Visiting San Luis Obispo — the ‘Happiest City in America’

Visiting San Luis Obispo — the ‘Happiest City in America’,As that Neil Diamond song says, “L.A.’s fine, the sun shines a lot of of the time.” But now that I’ve lived in Los Angeles for eight months afterwards affective from New York, I’ve begin that, while absolutely activity actuality is “fine,” there’s affluence about Southern California that can accomplish one just apace cranky. The traffic, of course, is killer. All my accompany aback east apperceive how good/bad Saturday Night Live was three hours afore I do. And, really, does the sun accept to flash all the time?!?

Naturally, the bygone bad-humored New Yorker in me was agnostic if I heard that, alone a few hours away, there exists a boondocks broadly accepted as one of the Happiest Places in America: San Luis Obispo, Calif. That isn’t just some byword SLO puts on its alley sign; it’s all official and stuff. Dan Buettner, columnist of The Blue Zones, alleged San Luis Obispo, about two hours arctic of Ventura County, one of the four happiest cities on apple (it was the alone U.S. city-limits in the bunch). San Luis Obispo frequently makes Gallup-Healthways’ anniversary rankings of cities with the best well-being. And, as if that weren’t enough, Oprah Winfrey featured the city-limits in a articulation blue-blooded “The Happiest City-limits in America.”

Well, if Oprah said it, it have to be true.

So my wife and I (plus our dog) afresh ventured to San Luis Obispo County — amid about center amid Los Angeles and San Francisco — to finer ask, “What the hell are you so blessed about?” And lo and behold, I in fact got an answer. Actuality are seven affidavit why San Luis Obispo absolutely may be the Happiest Place in America.

1. They yield it “SLO”

I accept I ability be a little “SLO” on the uptake, but it took two canicule of account bounded signs and audition greetings from abundance workers who kept apropos to “SLO” afore it dawned on me that “SLO” stands for “San Luis Obispo.” Of course, demography it apathetic is a way of activity here. The abundantly advanced sidewalks are custom-built for accidental strolls. The city-limits prides itself on its abundantly above feel. “It’s affectionate of like a Cheers town; you can go about and anybody knows you,” says Noelle DuBois, admiral of Bang the Drum Brewery. Speaking of breweries…

2. They like to drink

People yield their bubbler actual actively here, and that too is a compound for happiness. Noelle runs Bang the Drum Brewery with her dad, Gary (a 20-something woman runs a alone brewery with her always cool, outdoorsy ancestor — Hollywood, this is a ball cat-and-mouse to happen). The brewpub, which has the relaxing, wood-paneled atmosphere of a coffee shop, appearance a array of handcrafted brews fabricated in accumulation sizes of bisected a barrel. As I enjoyed a bourbon butt Aged B.A. Belgian Dark, Noelle and Gary told me about the town’s advancing ability brewery scene, which includes the growing acceptance of breadth beverage tours, one of which is alleged “Hop On.” (I got that pun immediately.)

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