16 Pros And Cons of Living in San Luis Obispo, CA

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Bubblegum Alley with walls splattered with sticky and chewed-up gum welcomes you to SLO.

San Luis Obispo, shortened to SLO, is located in Southern California between San Jose and Los Angeles.

There is a Spanish mission and museum discussing the history of the region, and a farmers’ market downtown is the icing on the cake for most tourists.

Find out whether it would be fun to actually live in San Luis Obispo, CA or if this is a too-good-to-be-true SoCal paradise you cannot afford. 

Pros of Living in San Luis Obispo, CA

1. It Is in Southern California

Anything involving the Pacific Ocean and coastline with Southern California culture is going to be a win for some people.

There is a vibe and certain activities, such as snorkeling and surfing, that come along with being in this region.

San Luis Obispo is one of those quieter mid-sized towns that allow you to live right by the ocean.

Yet you feel you are in a farm territory rather than a steel-walled city.

It is a great place to relax and unwind whether you work remotely or are a newly retired person.

2. Excellent Wineries and Tasting Rooms in the City Proper

If you are in California to do wine tastings, San Luis Obispo gives you plenty to choose from in terms of local libations.

In the southern part of town, SLO offers:

• Baileyana Tasting Room
• Saucelito Canyon Tasting Room
• Chamisal Vineyards
• Malene Wines
• Kynsi Winery
• Claiborne and Churchill Winery
• Spreafico Farms
• Holland Ranch
• Biddle Ranch Vineyard
• Talley Vineyards
• Tolosa
• Autry Cellars

The first location, Baileyana Tasting Room, hosts wine tastings in a 1909 schoolhouse.

Each of these facilities gives you an authentic Southern California wine tasting experience that is not quite Napa but more rustic and family oriented.

3. Hiking Trails and Mountain Biking at Nearby Mountain Range

Bishop Peak is one of nine mountains called the Nine Sisters in SOL.

If you love hiking, you will be highly rewarded by the geological formations that are located here.

It looks more like a Scottish Isle than a Southern Californian mountainside, in my opinion.

Prepare to spend many hours and miles hiking along these gentle slopes.

Rather than jagged peaks, these mountains are more like hills you would see in the Appalachians of the east.

4. College for Engineers and Architects

For households getting prepared for college years, there is the California Polytechnic University.

This college offers training in engineering and architecture and is located in San Luis Obispo.

You can save money by living close to this college–or by becoming a California resident and getting in-state tuition.

This school, also known as Cal Poly, is a four-year public university that has six different colleges and 65 bachelor’s degree programs.

There is certain to be a major that will excite your child or children as they prepare for their future.

5. History at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

The history of San Luis Obispo, CA comes from the Spanish Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.

The Spanish influences of the town hail from this location and you can visit a museum on the site.

Since the first settlers from the mission came in 1771, there is plenty of California history right here in San Luis Obispo.

Oh, and there is another mission in SLO called the Mission Plaza or accidental Mission.

This mission was established a year later and now has a scenic park on the premises.

You will find both missions in San Luis Obispo today.

6. Go See a Movie at a Real Drive-In Theater

If you drive into San Luis Obispo, you will be delighted to see that the city has a movie theater that caters to car owners.

Sunset Drive-In Theatre is located at 255 Elks Lane and features two new releases nightly.

At Sunset Drive-In SLO, the movie ticket is $10 a person and well worth it for the chance to watch a movie at a drive-in in one of the few theaters of the sort in the state.

Spend an evening in the darkness with dozens of other car drivers as you watch a giant projected movie and listen to it through your car audio system.

It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

7. Highway 1 is On the Route to San Luis Obispo

For road trip enthusiasts, there are a few roads in the nation that are cooler than the rest.

Route 66 is one of them, and Highway 1 is the other roadway.

Claim the fame of driving on the westernmost highway in the US when you are in San Luis Obispo.

Highway 1 will take you all the way to Canada if you drive north.

This is a great route to enjoy when taking in the Pacific Northwest scenery.

