Any Safe Areas In Santa Cruz? (Truckee, Capitola: appointed, apartments, lease)

[Phriend]

I recently looked at the Santa Cruz crime figures, and quite honestly, I was a bit disappointed.

What are the safest areas to live in within Santa Cruz? Ideally I would like to be near the beach -- but a lot of that area seems to be low-income, high-crime.

Any ideas?

[sonarrat]

The safe part of Santa Cruz is called Capitola. :P

No, I'm kidding. But the city is pretty compact. Big expensive houses are mixed in with starter duplexes, condos and apartments with no real division. You would have to go all the way down to finding out who your neighbors are and who they hang out with to know what kind of a neighborhood it is.

[Phriend]

Craaaaaap.

[Woof]

I think it's more a matter of non-violent crimes like theft and burglaries, rather than violent crime. There's a large homeless population, some of whom are trying to get a little more out of life than they can get honestly.

[Phriend]

Here is a map that shows the assaults that took place in Santa Cruz in 2006:
http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pd/st.../06Assault.pdf

(This seems like WAY too many! Are there a lot of angry people over there or something?)

Anyway, this is one of the reasons that I'd like to know what the better areas of the city are. I live in Michigan now, so I can't exactly drive around Santa Cruz to check it out for myself before signing a lease.

[Capt. Dan]

If you dont HAVE to live in the city, the area just north of town is pretty nice. Ben Lomond I think it is called.

[mkcking]

Phriend,
Have you compared the crime figures with other parts of California? It just might be that California in general has more crime than you're used to.

Why do you have to live in Santa Cruz? Do you have a family?

Personally, I'd LOVE to live in Santa Cruz, it's such a nice town with really laid back, friendly folk (but a few wierdos here and there and really expensive).

[Woof]

Phriend, I've had things stolen from me in Santa Cruz but have never experienced violence there. Probably most of the violence is from drunks (including students). It goes without saying that you shouldn't wander down the alleys alone, late at night. Stay out of dives and you should be fine.

Santa Cruz is nowhere near as dangerous as Detroit. If you can afford to live there or Capitola or Felton, go for it.

[rubyskye]

I agree with Woof.
I've lived in the area on and off alot and I'm a woman and I feel quite safe there. But you know, you gotta be smart. My car got broken into this summer because I parked in a stupid place. Ease into the area and get to know it .... like any place.
There's crime everywhere but generally the Santa Cruz area is mellow although at the same time there is an intensity and whacky-ness and chaotic-ness that may at first be a bit intimidating until you get used to the scene. I'm speaking of Santa Cruz proper btw. Downtown Santa Cruz is a trip .... although since the earthquake in '89 and the rebuilding and the yuppie dot-commers it lost alot of its weirdness unfortunately. More social control and order to appeal to those who are freaked out by freaks.
Felton is up into the Santa Cruz mountains and it's a pain in the ass to get to the Ocean. I'd recommend either Aptos or Soquel and parts of Capitola. You'll still be in "Santa Cruz" just not Santa Cruz proper.
If you're drawn there (which I sense you are - aren't you the guy who asked about biking in Santa Cruz?) perhaps you just need to take the plunge and don't go looking on the internet to confirm your fears or attitudes. You can't really know a place by reading about it.
It's a cool area with really good people ... diverse, tolerant, open and friendly. There's alot going on there, a great music scene and with pretty easy access to so much of the best of California. (for example, less than 2 hours to San Fran and I can get to Truckee in 4-1/2 hours if the traffic isn't bad!)
I am curios though ... what appeals to you about Santa Cruz? I mean, where did the idea come from? why there? just wondering.
Good luck no matter where your heart and feet take you

[scg831]

If you are scared that something might happen to you then don't come here. We need less paranoid people here. As a matter of fact I will recommend for other paranoids to move where you live. Things here in California are not like you see them on TV. Real stuff happens here. I don't know about where you live but there is crime everywhere. And people like you are always looking for an excuse to call the cops or put up fences and divide everyone up. If you don't like the statistics then don' bother coming here because the way I see it its just going to get worse. Just last week there was three homicides in Santa Cruz right by Capitola. Are you scared? Go to church, and don't come here.