Santa Cruz better fit than OC? (Salinas, Mountain View: home, place to live, vs.)

[calicoastal]

I friggin' love Santa Cruz. And it has way more character than OC, Santa Cruz is funky and gorgeous at the same time. I'd move there in a heartbeat if I had a stable job there. Unfortunately, jobs are rarely stable anymore, unless you work in government or health care, two industries I find soul crushing. Anyway I'm rambling, I say go for it!

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by calicoastal

I friggin' love Santa Cruz. And it has way more character than OC, Santa Cruz is funky and gorgeous at the same time. I'd move there in a heartbeat if I had a stable job there. Unfortunately, jobs are rarely stable anymore, unless you work in government or health care, two industries I find soul crushing. Anyway I'm rambling, I say go for it!

there ya go.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The OP said there would be a van pool for the commute, so at least she wouldn't have to deal with the driving and traffic.

OP, you should check out Craigslist to get an idea of what kind of rents there are in the area. My favorite part of town is the neighborhood along West Cliff Drive that goes south toward Capitola. Depending on where you are in that neighborhood, there's a good grocery store that's walkable or definitely easily bikeable; it's a former food co-op and is like Whole Foods but better in some ways. There are also small corner-type grocers scattered around there. The closer you get to Mission St., the cheaper the rents, it looks to me, and the higher the student population. There's also a Safeway store off Mission. That whole area is in the SW corner of town. You can pull up a map to get an idea of the layout.

In my observation, it's the least sketchy area, but could well be one of the most expensive ones. But it certainly has proximity to the beach! It's not a part of the coastline that's for surfing, though. The main beach in town, that's in a bay and is more protected, is where the surfing takes place. Also Capitola, which has an even smaller-town feel than SC. Not sure if your work shuttle would go to Capitola, though. That would add more time to the commute.


I don't know how much money they're offering you, but you might consider negotiating for a higher salary, due to higher COL.

Actually Ruth4Truth .... Ummmmm .... where do i begin?

You may want to refrain from giving information about the Santa Cruz surf culture. They're a gnarly bunch and ya don't want to **** them off.

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is at Steamer Lane >>> West Cliff Drive! Steamer Lane is the most famous break in Santa Cruz and is known to all local and all true / hardcore surfers in Santa Cruz, in California and beyond.

You say, "The main beach in town, that's in a bay and is more protected, is where the surfing takes place". Which "main beach in town" are you referring to? The great (not to mention famous!) breaks in Santa Cruz (Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point to name 2 of the best known) have nothing to do with any beach! And much of the coast line of Santa Cruz is on the northern "edge" of the bay! Santa Cruz = Monterey Bay.

And though there are a few short beaches down from West Cliff, it is certainly not where the good beaches are in S.C. itself or in the county as a whole. Not at all!



To say that it is the "least sketchy area" in Santa Cruz is a false statement! Yes, there are some lovely (and very expensive) properties in that area but there are lovely and very expensive properties and neighborhoods throughout Santa Cruz and throughout the entire county (and many are much tonier and safer) that are as un-"sketchy" And i sure wouldn't want to live right on West Cliff Drive with the constant traffic, air pollution from that traffic, cruising going on, tourists, etc.. Way too frenetic.

And if you're referring to New Leaf Market (the one that you say is like Whole Foods but perish that thought! - Whole Foods is a corporate parasite) is not within walking distance nor are there lots of "corner markets scattered around there". Although you're so vague that i don't know what you mean when you say "there". Do you?
And since the o.p. is concerned about cost of living in the county, to guide her to that area is to misguide her. It's certainly not a place where inexpensive rentals (or expensive ones for that matter) abound.


And you say, "The closer you get to Mission St., the cheaper the rents, it looks to me, and the higher the student population. There's also a Safeway store off Mission. That whole area is in the SW corner of town. You can pull up a map to get an idea of the layout."

When you say above that, "It looks to me" .... well it's an indication that you're using the internet / looking at maps, etc.. to glean and then give information about a community that you clearly don't know or understand.
Santa Cruz is not a place that's easy to define with clear and obvious demarcations (with some exceptions ... like for example living in the Flats may not be wise) re; cost, crime, etc., etc.. It takes a long time to really get to know this of community. It's different than many other places in that regard.

