Santa Cruz STILL sucks!!!! 2011 version (San Jose: live in, to move, bills)
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Words cannot explain whatever this is supposed to mean.
Thnkfully, most people in Santa Cruz are a thoughtful, laid-back bunch, so one need not worry about a plethora of these types of 'rogues' lurking about.
The absence of these set SC apart from the rest, and residents live there, in part, because of this difference. Go just about anywhere in the country and you'll see the sad, grotesque rampant homogenization malls, Walmarts, McDonald's, Starbuck's etc. have done to small towns. All look the same. Nothing like they used to. Good on SC for defying that. Cuz it sucks.
Really? Pacific Avenue might not be chain store city (Although, there's Starbucks, GAP, was a Border's, Chipotle, and some others), but there's still Mission St (HWY1), 41st Ave, and Watsonville, with all the chain store fare.
Coincidentally, 41st and Mission St always seem to have very heavy traffic...
I have never lived in Santa Cruz, but I visited in the '70s and loved it. I lived in Santa Monica - which was in the 60s and 70s a California Dreaming surfing town that was still a family oriented, beach community - NOTHING like it is today. The Greedy '80s destroyed it just like I am sure the Greedy '80s started to destroy Santa Cruz - with the yuppies, guppies or whatever they called themselves moving in.
Hmmmm, well, some would say UCSC destroyed the vibe of Santa Cruz, since it was a very different place before the university moved in, and most Santa Cruzans are not uber-liberal hippies (they're probably liberal, but not of that extreme persuasion).
Mission St. is HWY1 in S.C. and 41st is a commercial strip so both are going to be busy.
41st is usually a breeze though. Even when there's traffic, it moves quickly and looks worse than it actually is.
And locorogue is correct imo.
The 80's were the beginning of the end everywhere.
It became clear quickly (by the time that Reagan was elected) to anyone who had eyes to see that the seeds that were planted in the 60's and early 70's were in peril and that the vision / dream was not going to be realized any time soon.
I still have hope though.
And the earthquake in '89 brought radical change to S.C. in large part because of all of the fema money coming in.
It changed the tone of Santa Cruz (some call it improvement ) and coincided with the general downfall of the culture throughout the country. Soon after that, in the early - mid 90's the dot.com / yuppie b.s. in Silicon Valley really picked up speed which further changed things in Santa Cruz and definitely not for the better imo.
Locorogue may be "loco" but loco's often know more than those that see through conventional lenses and if you can read subtext truth is often found in the midst of less than clear and concise thinking and expression.
UCSC came to town in the mid 60's and that coincided with the cultural revolution of the time and it brought a "vibe" or the vibe to Santa Cruz and changed the general paradigm of the area which unfortunately has been threatened since the dominant culture seriously began to rear it's ugly head in the 80's.
Santa Cruz must have been a paradise before the cultural revolution but, imo, for one reason only (but it's a big reason) .... less people!
S.C. was not the liberal bastion before the cultural revolution and before UCSC.
That's how i see it.
Mission St. is HWY1 in S.C. and 41st is a commercial strip so both are going to be busy.
41st is usually a breeze though. Even when there's traffic, it moves quickly and looks worse than it actually is.
And locorogue is correct imo.
The 80's were the beginning of the end everywhere.
It became clear quickly (by the time that Reagan was elected) to anyone who had eyes to see that the seeds that were planted in the 60's and early 70's were in peril and that the vision / dream was not going to be realized any time soon.
I still have hope though.
And the earthquake in '89 brought radical change to S.C. in large part because of all of the fema money coming in.
It changed the tone and coincided with the general downfall of the culture throughout the countr. Then in the early - mid 90's with the dot.com / yuppie b.s. in Silicon Valley exploded which changed things in Santa Cruz and not for the better imo.
Locorogue may be "loco" but loco's often know more than those that see through conventional lenses and if you can read subtext truth is often found in the midst of less than clear and concise thinking and expression.
UCSC came to town in the mid 60's and that coincided with the cultural revolution of the time and it brought a "vibe" or the vibe to Santa Cruz and changed the general paradigm of the area which unfortunately has been threatened since the dominant culture seriously began to rear it's ugly head in the 80's.
