Atascadero, CA Reviews

Great California family town - 10/22/2022
Moved up here 20 years ago from coastal Southern California and we love it. Home prices are high, and wages do not keep pace, but that’s a problem for all of California. The climate is amazing, we hike year round. Beach is less than 30 minutes away. Paso Robles wine country is just north, and San Luis Obispo, which is a college town, is just south. Lots of places to get away from folks while being out in nature. Very little traffic, and lots of restaurant choices. The downtown “sunken gardens” area needs to be rezoned to encourage more restaurants in that area, but overall a pleasant, family oriented area, with a small town feel, good schools, and friendly Read More

Great area - 2/21/2016
Have lived on the Central Coast of California for many years, and the area is wonderful with a moderate Med climate and laid back lifestyle. Unfortunately as I near retirement age I need to make sure I can stretch my money further and California is not the place to do that. The high cost of living and entitled political climate will force me to retire Read More

Atascadero going down the tubes - 7/20/2015
We moved to Atascadero in 2006 and at that time it was nice, low crime rate. Lots of places to eat and go out.
BUT today 2015 is a lot different.
The homeless have overrun the city to a point were it is not safe to go out alone. We have watched the drug dealers sell there product right in front of our home. Local Law did finally stop that after a year. Stray dogs run the streets and I have been bitten and have had 4 close calls in the last month. Local animal control do as little as possible and to date have not taken this serious.
In short if we had known we would have retired some were Read More

Great all the way around! - 12/1/2014
Moved here several months ago from the Indianapolis area. Love love love this place to pieces!!! It's small, but it has everything one needs (except for a mall). Close to San Luis Obispo, close to the coast (about 25 minute drive). Small town with retired folks. Mainly conservative views. Loads of stuff to do and family oriented. Not much going on as far as night life. Everything looks hip and happening but activity comes to a screeching halt after 8:30 pm and you really don't see many people out after that time. That's why I like it. Crime is virtually non existent. From what I hear it has it's problems with teens using drugs, but it depends what crowds kids like to hang out with. At least there are things to do here, unlike Indianapolis, where kids used drugs out of boredom a lot (I think). It has hiking trails with great views. Lots of people own horses and small farms around here. It reminds me of the midwest a bit, except it's in California. We love it! But if you like crowds, Read More

Atascadero - 1/29/2010
Atascadero is a small town in the middle of no where in particular but central to everything. Its three hours to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 3.5 hours to LA, 4 hours to San Francisco. Its surround by California wine country and close to gorgeous pacific coastline. Winters are mild and summers are hot but dry. I love the lingering heat in the evenings during family time time out on the front porch. I don't know if schools are particularly fabulous but its a safe place to raise a family with a small town feel. Its more of a bedroom community so not for one looking for night life. The major drawback of the entire California central coast area is that cost of living is high in comparison with area wages which makes it hard to move Read More

Atascadero - 9/6/2009
Atascadero has a wonderful climate, but is lacking in affordable housing & the city government is ineffective to say the least. There is a low crime rate, which is good since the City Police Department has a high turn over in officers and the majority are just out of the academy, they are rude and unprofessional. The schools will push kids through grades in order not to loose federal and state funding. The majority of people are stuggling to make ends meet as the cost of living exceeds most earnings. Two bedroom dumpy apts rent for over $850 a month. The roads are in disrepear and the city puts more $$ into pet projects and employee perks before infastructure. Atascadero is appearing to have been home to some of the largest realestate corruption in the state durning this economic disaster with housing and construction. There is a lack of retail due to the City Counsel not reconizing the need for more retail, and blocking any large retailers to build within city limits, so Read More

Great year round climate - 11/4/2007
Relatively mild winters transitioning to warm summers make make this an ideal community to practice most outdoor activities year Read More

It's great here - 9/9/2007
It is great living here...if you can afford Read More