Mission St. is a continuation of HWY1 coming from the north and there are lots and lots of businesses on Mission St. It's also a long street that varies re; businesses, neighborhoods, etc., on it and off of it and you can't make such a general statement about it. Well you can, but you'd be wrong.

But yes and yay .... there is a SafeWay on Mission St.!

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

This is a typical very negative and very limited attitude of someone who does not really know or understand Santa Cruz.
And re; "water activities" ... do you understand anything about the surf culture in S.C.? Nope.
And it is absolutely not true that "the beach is freezing 99% of the year". Ya don't know what you're talking about dude.
People love to diss S.C.. It's annoying.

I agree with you. In fact, if you just go to Wikipedia, you can see that the temperatures in Santa Cruz are very similar to Santa Barbara. In January, an average of 60 degrees, and it averages in the 70s for six months of the year. By far the best beach weather north of Santa Barbara.

[blueskywalker]

Yep.
For many months the water is totally swimmable and playable. Go to any beach in the county in the summer and early fall and you can see kids and big people swimming, body surfing, playing in the ocean.

[sav858]

I really wouldn't consider the water in Santa Cruz swimmable for most people any time of the year, for how crowded the beaches can be you don't see that many people in the water. And the water is certainly not nearly as warm as Orange County in summer.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by sav858

I really wouldn't consider the water in Santa Cruz swimmable for most people any time of the year, for how crowded the beaches can be you don't see that many people in the water. And the water is certainly not nearly as warm as Orange County in summer.

I wouldn't imagine it is as warm as Orange County but it certainly is swimmable / playable (unless one is a total SoCal weeny ) and though there are more people on the beach than in the water (that's always the case on any beach) there are, like i said (sigh) always lots of kids (big and little) in the water at the beaches in Santa Cruz county throughout the summer and early fall! I see on a daily basis. It varies though depending on water temps, air temp., tides, how many people are in town.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

This is a typical very negative and very limited attitude of someone who does not really know or understand Santa Cruz.
And re; "water activities" ... do you understand anything about the surf culture in S.C.? Nope.
And it is absolutely not true that "the beach is freezing 99% of the year". Ya don't know what you're talking about dude.
People love to diss S.C.. It's annoying.

Most of my friends wouldn't be able to stay in the water for more than 30 minutes in August for $100. Maybe if you grew up in Alaska you would be able to stomach it for a bit, well actually I grew up in Alaska and found the lakes much warmer in the summer lol. If you are a hardcore surfer that doesn't mind wearing a wetsuit, than okay, but for the average person or family, 99% of the year the water will be too cold to spend more than 5 minutes straight without some kind of heat retention gear.

It's a typical attitude toward SC because I'm not the only one with the same feelings toward it lol. It's a small city with huge city problems and it's expensive! The natural beauty of the area is wonderful, but the city is awful and the beach is only for looking or hardcore surfers.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

I wouldn't imagine it is as warm as Orange County but it certainly is swimmable / playable (unless one is a total SoCal weeny ) and though there are more people on the beach than in the water (that's always the case on any beach) there are, like i said (sigh) always lots of kids (big and little) in the water at the beaches in Santa Cruz county throughout the summer and early fall! I see on a daily basis. It varies though depending on water temps, air temp., how many people are in town.

And I think that kind of shows how cool the water is in Santa Cruz, kids can handle colder water better than adults imo. When you see mostly kids in the water it's probably too cold for most adults.

This chart fairly aligns with what I've observed at beaches in CA when it comes to water temperature and people swimming:
SWIMMING AND WATER TEMPERATURE INDEX

[sav858]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Most of my friends wouldn't be able to stay in the water for more than 30 minutes in August for $100. Maybe if you grew up in Alaska you would be able to stomach it for a bit, well actually I grew up in Alaska and found the lakes much warmer in the summer lol. If you are a hardcore surfer that doesn't mind wearing a wetsuit, than okay, but for the average person or family, 99% of the year the water will be too cold to spend more than 5 minutes straight without some kind of heat retention gear.

It's a typical attitude toward SC because I'm not the only one with the same feelings toward it lol. It's a small city with huge city problems and it's expensive! The natural beauty of the area is wonderful, but the city is awful and the beach is only for looking or hardcore surfers.

My friends and I have had a few contests in upper 50's/low 60's water before to see who can stay in the longest, none of us managed to break 5 minutes.