I might be moving to CA later this year. I’d like to know what are the pros and cons about living in CA. Is the state economically stable? How’s the quality of education there? What are the worst areas/best areas to live in? Right now, I’m considering living in San Luis Obispo.
Any input will be appreciated. Thanks!
It’s the cheese, isn’t it? That’s why you’re moving here.
SLO is quite a nice area – smallish university town, on the coast. A bit remote from any big city.
I don’t notice that much of a difference as far as the economy goes, but I’m very lucky.
Public education (K-12) is reputedly one of the worst in the country, but I can’t really say because I don’t have kids who attend K-12 and it’s been a dozen years since I was myself in K-12. That said, there are some good public schools, some not so great ones. The UC system is one of the best university systems around, however.
I’ve only been to SLO a few times, but found it nice. It’s not a big hub of activity, so if you need city-living and comforts, you’ll either be going to San Francisco or Los Angeles. If you can do without that, it could be a really nice place.
Looking at the snow storms sweeping the eastern and central parts of the country, the consistent mediterranean weather in CA is nice.
Property costs? Not so nice.
SLO is one of the nicest places in CA to live, IMO. Also one of the pricier areas. It’s small but beautiful, full of great stuff to do, not to mention close to beaches galore (cold beaches, not like Santa Barbara and southwards, but eminently surfable and swimmable), a good deal of history and culture compared to most parts of CA. The Earthling bookstore closed a few years back, I understand, which is very sad.
You have to go to LA for large museums and shows, but there is theater and art on a smaller scale, enough to keep most people happy.
SLO is also a bit snobby; there are families that go back several generations and don’t think much of them that don’t also.
I spent a good deal of high school going to San Luis for fun and interest. Santa Maria–trust me here–is not nearly as pleasant a place (though livable enough for many).
Enjoy the tri-tip barbeque and Bernardoz ice cream. Shudder slightly at Bubblegum Alley. Visit the excellent music stores, and be sure to go to the bathroom at the Madonna Inn.
CA has great weather, moutains, coastlines and deserts. Having lived here all my life, I’ve encountered many people from other areas of the country and found them amazingly intolerant, not nearly so live-and-let-live as the people I grew up around. Do I know anyone who doesn’t have an interracial marriage or two or three in the family? Gay friends? Blended families? No carb/no meat/green tea dieters? Whatever. It’s all good.
SLO is a great area. I live in the Central valley, very Ag.
You should like San Luis Obispo. The weather there is moderate but if you want warmer go East or South, you want cooler go North. It is very similar to Santa Cruz where I live, there is a University there and it isn’t very large. I am rooted here but Santa Barbara and Carlsbad CA. really impressed me when we were visiting. Warmer nightime weather and along the Pacific Ocean.I have no idea about jobs and rent will be high.
There is a pricing issue to deal with. I remember how shocked I was when I saw a half gallon of milk at two dollars, which is the price you pay for a full gallon back in my native Kentucky.
There are many things that are nice about California. Public transportation works a lot better out here than in most other places in the country. Libraries and other public buioldings are generally kept in good condition. As for public schools, I really have no clue, since I’ve never had kids. Also, wherever you live, you will be in driving distancd of good places for hiking and skiing. That’s a big plus for me, at least.
I didn’t like the weather. It was boring. I don’t like it too hot (although the desert of northern L.A. County isn’t so bad with its “dry heat” – even when it’s over 100°F). I didn;t have a/c in L.A., so the summers were torture. I’d often have two fans blowing on my just so I could sleep, and sometimes it wasn’t enough. During the day I’d occasionally put on a damp T-shirt and sit in front of a fan. I really, really didn’t like the heat in L.A.
Traffic sucks. Traffic up here is much lighter; but everyone likes to drive 5 mph under the limit, which is annoying. I need to calm down. L.A.'s stop-and-go traffic is maddening.
Not enough green. A couple of summers ago I took off from Bellingham. It was 50°F and drizzling. Very nice. I looked out of the window to see green everywhere. After changing planes in Seattle I took a nap. When I woke up near LAX I looked out of the window. Gone was the cool green. Everything was brown and grey. Concrete and asphalt everywhere. It looked hot. (It was about 95°F, which is a bit warm for my liking.)
Nights are too bright. There are just too many lights in L.A.
It’s noisy. There’s the constant rush from the freeway, lots of people living close together and making noise or partying, people with their stereos playing music I hate too loud, and the occasional gunshot.
It’s crowded.
