I am rating Cambria #2, but if your criteria is for a small, quiet, beach town Cambria is your #1. I have liked stopping and sometimes staying at Cambria since the 1970’s. Unlike many places in the mid California Coast area it has only changed a little. The reasons are because Cambria is a bit remote and there is not a lot of fresh water to expand the town. So if you look for a place to live here make sure it has fresh water rights.
Cambria is not the only nice livable small town in this area. Cayucos, Morro Bay, Los Osos, Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, and San Simeon are also very good places to consider if you want mild beach weather and many places to live with an ocean view. San Luis Obispo is also a very good college town to relocate to that is about 20 miles to the water.
This is a short description of Cambria.
Cambria, CA is a small, unincorporated coastal village of about 5,700–6,000 people in San Luis Obispo County on California’s Central Coast, along Highway 1 roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
It sits where native Monterey pine forests meet a rugged, rocky shoreline and is known as a quieter alternative to busier beach towns. The community is split into a historic East Village (older buildings, galleries, shops) and West Village, with Moonstone Beach and its ~1.5-mile bluff-top boardwalk on the ocean side. Nearby attractions include Fiscalini Ranch Preserve (coastal trails through pines and bluffs) and Hearst Castle, about 6–11 miles north. Tourism, art, and a lack of chain stores define the local character.
The area has a long history of Chumash and Salinan presence, 19th-century settlement (originally called Slabtown and other names), and later growth tied to Hearst Castle construction. It has an older population and a relaxed, walkable small-town feel.
Santa Barbara and Cambria are both expensive places to live. While Santa Barbara has very expensive areas like Montecito on its south side, it’s not as expensive as areas in Los Angeles like Santa Monica and Malibu. Santa Barbara offers a more relaxed lifestyle with less traffic.
On the other hand, the smaller beach towns north of Santa Barbara tend to be quieter and have restrictions on certain activities, such as flying to other places, live theater, grocery stores, Costco, large hospitals, and specialty care. There’s a Costco in San Luis Obispo, but it’s 30 miles away. Santa Barbara has several Costco and Costco alternatives in town.
While you can fly from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles fairly frequently, traveling from a small beach town in mid-California to the Midwest, East Coast, or overseas will be more expensive and take longer than traveling from a place like Los Angeles or San Francisco.
BobNuttmann.com 