Affordable, Up and Coming Areas Near San Luis Obispo?

[Tristan Cottarel]

Hi,

I'm a college student who has been looking into getting into real estate investing for a while now; I feel drawn to buy and hold/BRRR, specifically. I just transferred to Cal Poly SLO from the Bay Area; now that I've quit the job I had in community college and there's less pressure to get perfect grades, I have a lot more free time, and I look forward to seizing my time here to finally take some action.

San Luis Obispo, like the Bay Area, is expensive, so starting out locally isn't ideal.

I'm unfamiliar with the area and am wondering if anyone can speak to semi-nearby (1-3 hour radius) areas that are more affordable but still 'desirable' and worth looking into. Glancing over Zillow it looks as though virtually all of the listings in nearby areas are pre-foreclosure, which isn't too reassuring. Any thoughts?

Thanks!