Can anyone tell me about Los Osos, CA? Is it nice?

Question

I've been told it's affordable compared to most of CA. What would it be like to live there? Diversity? Economic stability? Weather? Thanks for any input!

Answer 1

It is beautiful there and relatively affordable. The weather is much cooler than southern California and the water temperature never gets warm enough to swim without a wet suit (in my opinion, anyway). I love the area and looked at property there a few years back. I love that there isn't the traffic problem that the rest of southern California has. And if you are not retired and have to look for work, there are several nearby small cities with employment opportunities.

There is one thing you need to know about if you are considering moving to this area though...especially if you are thinking about buying property there. There is an ongoing dispute about a proposed water treatment plant there. There is a building freeze in that area because people are on septic tanks instead of sewer, and there's evidence it's contaminating the groundwater. There are two problems with the proposed water treatment plant: 1) the cost of it and the cost of connecting to the proposed sewer system is projected to be very high...it will be a separate charge that some people will not be able to afford, and 2) the proposed location of the water treatment plant is highly unpopular, right in the middle of town, and residents nearby fear the smell of sewage invading their neighborhood and reducing property values.

Who knows what the reality will be? The third thing to keep in mind about this is the feelings run so high that it's pitted neighbor against neighbor, and there have been opposing signs posted on the lawns of one neighbor to the next. This dispute has been going on for years. The level of emotionalism has been pretty high between the pro treatment plant/anti treatment plant advocates. I don't know what the current status of the sewer issue is but a friend who lives in the area told me recently it's still not resolved. (I have a link to a recent article from the local newspaper below.)

If the dispute is resolved and the treatment plant is built then the building moratorium will be lifted and then I'd expect a building boom in the area which could easily change the small town atmosphere into one of a busy community that looks like the rest of southern California. It would mean that you'd make money on a property if you sell, I guess, but probably a loss of the atmosphere you came to the area in the first place for (sorry for awkward sentence construction there...)

Some real estate agents minimize the importance of this so that they can sell you a home; it's a good indicator of whether you are working with an ethical realtor or not, really. The ones that are honest about the positives and negatives of the situation seem to me to be the more legitemate ones. Of course, the reason why the area is so reasonably priced while being a seaside community is because of the sewer dispute, so if they minimize the importance of this they are not telling you the full story. I met with several realtors while looking for property there and some were pretty evasive about the dispute while others were forthcoming. I'd always "play dumb" and found that their discussion of the dispute gave me a good idea of the honesty of the agent.

Buying property there would be somewhat like buying a lottery ticket. If this situation ends up being resolved by the water treatment plant being built, no real problems with the treatmeant plant, the cost of hook up to the sewer system reasonable, and everyone living happily ever after, the value of property will soar, and you'll be able to sell at a good profit. However, the risk is that this thing will continue to drag on forever and you'll have a hard time selling. Some say that is the current situation.

But the area is beautiful, so life couldn't be too bad.

Some information on the water system battle is on these websites:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/429/story/129364.html (most recent information)

http://www.cclososos.com/letters.html

http://www.losososutilities.org/watermasterplan/index.html

Other information you asked for: area is mostly white or Latino; I haven't seen many Asians or blacks in the area; economically speaking there are some middle class areas and I would describe the areas south of town (between town and Montana de Oro State Park) as wealthy. Weather is going to be mostly overcast for much of year, occasionally very windy, more rain than southern CA but nothing like northern CA either.

Answer 2

Los Osos is "The Bears" and is in the Central Coast of California. I live south of there but I have visited and it's a beautiful spot between 2 State Parks on Morro Bay. Just west of there is San Luis Obispo and Cal Poli, SLO.

It's a great area.

Below is a map and more from there, more info.

Answer 3

I love that area...close to Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo.Some beautiful scenery. Montana De Oro State Park is gorgeous!!! I go there yearly to do some bird watching. It is a great area...I would live there if I could find a way to make a living there!