Let's talk about Los Osos, CA

This is the place I never thought I'd move to. Now I never want to leave.

Los Osos, CA is a little town on the Central Coast.

I moved here about two years ago. I didn’t really know much about the area despite living on the Central Coast on and off during the last 19 years. I had lived in San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach, Shell Beach and Grover Beach but had never spent much time in Los Osos, all I knew about it was they had just recently gotten a sewer system and that Sylvester’s Burgers was out here.

But, Dan was here. Our first home together that we shared with roommates was here and I quickly started to love this little quirky town full of thrift shops, art galleries, little funky restaurants, a couple of bars, minimal stop lights and even fewer sidewalks.

I left my last job in San Luis Obispo, The Hotel from Hell. I was looking for work and ended up getting a job at the local grocery store. I was meeting neighbors and having fun doing it and then… the Pandemic hit.

Like most of America I was scared and also thought it seemed absurd that it could be happening. When the lockdown happened, since I worked in a grocery store, I still went to work every day during it and then went home, stripped off my chef’s scrubs outside in the garage and went inside in my leggings and tshirt I was wearing underneath, washing my clothes every night because we just didn’t know much about Covid, or as I was calling it at the time The Shitty Beer Virus.

I did what most people around the world did during lockdown, I went online to read the news or connect with friends and I found a community that really made me fall in love with this little town. Just sitting there waiting for me to find it was this group called Support Los Osos. I joined it and started posting updates of what we had at the store during all the shortages and updating people on the rules of the masks and whatever.

In this group I met some awesome people like, Annette the Cat Lady. Annette fosters kittens to be adopted and also is the lady turning over Covid stats to her friends and neighbors every day. She’s Exene Cervenka cool and the world needs more Annettes.

(chilling in Annette’s cat room with Cher my favorite kitty)

There’s also Kimberly, the Carlocks Bakery Lady. Kimberly gives out bakery updates every morning and is a blast to hang out with. Apparently she can also shoot a bow and arrow and that’s awesome and terrifying.

Joelle the Goat Lady, who has this rad daughter and they raise livestock. Joelle brings her goats around to visit people all the time. When she brought me one at the store, my manager said “Well that’s a weird dog.”

(the front steps of my house with a goat)

There is Emily the Little Library Lady. Jessica used to be the Starbucks Lady but now she’s The Bank Lady and is always willing to help people she likes. Heather the Hair Lady owns Sea Glass Salon and gives every customer a very personal experience and I’m super glad to have her as a friend. Kaitlin the Cleaning Lady who also makes bomb candles and resin casts.

(some of Kaitlyn’s goodies)

There are so many other beautiful souls here in Los Osos that I met through this Facebook group and eventually they gave me a name of my own, I’m The Chicken Lady, from my time working in the deli making well… chicken and giving “fowl” mouthed cluckin’ updates about the state of the grocery store and what was going on with the chicken.

(my shirt says “Rise and Shine Mothercluckers”)

And this community of beautiful people have been helping each other out through out the pandemic, running errands, making each other masks, encouraging each other and helping each other.

Last year I landed in the hospital with a very unexpected large bill to pay and lost wages because I couldn’t work and the community pulled together and raised a substantial amount of money to help me pay the bill and keep my roof over my head while I got back on my feet. I cried every time a donation came in because wow. It’s impossible not to feel humble in that situation.

I run into people from the Facebook group all the time at the store and it’s always fun to catch up in person. I run into them at the local pubs or when I’m out picking up chips and salsa from La Casita next door. I love knowing I’ll probably see a friend whenever I go out.

Los Osos is a place I never thought I would live. There aren’t many sidewalks. There are very few street lights. My beloved San Luis Obispo is a 15 minute car ride away but when you’re me and you don’t drive its an hour away by bus. I thought for sure I was going to die of lonely out here, in the town that just recently got a sewage system, but nope. Instead my heart is more full of friendships and support than I ever thought possible and for this I am grateful every single day.

This is something I wrote two years ago after moving into our first house:

the  bay

We wake up in the morning and the windows are always open. I put on my little robe and wander through our house and make a glass of juice. Outside I hear the seagulls and the neighbor’s chickens. There is a fog horn in the next town over and the sound of it sings me to sleep at night.

It’s usually gray and quiet in the morning, cool and still. I look out the back door at our plants and let the dog out. He’s small and scrappy and not much of a dog but he loves me and watches TV with me when everyone else is gone.

There are no street lights here at night. There aren’t any sidewalks. Just a funky little town full of thrift shops and book stores and a couple of dive bars. We know our neighbors. We are always sweeping the sand off our driveway.

We cook dinners for friends. We play games around the kitchen table. We listen to music in the back yard. We visit the goats on the farm down the street.

This is where we live now. 

(Some local photos)