It’s expensive. I was paying $788/month for my 1-br apartment on the west side. The new tenants are paying $900/month, and another 1-br apartment is going for $1,200. By contrast, my mortgage on a 3-br house a block from the beach here in Birch Bay is $524/month, including taxes and insurance.
On the other hand, there are some good things about L.A. There’s Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica. The best fish’n’chips I’ve ever had, and their bangers are excellent. Thai food? Just try to get it here in Birch Bay! You can forget Indian or Vietnamese. The Chinese food here is only fair. (Actually, a Thai restaurant should be open soon about 1/4 mile from here. I hope it’s good!) You all know how much I like to ride my motorcycles. I’ve ridden three times since I’ve been here. I was rather cold each time, and rather wet once. L.A. certainly has the weather for riding! Basically, L.A. has variety that doesn’t exist here. (Fortunately, Vancouver, BC is only 35 miles away. 
)
Sorry I don’t have any information about SLO, but I’ve only driven through there a couple of times.
I don’t know the SLO area…
Just a mishmash of thoughts: It can get very hot in the summers, and last year’s firestorm was a vision of hell, but the winters are nowhere near as harsh as they have been in other parts of the country.
I am in one of the southern valleys. I spend my vacation time in San Diego, mostly. I do enjoy the Indian gaming here; you need not travel to Vegas for casino action.
There is a lot of variety in the state. Get out and about and see it–deserts, mountains, wine country, forests, coasts.
Our Governor sucks.
Yeah, well, when has our governor not sucked? (No, I didn’t vote for this one.)
SLO does not get very hot in the summer, since it’s on the coast–while the inner part of CA gets very hot indeed, the coast stays cool. 'Smatter of fact, summer mornings tend to be almost cold, so you have to change clothes during the day. Evenings, esp. in summer, tend to get foggy (DangerMom starts reminiscing about all the drive-in movies she only heard the soundtrack to, while watching fog swirl over the movie screen…).
California is a great place to live because we have more tolerance and acceptance than the rest of this backwards ultra-puritanical country we’re attached to. Janet Jackson’s nipple? Pshaw, we’ve got leather-clad rollerblading lesbians down at Venice Beach, and nobody gives them a second glance. 
California can be a great or terrible place (or both) depending on where you live. Where I live, the neighborhood is nice and there’s hardly any noise. I got used to the traffic in and around LA rather quickly and it doesn’t bother me much. The place I lived before this, across town, had terrible parking, rundown conditions and a lot of screaming children in the hallways. Then again, I live not within driving distance of all sorts of museums, amusement parks, landmarks, Hollywood, mountains…
Location, location, location.
SLO is a nice location, from what I’ve seen and heard of it. We go up that way every few months because my boyfriend has people there. To tell the truth, I’ve always found it to be a very nice place, comfortable and overall friendly. The one thing I did notice is that because SLO enjoys a lot of cooler temperatures, a lot of places there don’t have air conditioners. Last summer we went there and the heat was unseasonable - you can imagine how it sucked to discover even some shops didn’t have air conditioning. But other than that, the folks we know who live there are happy to live there.
I love California, and hope to be released from my exile in Hooterville and return there some day to live. The weather is great. You have access to mountains, oceans, desert. Even if where you live now is crappy and the weather is nasty, drive a few hours and it will get hotter or cooler. And there’s so much to do! You get spoiled by it.
It’s true about the tolerance thing—I have lived what I think is a very sheltered life but I know plenty of gay people and someone in my family has an interracial marriage. I’m not a lesbian and I wouldn’t rollerblade down in Venice Beach wearing leather, but I don’t think I’d be so shocked by seeing such a sight. (Two caveats: I went to art school in a really smarmy part of downtown LA. Took the bus from peaceful Glendale and got my transfer at Sixth and Spring. Sixth and Spring. Okay, it’s not the worst part of LA by far, but . . . Sixth and Spring.) All those days hanging out, waiting for the bus to pick me up on Sixth and Spring kind of exposed me to a lot of eclectic people. And don’t get me started on the characters I met at the art school! (Well, okay, they weren’t that oddball. Except for the teachers . . . )
Anyway, I digress. I guess one thing can be learned from my post. Don’t live near Sixth and Spring.
dangermom is on the mark. San Luis Obispo is a nice place to live. We enjoyed it when we lived there. Nice beaches, nice weather, nice lifestyle.
Tourism is big in places like Pismo Beach, and Morro Bay. Retirees and people fleeing LA have discovered SLO. In the summer, folks from the valley come to escape the heat. This keeps some expenses like housing somewhat higher than you’d expect. If you’re employed in one of the many ‘service industries’ that cater to these people, my feeling is that wages don’t quite keep up.
