I should also mention that my timeline is 556 days from now.

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Simplify, Train, Live

600 square feet? Wow!

Not much to add other than I loved SLO when I've visited a few times. Great area.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

You should get a place with a guest house so I can move into that!

Can't help you otherwise but thought I'd make that most excellent recommendation.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I went to college in SLO, and central California would be a great place to retire. They doa good job of keeping growth in check, so there is plenty if open space. Where to live is varied. Nipomo is a gret bedroom community, arroyo grande more built up but more rentals, Pismo can get touristy and crowded in the summer, but it's a fun Tim, SLO is mainly college kids but there are plenty of rentals and housing available. SLO college kids are pretty tame comparitably. Coastal towns to the north like morrow bay, cayucos, etc., small, quiet, my be harder to rent. Inland going north there are many small rural communities all the way to Paso Robles that might fit your bill. Cowboy hats and boots are not required, but not uncommon.

All the sports you would ever want are here. I suggest taking a month or so and visit them all. They all have there own mix of density, conveniences, proximity to training. I graduated nearly 30 years ago and love going there to visit friends or just vacation with the wifey. Top three location on my retirement wish list.

Pirates cove. :)

I live in Auburn. Just had a new renter move in next door to me. He has surfed for 25 years. So, moving here for him was a little bit of a shock. But. He has rented on a lake. I go out with him in his boat wake
boarding and he is in heaven. Boy do those surf skills show while wake boarding. He drives back to the ocean to surf which is about 2 or so hours. But as one other bonus, he also loves
to snow ski. So, that is about 60 minutes up the Hill. So in one day, he could snow ski, water ski, and surf. Not many places one can do that during in day. :)

One more bonus being at 1500 feet, we are above the fog but below the snow. We have a great mountain bike race series at Folsom lake. And boy is their some great hiking up in the sierra foothills in our backyard.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I graduated from SLO in 1979.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

600 square feet? Wow!

Is that a lot or a little? Me and the wife lived in < 300 sq ft efficiencies in Utah and on Kauai. 5 years. And I spent a lot of years living in something much smaller than that (but it had wheels!).

I'd say a little (even by Euro stds). Granted, I'm now a midwesterner in a 4239 sq ft house! Our last hotel room on the Playa north of Cancun was 875 sq ft ... I don't think I'd still be married with less ;-) (21+ years happily)

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

I'm currently a college student living in San Luis Obispo, attending Cal Poly. I can definitively say that SLO lives up to its rep as "the happiest place in America". I'm on the tri team/bike club on campus and there's a lot of great mountain biking and running trail systems as well as a very supportive athletic community with a bunch of different clubs you could join. You didn't mention if you still ride road at all, but personally I think SLO's road riding is some of the best in the state (minus the lack of HC climbs). I've had maybe one less than stellar encounter with drivers in the past 6 months I've been here since the term started.

I personally don't surf, but I've heard that its pretty good down at Avila/Pismo beach, or out by Cayucos.

For food: Slo's got pretty much at least one good restaurant in most cuisines you can think of, with the notable exception of sushi, which is almost universally awful. I have no idea why. There are great bbq and pizza places, but also a few very decent healthier places as well if you're into that. Every thursday is the Farmers Market, which has some great street vendors and wonderfully cheap, good quality produce.

As far as rent goes, my housemates an I pay $3500/mo for a 3200 sq ft house, but my guess is since you're not a college student you'll find the housing market is much more agreeable. From riding/walking around many of the neighboorhoods seem like very nice places to live. The ones' that are inhabited by a majority of college students can be kind of loud, but those would be pretty easy to avoid if you wanted to.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I can do my best to answer them.

I am a bit of a minimalist. I have been downsizing for years. Honestly, I am much happier with less stuff and less square footage. It is just simpler overall. Believe it or not, my 600 square foot apartment is not cramped at all since I don't have much furniture. The plus side is that I have been living on less than half of my income for years now, which is why I am not going to have to work anymore in 560 days. I am lucky that my wife feels the same way.

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Simplify, Train, Live

Thanks. I am definitely going to visit Auburn. It looks beautiful.

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Simplify, Train, Live

Just got back from a couple weeks staying at Avila Beach. Loved it. Of course it didn't hurt that it was clear and sunny with highs in the 70's. Not bad for mid January. Road riding is outstanding, lots of choices and friendly drivers from what I saw. Have you considered Lompoc? If I had a gazillion dollars I'd maybe own a beach house on Shell Beach just north of Pismo. Morro Bay is likely your most affordable beach community but (and I'm not a surfer) I think the better breaks are down at Pismo. As another poster said, Arroyo Grande is a decent option too with perhaps more choices if you want to be close to the Ocean.

