The Central Coast - broadly, the stretch of California from Big Sur down to Santa Barbara - is one of the most under-described places in the country. It does not show up in the brochures the way San Francisco or Los Angeles does. That is part of its appeal.
The Geography
A coastline of dunes, cliffs, and small beach towns; a coastal range of oak savanna and chaparral; an interior of vineyards and ranches. Mild weather almost year-round. Less crowded than the rest of coastal California.
The People
Retirees who came for the climate. Cal Poly students and faculty. Wine industry workers and owners. Farmers and ranchers. Aerospace engineers from Vandenberg. Surfers, hikers, hospital workers, school teachers. A real cross-section of California life.
The Way People Use Their Feet
What stands out, after years of practice here, is how active most of my patients are - at every age. People walk on the beach in the morning, hike Bishop Peak after work, garden into their 80s, surf into their 70s. The feet that come into my office are well-used. They have asked a lot of their owners. The job is to keep them working.
A Note On Why I Came
I trained on the East Coast and could have practiced in many places. The Central Coast gave me what I wanted: a community small enough to know my patients, big enough to do the surgical work I trained for, and beautiful enough that going to work feels like a privilege.
