SperlingViews - San_Luis_Obispo, California

I'm confused. I've compared the cost of living of the Santa Fe area to other cities of comparable size, including suburban New Jersey areas, and I am finding the cost of living to be considerably lower in Santa Fe. Am I missing something? I'm on the California coast and looking on craigslist I find the rentals in Santa Fe to be much cheaper and to require much less in the way of deposits, etc. Are they that bad? They don't look that bad on craigslist.[read more...]

The stated av July temp is way off, the rainfall is way off. Who writes your reviews? Get rid of them.[read more...]

Good weather, schools and health care, but housing costs are too high for an area with an ~$50k/yr median income. It is correcting itself, but it will be several more years; think 2013. Be wise and rent until the Alt-A and Option-ARM mortgage resets have done their damage.[read more...]

I grew up here but as I near retirement I have to move out of the area because I can't afford the cost of living.[read more...]

I need a home pls help me thanks. also with bairly any crime thx.[read more...]

I have lived in San Luis Obispo for 30 years. Its about ten miles from the coast and contains Cal Ploy state university and Cuesta college. The weather here is sunny and pleasantly warm all year around. The down town is exciting with lots to do and the vibrant youthful energy that students bring to a community. Their are concerts and events on campus were a new theater was built about ten years ago that hosts world class performances. Their are good coffee shops, bars, and movie theaters at least one that plays alternative or foreign films. San Luis or SLO town as its called because of the slow mellow life that many enjoy here is relatively open minded and easy going from my experience a nice balance between the attributes of a large city and a small town. Its in close proximity to many smaller communities all within San Luis Obispo county witch all are very unique: Morro bay, Los Osos, Pismo beach and Paso Robles are just a few. For those that love the out doors you have the rolling hills and valleys inland that stay golden most of the year then come alive with wild flowers during the spring their is lots of open space all around san luis. their is little suburbia or track housing encompassing a mini mall. a old town with older style homes make up its core. The county has been careful with development and has preserved much of the surrounding land and surrounding mountains. their are many recreational lakes and parks within a hours drive. Along the coast the beaches are great for surfing, you can still find solitude here at a beach. Its location with in california is great between San Francisco and Los Angeles with in a few hours drive from each so you can visit these places and then get away when the city is to much. This area can be expensive as most places in california.[read more...]

San Luis Obispo (SLO) brings me mixed feelings. I've lived here for just over two years, and found some things to be as expected, and others definitely not. The weather is usually good (except for the cold water at the beach, and cold mornings nearly year-round, and cold NW winds, especially in the spring). Outdoor activities are plentiful (great State Parks nearby, good camping opportunities, pleasant biking except for that wind, etc.). The cost of living is high, and there are very few young professionals (it's all students, retirees, or people who work at either the prison, Cal Poly, or other State/County/City work). It is VERY isolated, being nearly four hours from any real city. The culture (besides Cal Poly - spoiled and immature), tends to be narrow-minded, conservative, and anything but diverse (often makes me feel like I'm living in the 1950s) - perhaps better than North County, but that's not saying much. A few progressive policies have been put into place (smoking ban, an above-average prevalence of bike lanes), but otherwise it's far from liberal here. While I have made some good friends here and have generally had a good experience at work, for the most part this place has made me more sure than ever that I have to move back to a big city. For sure, if you go on a California vacation and have never seen the coast, do stop by this area (plenty of natural beauty), but keep the above points in mind if you want to move here. QUALITY OF LIFE rating: DEPENDS what you're looking for (clean air, outdoor activities, and relatively safe, other than some property crime - but very little culture, and definitely isolated from other places geographically and in time).[read more...]

If you're a college student be prepare for alcoholism and bad conversations because there's nothing to do here except go to a cold beach with no waves or visit the Poisen Oak woods (still nice places though). And crash your car into the dunes (which is cool). If you're from LA you'll breath the fresh air and notice the lack of traffic and scumbags but that THE DRIVERS HERE SUCK! They all have big trucks (16 year old girls) but they drive really fast and badly. If you're from the midwest it's the closest you can get to an affordable California dreaming. The rent is fair for the Ocean and the people are sort of nice. But expect to rent. Houses cost 100,000,000. The health- relaxes lifestyle but if you dont have insurance it is the ABSOLUTE worst place to get sick. The doctors hate poor people at General Hospital! The people- The stupidst 18 year old brats are everywhere which makes for great eye candy but don't try to talk to them because they only hang out with the people in their school (this goes on till their 28 years old if they're locals). They are really dumb too because Cal Poly is a cheap state school. But be prepared because there are thousands of them and they never get out of line because there's nothing to do here and they like it that way! Wealthy old woman completely control this town now. So people who grow up out here are slightly retarded by having a perfect life and no ambition. They actually have a road sign saying dont come here for their Mardi-Graw if you are from out of town because too many girls showed their boobies and some cops had to yell at 18 year olds to go to bed one year. NOW all that is banned. Otherwise the north county has white trash who are much nicer than most white trash and the south is completely being taken over by mexicans. 6 years ago I went to the swap meat 15 miles away and it was eclectic and a great mix. Now it's all mexican's selling stuff from mexico's tourist markets (TJ). Oh my GOD! - The food is terrible! it's really BAD. Bad barbaque everywhere. You can find some decent stuff way down south or way up north. You have to drive a ways to even find fastfood. the weather- perfect sometimes too hot. the fire fighters arround here always let fires spread in southern/cental Cali to make extra tons of overtime pay (I Know I worked there) and it gets smokey a lot. other stuff- It has a history of famous serial killers and a few months ago a girl was murdered and thrown into the lake. But the cops cover it all up because they don't want to scare away tuition from the Cal Poly which is what the whole town centers on. Furniture stores everywhere. No place to find clothes if you have any sense of style outside of the Gap. BEST DMV in the Fu@$king country! Community college is complete garbage. The campus is really beutiful but it's run like a highschool with bad teachers. No TV reception so you HAVE TO have cable and the Charter sucks so go with dish. UFC's Chuck Lidell lives here and he's THE MAN! hangs out anywhere and signs autographs like it's still fun for him.[read more...]

I am looking for a studio apartment for rent in this city. I will be moving to this city, next week, and need to find an affordable apartment which is close to downtown businesses, where I plan to seek employment.[read more...]

Moderate Mediterranean climate, short rainy season, no snow, occasional marine-layer and fog... darn near perfect[read more...]

Although we just moved to San Luis Obispo a few months ago, we could not have picked a better place. With a robust and vibrant Downtown, a proactive City Government, a plethora of outdoor activities both in the city and surrounding area, there is no better life than the SLO Life. People really take that to heart here as well. No one seems to be in a huury, except the crazy young drivers, as it is a big college town (Cal-Poly Tech). The people here are nice and friendly for the most part. If you are tired of the crazy city life and want to get away, come visit us either temporarily or permanently, and you will see what I mean![read more...]

The real estate market is adjusting. There happen to be many factors that determine a Buyer's behavior in this Buyer Market. The most obvious ofcourse is interest rate and debt to income ratio which is largely a reflection of job creation. Baby Boomers are the last secure generation whereby they are secured by their pensions. They will transfer trillions of dollars during the remainder of their lifetime. Exotic loans such as no money down, stated income, stated credit, no assets are what are driving Americans into foreclosure. Banks and the Financial Institutions need to be liable for underwriting such ridiculous terms which have set the American people up for failure. They did this to merely SELL MONEY! Their origination points, and rebates on the back end where the Homeowners have taken it in the rate have been cruel and unusual, as never before have the American people been so violated. If you look at what the American tax paying citizen spends their money on it is Healthcare, Transportation, Education, Taxes, Food. Many go into debt just to pay these basic needs further relying on the equity of their home in order to crawl out of the viscious dynamic. Meanwhile, the two top cities where there have been the most sales in Real Estate are Palm Springs and San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo is attractive due to its' micro mediterranean climate year round. It has government jobs and one of the best Tech and Agribusiness schools in the Western United States. Its' MIS department rivals Georgia Tech! Cuesta College has been nicknamed the Stanford of two year colleges, because of the donations it receives and the caring and nurturing staff. I'm so glad this is where I attended college and raised my family. It truly can't be beat, I've been all over the world I've looked.[read more...]

...you bought a home before 2002. ...you work for the county, state prison, or Cal Poly. ...you don't need to work. I love living here and hope to stay, but the pay for most jobs here is below average for California and cost of living is high.[read more...]

SLO offers an area without a commute, low crime, easy weather, no pollution and beautiful scenery. It is very expensive however and pretty isolated[read more...]

15 minutes to the beach. College town with plenty of opportunity to make minimum wage but good paying jobs are scarce. Nice place raise a family if you can afford to live here. Real estate market is outrageous--over 300k for 1 bedroom condo or 500k for 700sq ft house. Somewhat affordable housing available within 1 hour drive but then you give up either the good weather or relatively low crime rate of San Luis Obispo city. Air is good, diversity inadequate, water is ok, plenty of outdoor activities, crime rate is low, weather is great--low rain, no snow, lots of sunny days in the 70s, mass transit system lacks efficiency, art/theatre/museums scarce,[read more...]

San Luis Obispo has the best rugged urban open space trail system I know of. Hiking, mountain biking and trail running on steep, rocky, challenging trails are possible within 5-10 minutes from the center of downtown. The air is clean and the views are spectacular.[read more...]

I grew up just north of SLO, but have lived in many places. I seemed to miss CA, so I'm living here in SLO. It's hard to beat except for housing. I'll never own a home here unless I win the big one. The weather is hard to beat though. It's Feb and almost 80.[read more...]

beautiful. great weather. median cost of house just broke the 1/2 million mark. everything very expensive (gas more here than in SF). invaded by so cal. small group of earth lovers and conscientious folk. majority conservative. many SUVs. =([read more...]