I love SLO! I lived there for about 8 months. It's a really great town. Around 50k I believe. The MTB & road riding is great there. Go into Arts Cyclery for cycling info and group rides. Right next door go to The Running Warehouse for running/ hiking info. Tons of trails all over and Montana De Oro has amazing mountains/trails that are right next to the ocean.

I lived in a 600 sq ft place for about 850 a month. Close to San Luis Mountain aka Mondona mountain and ran on those trails quite often. Lots of cool beach towns in that area too. Great dirt roads up by Lopez Lake too. There's so many places to explore there that you won't get bored. The only downside is that it can get a little windy there so if you're road riding, start early in the morning. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Camping in Lopez Lake. surfing in Montana De Oro. A huge farmers market with great food.

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http://www.MattRussellTri.com -Pro Triathlete -Tri Coach

If you want to see where I live at Lake of the Pines, let me know and you can stop by.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I lived in SLO for 5 years in college (1986-91). My parents retired just north of there in Atascadero a few year later and I have had family there ever since.

Trail running has improved since I left but has a lot to be desired. With the recent expansion of the trail system behind Costco on the south side of town (Irish Hills) its gotten a lot better. Montana de Oro State Park in Los Osos has some nice trails to run and to MTB, Questa ridge has some fun MTB trails too. Most are mixed use so lots of MTB riders bombing down trails when you are trying to run up them.

SLO is NOT CHEAP. In town can be as expensive as the bay area. There are two main groups in town, the blue hairs and the college students. Like oil and water sometimes. Be careful where you look at moving to, close to campus and your next door neighbors will change once a year and party all the time if you happen to have a roll over house next door.

Since you mentioned surfing, I would look at Pismo, Avila Beach and Los Osos or if I had the cash definitely look at Cayucos. Especially if you like to surf!, Cayucos is the last stop before San Simion and the Coast highway. Road Riding out of Cayucos you could easily pop over the hill to Paso Robles for miles and miles of great back roads and some wineries that rival or surpass Napa.

SLO proper will have lots of restaurants and night life if that's your stick, but if you prefer a little more open space, I would look outside of town. Orcutt Rd., out towards Lopez Lake has some newer housing that's quite nice and the riding there is great too.

We are also looking at a relocation to Auburn in the next few years. You will get twice as much for your housing dollar in Auburn as you will in SLO, but you will sacrifice some culture as Auburn is in the foothills and rather redneck at heart. SLO is A LOT more liberal that it used to be if that type of issue concerns you. The Cal Poly Performing Arts Center gets some decent acts to play there, not so much in Auburn.

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Poly '83 here, and I now spend time in North County over the Grade from SLO. karma nailed a lot of things. The county is small enough that just about everything is within 30 minutes of SLO, so you can live in beach towns, wine country and the hills. The lakes near the Wildflower aren't far.

The trail system is pretty good. Aside from the previously mentioned stuff, Johnson Ranch has a great 3.5 mile loop and recently connected with Irish Hills. Here's the city's cite with maps. The Heat Map can show you the trails, and reminds me that the Poly Canyon loop is popular. The bike button on the Heat Map shows that there is *tons* of road biking.

I have a place in Avila Beach. Love it there. Slower life pace there than SLO IMO. No one seems to be in a hurry which I like.

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Formerly TriBrad02

Yes, I have been to Avila Beach. Absolutely beautiful. Really peaceful setting. How hard is it to find a long term rental there? Is it generally more expensive than SLO?

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Simplify, Train, Live

LIke others, I lived there in college and also was on the Cycling team (Cal Poly wheelmen). I just visited with my family over the holidays.

I'd agree that you can ride and do a lot of outdoor lifestyle activities there. The water is cold though so most surfing is with a full suit except for a few months a year. Otherwise, it's a very outdoor lifestyle and very relaxed.

Most everything said from others was correct from my perspective. One thing you should be aware of in Avila is that lovely as it is, there is a nuclear power plant right there. That could bother some, not others. And rents will be high given it's a popular tourist destination. Still charming but I would not live there due to the proximity to the plant.

I think many told you good areas - rents and real estate in SLO, Cayucos, and Avila will be higher that others. Probably a little less in Nipomo (south) and in the inland areas like Paso Robles or Templeton. Pismo is a little touristy and rundown for me, but that's a personal thing. SLO is probably the "cultural" capital since it has activity due to the University.

I think the most salient thing is to explore as others said and see what you like.

J

Thanks everybody. I am a little over 1.5 years away from retirement, so it is fun to do a bit of daydreaming about my new home. San Luis Obispo sounds great. I will visit Auburn though. Fortunately I am not a tree, so I can move if it is not what I expect ; )

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Simplify, Train, Live

Depending on what you like to do, Lake of the pines might be something you want to look at. Lots of folks retire here. Many things to do. Close too so much but away from all the big city issues. Lived here for 25 years
and have many family members who have moved in also.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep