SLO County Golf, Wine & Real EstateGolf, Wine & Real Estate News and Events Blog
SLO Among Best Places to Live in AmericaMonday, August 01, 2005San Luis Obispo was recently selected as the 3rd Best Place to Live, as presented in the book, "Cities Ranked and Rated," by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander, and published by John Wiley. The authors analyzed over 300 metro areas, which are home to 85% of the U.S. population, in 50 different categories and chose the best ten."These ten places are each special in their own way," said Bert Sperling. "The only downside may be that it's hard to keep a secret, so most of them have seen considerable increases in home prices over the last couple of years." Sperling advises that there are still bargains available, but you may need to start your search in neighborhoods that are being reclaimed from urban decay, or smaller cities or towns on the outskirts of the metro area. Here's their description of San Luis Obispo and its surrounding communities. This quiet group of towns on the central California coast could easily qualify as paradise. The climate is among the country's most pleasant, with 285 mostly sunny days per year and temperatures rarely above 90 degrees or below freezing. The presence of academic heavyweight Cal Poly helps anchor the local economy—the unemployment rate is well below the national average. It's fortunate that local jobs are plentiful, since it's too far to commute to Los Angeles or the Bay Area. Considering further its low crime and unemployment rates, the San Luis Obispo area seems to have it all. But home prices here have risen steadily in the last few years, so that the median is now $536,300. While this isn't unreasonable by California standards, it can be out of reach for many of us thinking of moving from other parts of the country. Sperling's BestPlaces |
|
