SLO rocks.
Coupla things:
* Generally speaking, there are two populations in SLO - the students and the retired folks. The old people can become tiresome and a thorn in the side. There are actually groups here that spend their time going from house to house, trying to find zoning violations in order to get students kicked out of their neighborhoods. Having said that, I would say this is the exception rather than the rule.
[edit]
Just to add to this, a co-worker informed me today of a petition going around his neighborhood to eliminate parking on the streets after 11pm. Anyone wishing to do so must have a special parking permit, else they will be ticketed by the police. IMHO, if you don't want to deal with students, then get the f*ck out of a student neighborhood. I don't care who lived there first - once the students start to take over, they're never going to leave.
[/edit]
* The cops are dicks. They do NOT like greeks.
* The greek scene is great. You get out of it what you put in.
* The standard of living is very nice. Part of the reason that the cops are dicks is to prevent SLO from becoming a student ghetto like Isla Vista. It's a bit pricey to live here, but I'm sure it's no worse than San Diego.
* The best thing about SLO is that it has many big-city conveniences even though the population is only ~40,000. If you can't find it here, you can drive 30 mins. north or south. If you can't find it
there, you can drive 100 miles down to Santa Barbara.
I'd say go for it. For housing, check out these rental agencies:
http://www.farrellsmyth.com
http://www.california-west.com
I have used them both and I am quite happy with them.
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Good luck!