Is Santa Cruz California safe?? (Los Angeles, Salinas: to rent, crime rates, high school)

[lexi]

We are in the process of planning a move to Monterey but one of
my two kids is pushing for Santa Cruz. I've read there are gang issues
and crime there. Monterey seems safer but quieter (good for us)
but maybe not as fun for the two kids...one starts Junior College this
next fall and the other is finishing up the last year of high school next
year and will be doing independent study at home. Any insights
will be appreciated. Also one is just driving and the other will just
be starting.... Monterey seems slow and relaxed.... how's Santa Cruz
driving and traffic wise. Thanks for any help!!

[Deserter]

Santa Cruz is a reasonably safe city. You wouldn't want to live near the boardwalk, but other than that it's okay. Traffic can be quite bad if you work standard business hours. Santa Cruz is pretty much built up as much as it can be and there's nowhere to expand or improve the roads. Plus, much of the area ia anti-growth so improvements are not supported by the residents. I'd be happy to move back there if I could afford it.

[lexi]

Originally Posted by Deserter

Santa Cruz is a reasonably safe city. You wouldn't want to live near the boardwalk, but other than that it's okay. Traffic can be quite bad if you work standard business hours. Santa Cruz is pretty much built up as much as it can be and there's nowhere to expand or improve the roads. Plus, much of the area ia anti-growth so improvements are not supported by the residents. I'd be happy to move back there if I could afford it.

Good to hear you'd move back if you could afford it... we'll just be renting.
Seriously I don't know how anyone affords the coastal prices. Thanks!

[CAFamily]

We love it in Santa Cruz, have raised our family there. It's a supportive community for alternative education (home schooling, independent study) and the beaches are great for teenagers and young adults. Gang issues are mostly in south county (Watsonville area) and as the other person replied, you'd not want to rent around the Boardwalk/Beachflats area.

Monterey is more expensive to live in, more of retirement age community, and not as nice weather-wise. It's more on the open ocean, thus it gets more fog and overcast weather, and has more wind, typically. It's beautiful to visit. Often we'll look out the window and see that Monterey is fogged in, while Santa Cruz has sunshine.

Santa Cruz and Monterey DOES get fog in the summer, especially close to the ocean, so one might consider renting on the north side of Hwy 1, if possible, towards the mountain side of the freeway.

Hope this helps. Moderator cut: Please put email address in your profile

[Starrynight227]

On the whole Santa Cruz is safe. There can be bad traffic and has some extremely accident prone areas of two highways that run through it. Overall I would describe Santa Cruz as a hippie, laid back, artsy area. I personally feel safer in the Monterey area. It's cleaner, less homeless, and less public drug use. Don't get me wrong, Santa Cruz is beautiful and there are areas that are breathtaking. The previous poster was correct, SC does get better weather at the beach i.e. not as much fog layer.

The junior college is great in both SC and Monterey, along with UCSC that is there as well. If surfing is something you're interested in SC is a great place.

One thing to remember though, if you decide to live in Santa Cruz or Monterey you won't miss out on either community because we're only 45 minutes away from each other.

[RobE]

Monterey is high crime but low murder rate; Stats at:
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Santa Cruz is no bargain, either:
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

I don't know the area, but would Danville be suitable?
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[lexi]

Originally Posted by RobE

Monterey is high crime but low murder rate; Stats at:
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Santa Cruz is no bargain, either:
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

I don't know the area, but would Danville be suitable?
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Wow, crime rates are high for both! I'm surprised Monterey was high
too... Danville would be great but too expensive.. even more than Monterey and Santa Cruz.
Thank you for the crime checker site though.. I'll use it to compare others!

[Starrynight227]

Wow, I would have never guessed that for Monterey. I have lived here off and on my whole life and never seen any crime. Makes me wonder how accurate that site is. For example, that site showed that Seaside has less crime than Monterey, which is very odd. You can walk downtown Monterey at night and never see one siren blaring but every single time I go to Seaside at night the gang task force is out in full force with streets blocked off.

ETA: Also says that Monterey has a higher Rape, assault, Burglary, and theft rate than Los Angeles, Compton, and Salinas. Not saying it's totally wrong but I find that so hard to believe.

[lexi]

Originally Posted by Starrynight227

Wow, I would have never guessed that for Monterey. I have lived here off and on my whole life and never seen any crime. Makes me wonder how accurate that site is. For example, that site showed that Seaside has less crime than Monterey, which is very odd. You can walk downtown Monterey at night and never see one siren blaring but every single time I go to Seaside at night the gang task force is out in full force with streets blocked off.

ETA: Also says that Monterey has a higher Rape, assault, Burglary, and theft rate than Los Angeles, Compton, and Salinas. Not saying it's totally wrong but I find that so hard to believe.

Yeah, I think they must be mistaken because I checked crime on
sperlings best places and Monterey came in low in crime. Santa Cruz
was higher. I've checked on sites that tell people Palm Springs average
temp in summer is 84... that's not right! I feel sorry for anyone who
moved and were shocked on that one.

[MontereyLocal]

While statistics are nice, you can also gather some more information by reading the local police's log of calls. For example, Monterey PD has theirs at http://www.monterey.org/mpd/policelog.html (broken link). Santa Cruz PD has theirs at http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pd/MediaLog/daily.html. These can give you a "what happened yesterday" idea of criminal activities instead of over the last 10 years averages.