Insight on what people like about living in Santa Cruz (San Jose: landscaping, neighborhoods)

[jaijai]

There's an entire county.
What's the attachment to S.C. proper and why do people feel that they need to be relegated to it?
It makes no sense.
The problems that plague some areas of Santa Cruz and that turn people off are not an issue in the rest of the county with just a few exceptions.

[cawagirl]

Hello JaiJai;
In response to your post about taking the entire county into consideration, and not focusing on just one negative area: I do understand what you are saying; however, if one lives in Santa Cruz proper, or the S.C. Mountains (Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, etc) downtown Santa Cruz is where most things exist....i.e. the larger cinemas, the art cinema, the restaurants, book stores, shops, etc.
So unless you live in south county, downtown Santa Cruz really is your "go to" place for a lot of the above services. That being the case (we lived in Ben Lomond) we simply got tired of the insanity that was downtown. Every time we wanted to go to a restaurant, movie, book store etc. we'd get hit up for "spare change" within 2 minutes. Not once in a while, but every single time, several times a trip. Frequently, the people were too lazy to stand up, so they would lay on the sidewalk and beg. This is not to mention the filthy streets, the smell of urine in doorways, people looking like they were in the "Night of the Living Dead" movie, etc.
My last straw was when the Borders bookstore was repeatedly vandalized because it was a chain. Acid (not LSD) was thrown at the front doors, and the bathrooms were vandalized so often patrons were no longer allowed to use them. So...if you were shopping there and needed a restroom you had to go wandering down the street to try and find one. Charming. I did find the public one. Someone shooting up in the stall next to me. Double charming.
I'm sure all the above wouldn't bother everyone as much as it did me. And that's as it should be. To each his own.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by cawagirl

Every time we wanted to go to a restaurant, movie, book store etc. we'd get hit up for "spare change" within 2 minutes. Not once in a while, but every single time, several times a trip.

A favorite stop on the perennial trustafarian circuit, which also includes Seattle, Portland, and SF (the Haight). Faces demanding handouts become familiar if one frequents these places. Often they will take their earnings, jump into the Honda around the corner, and proceed to the next stop on the tour to begin anew.

[cawagirl]

To bigdumbgod. I totally agree. I now live close to Portland (left Santa Cruz
3 years ago). Portland has better restaurants and worse weather, and similar
"beggar" problems. It seemed worse in Santa Cruz because S.C. is smaller, so the problem was more concentrated....I basically lived in S.C. for my husband's job, and near Portland now cause his family is here. If I had my drothers, I would be in Franklin, TN as long as I had a basement with a cement room
Darn twisters are gettin' worse...

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by cawagirl

To bigdumbgod. I totally agree. I now live close to Portland (left Santa Cruz
3 years ago). Portland has better restaurants and worse weather, and similar
"beggar" problems. It seemed worse in Santa Cruz because S.C. is smaller, so the problem was more concentrated....I basically lived in S.C. for my husband's job, and near Portland now cause his family is here. If I had my drothers, I would be in Franklin, TN as long as I had a basement with a cement room
Darn twisters are gettin' worse...

Earthquakes here, twisters there...**** to deal with everywhere!

Just hope we get some substantial rain, or the fire season's gonna be a nasty one.

[kirby10]

Ah.... Santa Cruz, lived there 12 years...couldn't wait to leave...nicknamed it "funky town"...poorly run by self-centered....poorly laid out..growth was never planned (or wanted) which led to
inadequate housing (and expensive at that). Few homes have "curb appeal" because there are so many rentals. Weather, great...really? Cold and damp...overcast most of the summer and worse areas south of the city of Santa Cruz...oh, and the downtown, you'll want to avoid it..."Was
a great place before the Loma Prieta quake." Pros: air quality; but there is afternoon wind.
IMO Santa Rosa is the place for better weather...it's amazing...housing is more affordable, people are very friendly. It's a very pleasant 25 minute drive to Bodega Bay, some of most beautiful coastline in
California.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by kirby10

to
inadequate housing (and expensive at that). Few homes have "curb appeal" because there are so many rentals.

It's a college town. Compares pretty favorably to Isla Vista down the coast, if we want to compare college towns.

[kirby10]

Love the post by bigdumbgod.......so true....'couldn't wait to get over my "sentence" of 12 years in Santa Cruz.

[cawagirl]

I agree with both of you. I did my 25 year sentence in Santa Cruz county. Best thing about it for me was the Super Taqueria in Watsonville. Honestly.
Also, Speaking of Santa Rosa, I lived there for 18 years, just before Santa Cruz. I did love it. Amazing place. Better when I lived there (1966-1981) than now, but that could be said for a lot of places.

[ebrooks]

Where are you moving from?