Kristen Crabtree

This is the last in the series of blogs about the communities of the Central Coast. Nipomo is the final town that I have not yet described. Please read on...

Nipomo

Nipomo is claimed to have some of the best weather in the United States -- typically around 70 degrees and nice and sunny. The exception to this would be the Nipomo Mesa (the west part of Nipomo), which can get cooler and windier, especially in the afternoon. Downtown Nipomo is mostly made up of a strip mall, and there are suburban communities in this area. The homes are some of the most affordable in the Central Coast. Outside of town, there are ranches and small AND large homes on acreage. Again, you can get some very affordable acreage in this area. The community is fairly ecclectic, with run down older homes next to big beautiful new estates. There are also a couple of golf course communities in Nipomo (Trilogy and Blacklake). These are over on the Mesa, where there are big eucalyptus and cooler weather.

That sums up my series on the different communities of the Central Coast. I hope you enjoyed it and learned a lot! Please call me with any additional questions.

So far in the previous blogs, I've covered a description of most of San Luis Obispo County. Just two sections remain: North County and Nipomo. This blog is about the towns of the North County: Santa Margarita, Atascadero, Templeton, and Paso Robles.

North County

Most of North County (which is any town north of Cuesta Grade ("the grade" as locals call it) is filled with vineyards, cute downtowns, and warmer weather. If you like more extreme temperatures, this is a good area for you! It doesn't get the fog of the coastal towns, but you can get temperatures near 100 degrees in the summer and 30 degrees in the winter.

Santa Margarita

This is a tiny little western town. The homes and lots around the "downtown area" are older and smaller, but in the outskirts of town you can find bigger homes on large parcels. The homes here tend to be very affordable for the area.

Atascadero

The next town north is Atascadero. This town is called a "colony" because of it's roots as a colony many, many years ago. Again, it has a fairly small downtown, but there are some larger stores along El Camino Real and some of the cross streets. This is a great place to buy a home on acreage, as you can get some amazing buys. The west side of Atascadero is more hilly and slightly more temperate (as it gets some of the ocean breeze), while the south and east sides are flatter and have more farms and cattle. The acreage in North West Atascadero tends to be less useable because of the hills, so if you are looking for a horse ranch or a gentleman's farm, you probably want to look in the other areas.

Templeton

For some reason, Templeton is a little more expensive than Atascadero. I'm not sure if it is because of it being immersed among the vineyards, but the prices tend to be $50k or more higher than a comparable home in Atascadero. Much of the same information applies to Templeton as to Atascadero...the weather is a little cooler on the west side, but there aren't the hills that Atascadero has. There really isn't a true "downtown" but Paso Robles is only a few miles away and has a great downtown.

Paso Robles

This is the largest of the towns in the North County. It has a town square that reminds me of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. The town is delightful with exceptional restaurants, and fun shops, and a park in the middle of the square. The town is divided into two very different areas: the area East of the freeway, and that North of the freeway. East Paso (as the locals call it) is drier and flatter. There are tons of wineries along Hwy 46 East, so it is lovely, but has a very different feel and climate than West Paso. West Paso is hillier and greener, even in the dry months. This is the area along Lake Nacimiento Rd and its offshoots and is also filled with wineries nestled in the hills. The wines from the two areas are very different as well, so when you go to Paso, make sure you taste from both parts of Paso! Good homework, huh?

The last couple of blog posts have been about a few of the communities in the Central Coast. This is a continuation in that series. In this blog, I'll be discussing the communities of the north coast: Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cayucos, and Cambria.

North Coast

In general, the north coast is a series of smallish towns along the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County. They tend to have foggier, windier weather, but are excellent places to escape the heat of some towns in the Central Valley.

Los Osos

One of the unique things about this town is that many of the streets are dirt roads. Other than areas with acreage, this is not typical for San Luis Obispo County. All of the town is on septic, and one day the majority of the town will need to hook up to a new sewer system (we still don't know when this will go in), and will have an assessment that will be around $25k. For this reason, the homes in Los Osos tend to be less expensive that the other north coastal towns. Vacant land in this town cannot be developed at this time due to sewer and water moratoriums that restrict development. The weather tends to be cooler and windier. The homes are largely smaller beach homes, with the exception of the waterfront homes and homes in Cabrillo Estates and Bayview Heights. (Side note: Cabrillo Estates will NOT be assessed and will not be required to hook up to the sewer system). Cabrillo Estates is immediately prior to entering Montana de Oro, which is a beautiful state park.

