Would Santa Cruz/monterey be a good choice? (San Jose, Oakland: real estate, renting) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

anjapop · 01-23-2007, 02:32 PM

Hi, My husband and I live in Oakland and are thinking of re-locating once we have kids to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area.
I was wondering how the weather is there compared to oakland...if it's much cooler and windy? would love to be a little more inland where it's not windy.
we recently made a trip there and it was gorgeous, I actually didn't find it very windy or cold.
What are the towns closer to the hills and are they considered 'safe'? I was hearing that Salinas and Watonsville have high gang/drug rates.

Mvn2nc · 01-23-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anjapop

Hi, My husband and I live in Oakland and are thinking of re-locating once we have kids to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area.
I was wondering how the weather is there compared to oakland...if it's much cooler and windy? would love to be a little more inland where it's not windy.
we recently made a trip there and it was gorgeous, I actually didn't find it very windy or cold.
What are the towns closer to the hills and are they considered 'safe'? I was hearing that Salinas and Watonsville have high gang/drug rates.

What can you aford? Are you going to be buying o renting? Cost does play a part in this first and foremost.
I just left that area but know plenty about it

dusesean1986 · 01-23-2007, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anjapop

hearing that Salinas and Watonsville have high gang/drug rates.

Do not move there, whatever you do!

dusesean1986 · 01-23-2007, 04:37 PM

I think Santa Cruz is very windy, but I'm not sure about Monterey. Both areas are extremely nice, I'm sure you will love both. I would prefer Monterey, because of it's greenery beauty. Santa Cruz is quite crowded. You will probably need a sizable income for both, they will have the same weather as Oakland!

newportbeachsmostwanted · 01-23-2007, 04:49 PM

Santa Cruz has tons of rain. (10 inches/ month during January and Febuary near the mountains.)

The whole Monterey Peninsula is covered by what seems perpetual fog. The sun shines brighter in Oakland. (definitly not a pun) Oaklands crime rate is horrible and people in general are lacking trust. I would prefer rainy Santa Cruz over crime-ridden Oakland anyday of the week.

What part of Oakland are you living in?

Deserter · 01-23-2007, 06:19 PM

Santa Cruz and Monterey are both nice if you can afford them. I think Santa Cruz has slightly better weather. More sun, less fog. However, it's plenty foggy in the summer. Fall and spring in SC are perfect. The summer fog is actually refreshing compared to the sweltering Santa Clara valley.

I wouldn't really say Santa Cruz has tons of rain. It rains more than the desert. 10 inches a month is an exaggeration. Maybe during an el niño year. Rain usually begins with a few showers in October and tapers off sometime in April or May. It's probably about 20-30 inches per year and double that up in the mountains with the redwoods. When I lived in the SC mountains during an el niño year we got 60 inches while the city of SC got 30. December and January are probably the rainiest. We would sometimes get a beautiful faux spring in Feb, followed by more rain in March.

I think SC weather is better than SF's by a mile. Santa Cruz faces south rather than straight west onto the ocean. Capitola is better still as its farther into the curve of the bay. The fog always burned off earlier there and rolled back in a little later.

The SC mountains get warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter, plus double the rain. You might look at Soquel, Bonny Doon or Felton which are just inside the forest. Property was generally more expensive the closer you got to the beach.

Oh, I don't think SC is especially windy.

newportbeachsmostwanted · 01-23-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deserter

10 inches a month is an exaggeration. Maybe during an el niño year.

Here is Felton..
http://pics.city-data.com/w3/prc1932.png (broken link)

Santa Cruz is slightly less.

anjapop · 01-23-2007, 08:04 PM

Thanks for all the input. We currently own and would be looking for a 3BR/1.5BA home. I was researching prices and they seemed pretty comproble to Oakland. We paid $530K for a 2BD/1BA.
When we drove through Santa Cruz it was definately foggy around 11am and once we hit monterey it had cleared. Is it normally that foggy everyday in SC?
I lived in the midwest before moving here and had to cope with snow - as long as it's not snow I don't think I would mind. Oakland last winter was cloudy almost everyday and rained a ton! This year has been much better though.
I love our home in oakland but unfortunately where we live, the schools are not good and I definately always feel I have to watch my back. We live in a nice pocket, where are neighbors care about there homes - but it's definatley a small pocket surrounded by crime about 2 miles out around us.

