What can you tell me about San Luis Obispo County?

[ejpint]

I'm thinking of applying for an internal opportunity that would be located in that area. Any insight?

[sigmund01]

Others who have lived and worked there can add more, but my husband is from there and we visit several times a year. It is absolutely gorgeous and the wine is amazing! It has that nice college town vibe, close to fantastic beaches and mountains, and the schools are good. That said, the cost of living is very high and it is pretty much in between LA and the Bay Area, meaning about a 3 hour car ride (at least) to get to a major city. We always fly into LA or the Bay Area and drive to SLO because hassling with connecting flights to the small airport there seems more hassle than it is worth to us. Also, there appear to be way more people who want to live there than there are job opportunities (a big factor if you have a partner that will also need to look for work).

Good luck!

[y4m]

Pro: You would be near a lot of really good wine.

Con: Good wine grows in rural places.

[belovedbride07]

There is no place I would rather live, but DH couldn't find a job there in his field so we ended up in LA. Housing is expensive, but I love it there. Great hiking, friendly people, relatively safe, decent public transit/walk-ability in SLO itself. ::sigh:: I miss it!

[pinkdutchtulips]

its central coastal california which means its essentially the middle of nowhere - at least 3 hrs to SF, 2 to SJ and about 4 to LA. that said, its a great place to visit - missions, wine, SLO Brewery, Hearst Castle .. no shortage of things to do BUT there is a shortage of jobs and housing is EEKSpenive .. even for a college town. i had friends who went to Cal Poly and lived in Pismo Bch and Morro Bay simply b/c they couldn't afford SLO.

[ejpint]

H can work from home, so no issues there...
I did notice that real estate seems crazy high for a more rural area, even in California - this could be an issue, as the job wouldn't be that much of a pay bump for me, and would be no increase for H since he's not changing jobs. What we paid for our 2000 sq. ft. SFH would buy us a trailer. Literally.
But it does look effing gorgeous. And you had me at "wine".

[Deleted]

May 17, 2012 10:26:11 GMT -5 sigmund01 said:

Others who have lived and worked there can add more, but my husband is from there and we visit several times a year. It is absolutely gorgeous and the wine is amazing! It has that nice college town vibe, close to fantastic beaches and mountains, and the schools are good. That said, the cost of living is very high and it is pretty much in between LA and the Bay Area, meaning about a 3 hour car ride (at least) to get to a major city. We always fly into LA or the Bay Area and drive to SLO because hassling with connecting flights to the small airport there seems more hassle than it is worth to us. Also, there appear to be way more people who want to live there than there are job opportunities (a big factor if you have a partner that will also need to look for work).

Good luck!

This is an excellent summary.

[kangaroo11]

I loved living there in college and thought I wanted to live there forever. But I came back to LA after graduation and just can't imagine being there full time beyond the college partying years.

[honeybadger]

May 17, 2012 10:39:48 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

My cousin went to school there. All I know is that she's a huge hippy, smokes a shitton of weed, but everyone is super nice.

I've heard it likened to Berkeley.

I don't think I'd compare Cal Poly to Berkeley---Cal Poly the school is actually more conservative than a lot of CA state schools--you get a lot of Christian students. Berkeley, well, its reputation speaks for itself

I agree with PP---SLO is a fun college town, but an expensive place to live. Also, as other people stated, a distance from major airports. Most college students LOVE living there, but cannot stay due to housing prices and the lack of jobs (most people either work for the School, the County, or the Prison).

[pinkdutchtulips]

May 17, 2012 10:39:48 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

My cousin went to school there. All I know is that she's a huge hippy, smokes a shitton of weed, but everyone is super nice.

I've heard it likened to Berkeley.

Cal Poly is no Cal. It has a huge christian element to it - the largest Newman Catholic Center is the entire CSU system is there .. we're not talking caferteria catholics either, we're talking hard core, vatican abiding catholics here.

Cal Poly SLO is only similar to Cal in that they reject FAR more students than what they accept. it's the most impacted CSU.

[marshmallowhands]

I live in SLO county and have since I went to Cal Poly. My husband and I really like it but I guess it depends on your lifestyle. We spend a lot of time outdoors- riding bikes, running, going to the beach, farmer's markets, hiking etc. The area is huge on outdoorsy stuff. During the summer you can find a free outdoor concert on any day of the week. It's also a fantastic wine region. You could find a winery event pretty much every day of the year. I also like that there is easily accessible public transit. I actually think there is plenty to do. We could absolutely pack our weekends if that's what we wanted. I think only boring people are bored.

It is a pricey area to live. SLO itself is costly particularly if you want to live near the downtown area. If you go further out- either south to Arroyo Grande or north to Atascadero- you hit some affordable housing, especially at this time. Housing has come way way down in the last two years.

Like I said, it depends on what you like. I'd rather live in a more laid-back town and visit bigger cities. If you start to think more seriously about living here, I'd be happy to answer more questions!