Morro Bay

This downtown is oriented around the Embarcadero. Like most other cities, there are different sections of the city that each have different "feels" and pros and cons. The downtown area is walking distance to the embarcadero, shops, restaurants, and cafes, but is also more touristy and congested in terms of foot and vehicle traffic. The hills on the east side of the freeway are homes with lovely ocean views. The homes in Morro Bay tend to have a "boxy" look, which is fairly distinct. The weather, again, is more foggy and windy that other parts of SLO County. Morro Bay is famous for Morro Rock -- a massive rock that rises up from the bay. Homes that have views of the rock and bay sell at a premium.

Cayucos

Cayucos extends just north of Morro Bay. The hills are similar to Morro Bay in that the homes on the hills have great ocean/bay views. There are oceanfront homes on Studio Drive that have spectacular ocean views and access to the beach. Cayucos has a quaint "western feel" downtown that runs parallel to the bay. There are lots of antique shops, a few good restaurants, and cafes. But this is a small town, and it has the pros and cons that go along with a small town. Everyone who lives there knows each other. It has an old-fashioned feel. The people are friendly. It can get a bit touristy in the summer. Great quaint town! There is a building moratorium in this town, so lots/land in this town are comparitively cheap and have a water wait list number (or worse yet, no number at all).

Cambria

Cambria is another 15 minutes or so from Cayucos, so it is about a 30-40 min drive from SLO. It is amazing how in those 15 minutes you can be transported to Northern California -- the trees and shoreline look just like Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. The shoreline is spectacular with the rocky cliffs, rocks sticking out of the watter, and a pebbly beach (the famous Moonstone Beach). The town's style is similar to Cayucos (sort of a western feel), and it also possesses many antique shops as well as restaurants and cafes. Both Cayucos and Cambria have large acreage estates on the inland outskirts of the towns, but the majority of the homes in Cambria are either ocean view homes on the hills, homes nestled in the big evergreen trees, or oceanfront homes along Moonstone Beach. There is also a building moratorium in Cambria, where water is the issue. The weather is much more like Northern California -- windy, cloudy, foggy, and sometimes stormy. But it is absolutely gorgeous!

That summarizes the North Coast communities. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to call me!

My clients often ask about the "culture" and weather of the different communities within the Central Coast. This blog is to discuss the largest city in San Luis Obispo County and a neighboring town: San Luis Obispo city itself and Avila Beach.

San Luis Obispo

There are really 4 different subsections of San Luis Obispo: the downtown area, east San Luis Obispo, west San Luis Obispo, and north San Luis Obispo.

The Downtown

This is a quaint town that reminds me of what Santa Barbara was 20 years or so ago. It is tree-lined and filled with great boutique shops, exceptional restaurants, cafes, bars, and some larger chain stores like Banana Republic. It has a youthful feel about it because of the influence of the college kids. Cal Poly students seem relatively well-behaved compared to the craziness of some college towns. Don't get me wrong, certainly on a weekend night at 2 am, there can be some noise. But in general the students are repectful and respectable. And the town is just darling. Quaint older homes and condos are what you'll find here.

East San Luis Obispo

This area is filled with vineyards and wineries, large acreage estate homes, and some older homes on acreage mixed in for good measure. The vineyards are beautiful, especially in the spring, and stretch on for miles. There are many exceptional wineries in the area. It is called "Edna Valley" as both the wine region and the residential designation. Fabulous weather, lovely views, and pricey homes.

West San Luis Obispo

This part of town stretches towards Los Osos. It is near large container stores like Target (new to this town) and CostCo. Smaller homes on smaller lots in a suburban type feel is what you'll find here. There are many affordable homes, however, so if you are looking to "break into" living in SLO (what the locals call it), then this is a great place to look. And it is convenient to just about everything. The weather, however, is a bit windy and cooler here, so expect that.

North San Luis Obispo

This is where the college (Cal Poly) is located, so there are many homes that are filled with college kids. Mostly a suburban feel, this is a great place to look for a home for your college student who is attending Cal Poly or Cuesta (the community college). Other than this group of people, most families and coupled-adults don't usually focus their house-hunting here because of the heavy influence of college kids.

