Sunset magazine names SLO a top 10 dream town

By Pat Pemberton
ppemberton@thetribunenews.com

It's nice to be envied.

The current issue of Sunset magazine shows San Luis Obispo a lot of love this month, featuring the city as one of its top 10 Dream Towns - or, as the editors say, places to go "for the perfect vacation, or the perfect rest of your life."

Grouped with locations such as the town of Eastsound on Washington's Orcas Island and Butte, Colo., the two-page spread starts with a flattering line: "For your consideration: San Luis Obispo is the most Californian place in all of California."

In particular, writer Matthew Jaffe notes the weather, Thursday's Farmers Market, and funky favorites, including Linnaea's Cafe and the Palm Theatre - "the only solar-powered picture show in the country" - as proof of San Luis Obispo's charm.

Sunset readers have previously voted San Luis Obispo the "Best Downtown" in the country. But the 110-year-old magazine isn't the first to heap praises on the city: Surfer magazine ranked the near-the-beach town as one of the top 10 surf towns in the country. Runner's World, meanwhile, ranked it one of the top 10 cities for running.

While Sunset noted the still-high cost of living, it was particularly impressed by the city's outdoor options, noting its "relentlessly fit" population.

"People often talk about California as a state of mind," Jaffe wrote, "Well, in San Luis Obispo, it's also a a way of life."