My wife and I may retire in Atascadero CA. How is it there?

[maveric]

We wanted to live in Morro Bay but the rents are high there. We did find a nice affordable place in Atascadero online and are in contact with the owners.
Is it a nice place to live? Anything bad we should know about this town?

[procon]

1. Atascadero State Hospital for the criminally insane and a huge prison

are major employers in the area. My niece lived there in 2013-2015 and there were many renovation projects and new businesses catering to upscale consumers with lots of art galleries, trendy restaurants, local breweries and wine bars. Visited a couple of times, they have a nice zoo, lots of city run events, hiking trails where my niece liked to take the dogs and go for a family picnic. Can't recall that she ever complained about the place, and only moved when her relationship ended.

[maveric]

2. Thank you procon

I talked to many locals of Morro Bay and they suggested Atascadero for an affordable retirement.
We’re in San Diego and the traffic is terrible, housing shortage, millions of people...It just seemed so peaceful there compared to down here.
San Diego is a beautiful city but it’s just getting too expensive to live here anymore.