As well as the UC system, the CSU (State College System) is good and still relatively affordable. Cal Poly is in SLO and I know lots of people who’ve attended & liked it. No specific experience with SLO’s K-12, but my SO is an elementary school teacher. We feel the K-12 in CA is quite good, but there can be vast disparities. Schools in wealthier districts benefit from higher parent involvement and PTA donation$.
With nice wineries in the region & Avila hot springs it makes life pretty laid back.
Well, I have lived in California off and on for most of my life, and I LOVE it here. Everytime I hear of snowstorms or tornados, I laugh. You get used to the earthquakes…
I work in the public school system, and what I hear about the schools around SLO is very good. Shouldn’t be a problem.
The rest of the continent is a late add-on…California is the center of the country. 
Exiled Easterner living in the Bay Area.
Notice how your question about education and economic stability was answered by remarks on how good the weather is. That’s typical.
The quality of the school depends a lot on the district and the school. Any real estate agent will have a book of test score results. Also, go to the school and ask about number of periods, availability of art and music classes, etc. There is a wide variation even within a district, and it depends a lot, at least in my district, on property values.
The university system is good, but dropping. There is a three tiered system, with the UC schools (like Berkeley, Davis, UCSD, and Cal Poly) on top, the CSUs next, and the community colleges last. Because of budget reasons , they’re talking about forcing some people qualified to go the the UCs and CSUs to the community colleges. Classes are often hard to get, and you only get to stay in a dorm for a year (at least at Berkeley.) My daughter was in a program where she attented Berkeley half time as a high school senior, and was officially admitted, but she had not desire to go there. It is relatively cheap, though.
As for economic stability - go read the news stories and make up your own mind.
But the Madonna Inn bathroom is a nice place to visit. And the beaches are nice. And people are as tolerant as previous posters have said, at least in my town.
I love California. I was born in the low desert–6 miles north of the Mexican border where it is 120F in the shade and I do not exagerate. I went to college at Cal Poly SLO. It is a beautiful place to live and really isn’t expensive if you live in a surrounding city rather than SLO. But still if you are comparing housing prices to midwest cities, you will be in for a shock.
The reason I live in the county of LA now and not in the Central Coast is cause there aren’t any jobs. OK there are plenty of jobs in the service industry but very few jobs that pay enough to live on. Alot of the residents in SLO county are retired or students. So the residents aren’t really poor, but you will find houses near the college with half a dozen or more students living in a 3 bedroom 1200 sq ft home.
The people in the SLO area are nice. There is definitely a laid back atmosphere to the community, but that could be cause you can go to work/school and hit the beach every day for a beautiful sunset.
[sub]JohnnyLA, you finally got your dream to move from LA and yet you are still bitter. Let it go. Alot of people love living in California you just don’t happen to be one of them, I can respect that but why do you feel the need to continually trash California.[/sub]
Cal Poly is in the CSU system, not a UC.
Quoth Utah Philips: “If you live in California, you’ve got to be open. If you’re not, they pry you open.”
As a born & raised Cali-girl who has experienced life in other states, I have to say that California rocks. SLO is a great area, but I personally would not recommend going any further south. And Johnny LA is right about LA, but he clearly has no clue about the rest of the state. One funny thing you’ll note is that Northern Californians tend to dislike Southern Californians, and vice-versa. If you’re not from Cali originally you’ll probably be unable to tell them apart. But live here a few years and you might. And may I humbly recommend the San Francisco Bay Area as the best place to live in California (unfortunately also very expensive).
Public school is crap. Save your money for private school. Get your kid out of high school as fast as possible, whatever it takes. This applies to everywhere, not just California.
As to the economy, well…not the best. Jobs are available, but competition is fierce.
OH! Also, California absolutely spoils you in terms of quality and availability of fresh food year round. After I had been living in Vermont, the Whole Foods in Marin was like a gigantic mecca of fruit.
Actually, I do. I was talking about L.A. because that’s where I lived. (There, and Lancaster and San Diego.) But indeed, I’ve been all over the state. NoCal is great. The Mojave Desert is a place of beauty. Mount Shasta is splendid. But L.A. sucks if you like the outdoors.
[sub]Yes, yes; I know you can drive two hours to the mountains, or drive an hour to the deserts. But here in Birch Bay I can walk a block to the shore and put my kayak in the water, and I’m surrounded by forests.[/sub]