Avila

This town is quaint and small. It has perhaps the best weather in SLO County because it gets both an ocean influence while also being in the sunniest, least windy, least foggy part of the coast. The Five Cities (Part 1 of this blog series) can be socked in with fog and Avila will be bright and beautiful. So there is a lot of appeal to live here -- which means the homes are typically more expensive. There is only one road in and out...which for most of the year is fine, but come tourist season it can mean some traffic delays. (Note: traffice "delays" is all relative. If you come from a big city, nothing in SLO County will seem like true traffic!) The homes are divided into two different types: the beach area homes of the downtown and the gated community that is inland a bit. The beach homes can either be old cottages, or newer large ocean view homes (read: expensive!) or some of the new condos along First St. The gated community is filled with newer homes, mostly with valley and hill views, rather than ocean views -- with the exception of the homes on the hill of Heron Crest. These are considered by most to be mansions and have fabulous panoramic ocean views.

That sums up these two areas! If you have more questions, please feel free to call me!

Many of my clients are from out-of-the-area, and they often ask me to describe the differences between the various communities of the Central Coast. This blog entry is to address the communities called the Five Cities.

The Five Cities

The "five cities" are made up of Shell Beach, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Oceano. While these towns are lumped together in to the catch-phrase, they are actually all really unique areas in and of themselves.

Shell Beach is also divided into two sections: old Shell Beach (west side of the freeway) and new Shell Beach (east side). The culture of each of these areas is very different. Old Shell Beach is made up of mostly beach bungalows and cottages, with a few newer homes interspersed. It is an ecclectic community, and people that are drawn to it are usually looking to be close to the bluffs, and close to shops, restaurants, and cafes. The beach near Old Shell Beach is a rocky beach as opposed to a walking beach. Very few of the homes in Old Shell Beach have ocean views. Again, people in this part of town are wanting the proximity to the ocean. The majority of the homes with true ocean views are either ocean front homes or are in the high 300 blocks of the streets. New Shell Beach consists of homes that are up on the hills above the freeway. People that are attracted to this area are looking for big ocean views. The homes are all newer, and are in planned communities with HOAs and CC&Rs. This means the neighborhoods are fairly uniform and tidy.

Pismo Beach has three differently subcommunities as well. You have the ecclectic beach bungalows and condos of the downtown (where again, the proximity to the beach is the draw), the ecclectic neighborhood of Pismo Heights (where all the streets are named after towns in the Central Valley), and the newer areas on the east side of the freeway that are regulated by HOAs and CC&Rs. The draw for the latter two areas is the ocean views. In Pismo Heights the views are expansive coastline views; in the newer areas they are mostly "horizon" views. Both areas have pros and cons depending on your interests and desires. One thing I like about Pismo Heights is that you can walk/drive directly to the beach, even though it is on the east side of the freeway. There is an underpass that allows you to do that.

Arroyo Grande is also subdivided into two areas: East and West/the Mesa. Arroyo Grande sort of winds its way from inland to along the coast. The Mesa and East AG (as the locals call it) have very different terrains and weather. East AG has lots of oak trees, rolling hills, vineyards, and warm sunny weather. The Mesa has majestic eucalyptus, flatter land, and a cooler climate. Both areas have plenty of properties with acreage, which is its big appeal. There is also "old town" AG which consists of smaller homes that are craftsman style or victorians and are within walking distance of "the village" where there are lots of shops, restaurants, and cafes.

Grover Beach is a beachy community with condos, small homes, large homes, and everything in between. Some homes are in walking distance to the part of the beach that you can drive onto (off of Grand Ave). Grand Ave divides Grover Beach into "north" Grover and "south" Grover. There is a little bit more renovation of homes going on in North Grover than in South Grover, but South Grover is a little more affordable.

Oceano is south of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach. It is mostly older homes that have not yet been renovated. Again, this is a great area to get a starter home in the Five Cities, as it is the most affordable area. There is also a subsection of Oceano called The Strand which has homes on the beach. It is truly the only part of the Five Cities where you can walk out your door and put your feet in the sand (without climbing down a cliff or walking to stairs). This area is south of Pier Ave right on the beach.

In terms of prices, I've listed these areas in order of highest price per square foot to lowest price per square foot.

If you have more questions about the area, please call me!