8. The Food of Southern California’s Coast is Amazing

Both the seafood and the Mexican cuisine come alive in this area of Southern California.

For foodies and seafood fans, San Luis Obispo features a farm-to-table atmosphere that caters to diners.

You will not go away hungry, that is for sure.

Whether you eat at an authentic Spanish Mexican restaurant near the mission, or you want some Baja fish tacos, you will get your fill when you live in a wealthy and rich SLO.

Be sure to sip on a few margaritas while you are there!

Cons of Living in San Luis Obispo, CA

1. Cost of Living is High Due to Housing Expenses

The cost of living in San Luis Obispo is high at an index of 163.9 compared to 149.9 in California and 100 across the nation.

This is mainly due to housing, but groceries have an index of 109.8, while transportation is lower at only 83.8.

Therefore, if you can budget well, you should be able to balance more expensive housing costs with value buys at the grocery stores. 

Also, plan on using public transit, ride-sharing, or walking, and eliminate the need to pay for a vehicle.

Fuel and parking fees are the biggest offenders for car owners in Southern California.

So if you can get rid of those, you are going to save money to spend on those more expensive houses.

2. You need to Make a Lot of Money to be Able to Afford SLO Living

You need to have a household salary or income of $88,244 to be able to comfortably live in San Luis Obispo, CA.

For comparison, it is still cheaper to live in SLO than nearby San Francisco, where the necessary income is $150,044 and the cost of living for housing is $1.4 million.

Yes, a million!

Forget spending that kind of dough on a place to call home and move to SLO instead.

3. Housing Costs Way Too Much Money for Middle-Class Households

If you want to save money on housing, forget about moving to San Luis Obispo.

The city has a 317.3 cost of living index for housing for homeowners, not accounting for renters.

This is based on a scale of 1 to 100, which puts 317 far above the national average for housing costs.

The median cost of a home in SLO is $825,000. 

4. More Rural Compared to Other SoCal Cities

For homeowners and heads of households who crave a big city lifestyle, San Luis Obispo might not be high-tech enough.

Here, you are more focused on the laid-back wealth that wineries and wine tastings afford.

This is not the place for techies or Silicon Valley startups trying to build up a business.

That being said, if you are in hospitality, you will be all set up for work in SLO. 

5. Too Many Breweries

Do not you like to drink alcohol or do you have a problem with drinking too much of the stuff?

Well, you might want to avoid moving to San Luis Obispo.

The city does have a high percentage of wineries, and this will prove to be tempting for those who live a teetotaller lifestyle against drinking alcohol.

6. It is Super Sunny and Warm Most of the Year

The average temperature for San Luis Obispo, CA is 75 degrees and sunny with the warm season lasting for four months.

June through October is summer here, which means you can forget about fall sweater weather for a long time.

Get on board with wearing sunscreen and sun hats when you step outside in SLO.

And forget about seeing snowfall for a very long while!

7. It is a Beach Resort Type of Tourist Town

Back to the geographical location of San Luis Obispo, this is a beachside town.

So therefore you can expect to see lots of tourists coming through on their way to Los Angeles or San Francisco.

If you work in a retail or hospitality industry job, you will notice the influx of tourists even more so.

For those of you who want to have a relaxing suburban lifestyle, SLO might actually be too fast-paced!

8. Traffic is Slow in SLOW 

In SLO, the traffic is exactly that.

Along with having a ton of traffic based on the SoCal location, San Luis Obispo is located along Highway 1 and in a tourist-heavy part of the state.

Therefore, traffic, especially in the summer season, can come to a standstill here.

Pros And Cons of Living in San Luis Obispo, CA – Summary Table

San Luis Obispo Safety Overview

READ THE FULL REPORT: San Luis Obispo Safety Review

Safety Index:

88

• OVERALL RISK: LOW
• TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: LOW
• PICKPOCKETS RISK: LOW
• NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
• MUGGING RISK: LOW
• TERRORISM RISK: LOW
• SCAMS RISK: LOW
• WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW