, etc.), the county, or the schools. Some people live in Santa Maria and they might be connected with the Vandenberg AFB, which is a big employer. The big employers are Cal Poly, a men's prison, school system, county, the PG&E Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, and then maybe a few big companies, but none of them are high tech. For that sort of thing you need to move north to San Jose.

Sounds like here but worse on the job thing. That is jobs that pay a livable wage for those that have to work. You would think with Cal Poly being there it would be the otherwise with high tech jobs. See this a lot though, live and go to a school in a state or town that has no decent jobs to support living there, forced to move elsewhere. Though you will see spin-offs in the locales of MIT in Mass. and etc.

Originally Posted by CA central coast

If you bought your house 8 or more yrs. ago, you're probably doing just fine. Like grimstuff mentioned. You can count the number of employers that "pay" on your hands.

Like I said, sounds ironically similar to here, but it can't be as bad as Key West lol.

[sms1967]

I love SLO... and it is expensive... like $500k for a small, older home. However, there are more affordable communities 20 minutes north or south so give those a look too. Specifically to Paso Robles in the north and Nipomo in the south. If you get to Santa Maria, you've crossed the border.

[JenStL4]

Thanks to all of you for the information. Very helpful. My husband is in e-marketing and is a total "geek". Seeing as neither of us feel like going back to school or making a career change, maybe we better shop around

[sms1967]

Forgot to add the schools in SLO are dynamite. Some really highly rated schools in the surrounding communities, too.

[grimstuff]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Sounds like here but worse on the job thing. That is jobs that pay a livable wage for those that have to work. You would think with Cal Poly being there it would be the otherwise with high tech jobs. See this a lot though, live and go to a school in a state or town that has no decent jobs to support living there, forced to move elsewhere. Though you will see spin-offs in the locales of MIT in Mass. and etc.

I know what you mean. In certain areas, a large center of knowledge or goods production can draw in related uses, such as doctors offices and clinics sprouting up around hospitals, or tech centers around universities. Cal Poly in in the middle of ambitious plans for growth. They've recently built several new state of the art construction management and engineering facilities, and have plans for new science and mathematics facilities as well (see the western coatings technology center(. In addition to that, they are in the middle of constructing a new technology park for research and development with private companies (Technology Park - C3RP - Cal Poly).

[NorCalLover]

I lived in SLO briefly while my now-fiance was finishing up an undergraduate degree. I found that the town was mostly a mix of college students and retirees. There are some families, but many been moving out of the city in droves as the economy tanks and the job market get worse. As a childless 20-something not affiliated with Cal Poly I found it difficult to make friends, but you may have better luck since you can connect with other families who have young children.

San Luis Obispo is a nice small town, with great weather, beautiful scenery and great beaches. There are lots of great restaurants in SLO, Paso Robles, and the Pismo Beach / Shell Beach area. It is quiet, safe, and seems like a nice place to raise kids if you enjoy the small-town life. Politically San Luis Obispo is moderate to liberal, while the rest of the county is more conservative. There are a decent number of events for a small town, but as someone used to a larger city with more action I did sometimes get bored. In particular the nightlife for the most part is lacking, even on weekends. It's also a pain to travel from here. You either have to take a regional prop plane out of tiny SLO airport to SFO or LAX (expensive and not an enjoyable ride) or drive to San Jose for flights. The public transportation in SLO is poor, with the only walkable place in the county really being the downtown area. Prepare to put a lot of miles on your car driving around the county.

The worst part of SLO is definitely the job market. Despite my degree I had a very hard time finding a job in my field, and what I ultimately found (after a few months and nearly being broke) paid only slightly over minimum wage and required a difficult commute over the grade every day. I barely had enough money to pay my most basic bills. The cost of living is high here, and the jobs don't pay comparatively high like in the bay area. I wouldn't come here and try to support a family without a good job offer first.

[Flashbaak]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Gorgeous town with expensive housing, few high-paying jobs and a rabid anti-growth stance. Those factors combine to keep it very nice, but very hard to live in. Most communities outside of SLO are not nearly as charming or interesting.

This.

[Clarks]

Morro Bay and Pismo are very interesting, Old AG is as charming. Paso Robles has an interesting and charming downtown, and while Atascadero's downtown is in sore need of a D10 the 'burbs are great horse friendly places.
And, the best restaurant in the world is in Nipomo.