Are there any other towns around the area that would be good to raise kids? We are a younger couple in our early 30's.

Deserter · 01-23-2007, 09:12 PM

Fog in SC depends largely on just how hot it is inland. The hotter San Jose is, the longer the fog will take to burn off. I would imagine if the fog had burned off in Monterey by the time you got there, SC would have been clear by then, too. It also does vary by neighborhoods. Even a few blocks inland can make a difference. The fog is mostly a summer thing.

In response to Freedom's chart, Felton is in the woods and as I mentioned the mountains and the forest on the mountains get more rain than SC, but it's also more affordable. However, the chart did only show that almost 10 inches in January with a sharp drop-off in Feb. In rainy years, that number could definitely be higher. Most of the 20-30 inches (X 2 for the mtns) of rain will fall between December and February.

Most of Santa Cruz is reasonably safe. You'd want to avoid the area by the boardwalk known as Beach Flats. Bonny Doon, Soquel, Aptos, Corralitos, Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Zayante, Lompico, and Brookdale are all towns that are located in and near the SC mountains. Some of these towns are extremely tiny and can be difficult to access during storms. They are also prone to power failures at the slightest breeze (tall trees + overhead utility lines). Amenities are also limited (Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek) or practically non-existent (Corralitos, Zayante, Lompico, Brookdale, Bonny Doon). Soquel and Aptos have parts that are not in the mountains with more amenities.

Best thing is to spend the weekend in the area and drive around through all these little towns. They're beautiful with amazing views and the roads are fun to drive. There are also some wineries up in those mountains, if you're into that. You could take Highway 9 from Saratoga one way and Old Santa Cruz Highway back from Soquel to 17. (Bear Creek Road and Boony Doon are also fun.)

I lived in Santa Cruz for 11 years and I loved it. (Except for the winter of '95 when a mudslide came through my bedroom.)

If you buy in the mountains, be sure to hire a geologist for a thorough inspection of your land and any nearby land at a higher elevation.

Mvn2nc · 01-24-2007, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anjapop

Thanks for all the input. We currently own and would be looking for a 3BR/1.5BA home. I was researching prices and they seemed pretty comproble to Oakland. We paid $530K for a 2BD/1BA.
When we drove through Santa Cruz it was definately foggy around 11am and once we hit monterey it had cleared. Is it normally that foggy everyday in SC?
I lived in the midwest before moving here and had to cope with snow - as long as it's not snow I don't think I would mind. Oakland last winter was cloudy almost everyday and rained a ton! This year has been much better though.
I love our home in oakland but unfortunately where we live, the schools are not good and I definately always feel I have to watch my back. We live in a nice pocket, where are neighbors care about there homes - but it's definatley a small pocket surrounded by crime about 2 miles out around us.

Are there any other towns around the area that would be good to raise kids? We are a younger couple in our early 30's.

Monterey has the fog as well but, Its not that bad as Pebble Beach,Carmel or Pacific Grove.Stay away from Marina as it is dreary and foggy all the time!
If you could aford it, Carmel Valley has the perfect weather and is super close to Monterey.
There are other areas as well,Toro Park which has a Salinas address ( zip code 93908)is a beautiful place to raise you kids. Homes are pricy but the area is small with a Mayberry feel.Schools are rated very high.
Also,there is the Corral D Tierra area, same zip but off of hiway 68 past the Monterey Airport.All very nice areas with SUN!! Its all inland enough but close to the Penninsula.
I would suggest if you are serious, talk to a Real Estate agent, tell them what you are interested in and they can direct you to the right areas that suit your lifestyle.