Bad place to live: Arroyo Grande, CA (San Francisco, Fresno: rent, crime)

[Tolerance999]

Originally Posted by vnbdks

They'd better be more worried that SLO turns into the central valley. I've seen more people leave this place than anywhere I've ever lived. Once these kids graduate, they bolt. Gotta be like 90% leave.

People who haven't lived in a normal area don't realize that this is abnormal for those of us not from "farmland"..

The shopping and dining in the area, well lets just say they leave A LOT to be desired.

San Luis Obispo needs to do a lot more than establishing a dark skies ordinance while building whole foods and discount tire.

They need to create high tech jobs for graduates of cal poly.

I just went through there and the motel 6 was full of Meth.

The McDonalds wanted $2.59 for a double cheeseburger, even though corporate is offering two for two specials right now.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Tolerance999

They need to create high tech jobs for graduates of cal poly.

Why? So SLO can develop and grow and crap up the serenity of the Central Coast? I have an idea. Why don't grads of Poly just move on out to other already crapped up megalopolis centers.

[Tolerance999]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Why? So SLO can develop and grow and crap up the serenity of the Central Coast? I have an idea. Why don't grads of Poly just move on out to other already crapped up megalopolis centers.

All college towns should be places of entrepreneurship for their graduates like Salt Lake City and Seattle.

San Luis Obispo hates it's college students by charging such high rents and not allowing them to stay.

Chico a better college town in these respects.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Tolerance999

All college towns should be places of entrepreneurship for their graduates like Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Again, why? Mandate from the gods?

Leave SLO alone. Leave the whole Central Coast alone. SoCal and the Bay Area aren't too damn far to move to.

[Tolerance999]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Again, why? Mandate from the gods?

Leave SLO alone. Leave the whole Central Coast alone. SoCal and the Bay Area aren't too damn far to move to.

And they're too expensive, overtaxed, with high business start up costs.

San Luis Obispo will keep going downhill with homelessness and Meth until the city leaders change their minds.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Tolerance999

And they're too expensive, overtaxed, with high business start up costs.

Which has little to nothing to do with Poly grads. Few, if any, graduating students are going straight into their own start-ups. And the LA area isn't any more expensive than SLO anyway. It's less. Taxes? In what significant way are SLO taxes different than the rest of the state? Furthermore, paychecks in California tend to reflect the COL differrences in key areas. Salaries unheard of in other areas of the nation for graduates in many fields.

Originally Posted by Tolerance999

San Luis Obispo will keep going downhill with homelessness and Meth until the city leaders change their minds.

What is this? A joke? SLO is a very upscale community. Expensve as hell already and hardly a cesspool of homelessness and drug abuse on any relative scale. Homelessness and meth / drug abuse exist everywhere, especially where weather permits living on the fringes. Try Redding or Eureka or Modesto or Stockton for your concerns.

The Central Coast is a treasure just as it is. No sane reason to crap it up with more development.

[vbcnwoeur]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

What is this? A joke? SLO is a very upscale community. Expensve as hell already and hardly a cesspool of homelessness and drug abuse on any relative scale. Homelessness and meth / drug abuse exist everywhere, especially where weather permits living on the fringes. Try Redding or Eureka or Modesto or Stockton for your concerns.

The Central Coast is a treasure just as it is. No sane reason to crap it up with more development.

Uh, no. SLO is not upscale unless you consider Ross, it's main downtown shopping destination, a quality place to shop. Smart and Final and Food 4 less are not places upscale communities choose to spend their money. Those two are about all the citizens of SLO county can afford.

I notice you mention other CA cities, SLO is on the path to join them. A very well known academic has just put out a book about the central valley and how it's in serious decline socially and financially. SLO is geographically very, very close to that valley.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by vbcnwoeur

Uh, no. SLO is not upscale unless you consider Ross, it's main downtown shopping destination, a quality place to shop. Smart and Final and Food 4 less are not places upscale communities choose to spend their money. Those two are about all the citizens of SLO county can afford.

I notice you mention other CA cities, SLO is on the path to join them. A very well known academic has just put out a book about the central valley and how it's in serious decline socially and financially. SLO is geographically very, very close to that valley.

You guys must not get out much. Whole Foods doesn't locate in shabby, declining venues, yet here they are just bought in last year on LOVR. And we're not talking about the total county, we're talking about SLO, the city. It's an expensive town to buy into. It's well known by the moniker "America's happiest city/town and the real estate prices reflect that reputation.

As for the Central Valley being close? Ridiculous. Salinas, Chualar, Gonzales ,and Soledad are close to Monterey and Carmel too. Any meth, homelessness, crime, low rent effect on those two burgs?

[vbcnwoeur]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

It's an expensive town to buy into. It's well known by the moniker "America's happiest city/town and the real estate prices reflect that reputation.

No, it's not expensive because it's upscale. It's expensive because they refuse to build housing stock and have a college which is growing each year, forcing more and more houses into rentals.

For example, it's not uncommon in SLO to see a 4 bedroom home rent for 3500. Why? Not because a family has a nice job and can afford it. No, it's Because 8 college kids are pooling their money to rent it. A lot of longtime SLO people have moved out to AG and elsewhere because their nice expensive neighbors were replaced with kids.

All that aside, I would venture to say that Santa Maria, the ugly mexican stepchild in white SLO people minds, will actually become more upscale than SLO.

Why? Because they are building homes and amenities and trying to attract jobs. While you may hate LA/mexicans and long for mayberry in SLO, progress isn't coming to mayberry these days.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by vbcnwoeur

No, it's not expensive because it's upscale. It's expensive because they refuse to build housing stock and have a college which is growing each year, forcing more and more houses into rentals.

For example, it's not uncommon in SLO to see a 4 bedroom home rent for 3500. Why? Not because a family has a nice job and can afford it. No, it's Because 8 college kids are pooling their money to rent it. A lot of longtime SLO people have moved out to AG and elsewhere because their nice expensive neighbors were replaced with kids.

All that aside, I would venture to say that Santa Maria, the ugly mexican stepchild in white SLO people minds, will actually become more upscale than SLO.

Why? Because they are building homes and amenities and trying to attract jobs. While you may hate LA/mexicans and long for mayberry in SLO, progress isn't coming to mayberry these days.

Say, that's a pretty big leap you just made. What tipped you off to me "hating LA/mexicans and longing for progress"? Heh. You're completely off base.

I don't give a fig if SLO is all Mexican, black, or purple. And if I "longed for Mayberry" I'd move to some small town in Georgia. I don't want "progress", which has been the rather obvious point of my posts here. This thread was a whine by an OP about how unfriendly Arroyo Grande is. Conversation morphed to include the SLO region. I responded to a poster who wants to see more development, especially business, come to the area to expand opportunities. If you read my posts it can't be more obvious than I am holding the opposite view. And not because I'm a rich white guy who hates LA and Mexicans. Rather, because I hate crapping up nice places.

College rentals don't begin to explain SLO real estate values. One of many factors and not a leading one.

As for Santa Maria developing, heh. Knock yourselves out. But it doesn't have nearly the historic character and ambiance of SLO. But if it could somehow become upscale instead of SLO continuing to develop, don't much care about that craphole.

Unfortunately, the Whole Foods gambit I mentioned is a particularly acute bellwether. That company is very slick and sophisticated in its operations and expansion. They ONLY pick winners when they select an area as upscale or developing to be so. When they took over the New Frontiers market on LOVR last year all I could say was, "well, there goes the neighborhood."