Santa Cruz must have been a paradise before the cultural revolution but, imo, only for one reason .... less people!
S.C. was not the liberal bastion before the cultural revolution and before UCSC.
That's my take anyway.
There was a saying that before UCSC, Santa Cruz was for the "Just wed or nearly dead." It was a sleepy little tourist town . . .I have seen it through the eyes of extremely elderly citizens who told me stories of how it looked with the water parade down the San Lorenzo before the Army Corps of Engineers got their hands on the beautiful river and created a horrible levy (I know, it "had" to be done to keep downtown from flooding, but it ruined a natural watershed).
Another senior told me stories of how Seabright looked, with few houses and just acres and acres of open land . . .
Then the rich valley people (Central Valley) came over for summer vacations (that's why the streets in Capitola are named after Central Valley towns . . .the folks from San Francisco did the same . . . beach cottages abounded . . . life was good. It must have been sooooooo beautiful . . . there were hotels at the Boardwalk and Capitola, a night club on the "Cement Ship," and resorts in the Santa Cruz mountains. All hotels always burn down and no reason is ever given, if you read history, by-the-way . . .and they are never rebuilt . . .or, in the case of the Boardwalk, they are rebuilt several times and then mysteriously go away for good.
There was a saying that before UCSC, Santa Cruz was for the "Just wed or nearly dead." It was a sleepy little tourist town . . .I have seen it through the eyes of extremely elderly citizens who told me stories of how it looked with the water parade down the San Lorenzo before the Army Corps of Engineers got their hands on the beautiful river and created a horrible levy (I know, it "had" to be done to keep downtown from flooding, but it ruined a natural watershed).
Another senior told me stories of how Seabright looked, with few houses and just acres and acres of open land . . .
Then the rich valley people (Central Valley) came over for summer vacations (that's why the streets in Capitola are named after Central Valley towns . . .the folks from San Francisco did the same . . . beach cottages abounded . . . life was good. It must have been sooooooo beautiful . . . there were hotels at the Boardwalk and Capitola, a night club on the "Cement Ship," and resorts in the Santa Cruz mountains. All hotels always burn down and no reason is ever given, if you read history, by-the-way . . .and they are never rebuilt . . .or, in the case of the Boardwalk, they are rebuilt several times and then mysteriously go away for good.
Ah and sigh ..... i can only imagine.
Beautiful.
I've known a few people who grew up in the county in the 50's and 60's who left long ago ... fed up and pushed out by over population and increasing cost .... can't even afford to live in their home town.
There is a point when a place becomes too impacted.
This is what has happened in Santa Cruz county which just can't hold the amount of people here and maintain its integrity.
It creates imbalance and if it continues it's going to get seriously out of whack ... more so than it already is.
I came to CA for a number of reasons; one of which was the reputation CA has for being "laid back" and open-minded. Then I reached Santa Cruz. I've lived in some of the snobbiest towns in the country, but Santa Cruz has them all beat - hands down! Almost every person I've met in Santa Cruz has been a wannabe Yuppie with an "I cr@p gold and pee rose water because I live in Santa Cruz" attitude. It's amazing! The town has the worst heroin problem in the entire state of CA, parents teach their kids not wear any clothes that have colors associated with the local gangs, homelessness is rampant, and these people think they have a nice town?
What is THAT all about? I come from the East Coast, and I can tell you that out there people with real money drive their cars for 10 years, wear Levis and flannel shirts, and treat most everyone with respect. In Santa Cruz, if you aren't wearing designer labels and driving a European car you get that "I'm better than you" attitude all the time. It's sickening.
Once you leave Santa Cruz and go 10 miles inland, the people are awesome. Friendly, helpful, nice, decent and caring. Yet the Santa Cruzites consider them Trailer Trash because they drive pickups and wear off-the-rack common brand clothes.
The irony is that if you were on fire, a Santa Cruz dweller would complain about the smoke; while the "Trailer Trash" inland would jump in to help you out in a heartbeat.
Santa Cruz doesn't STILL suck, it sucks worse than ever! The only reason I would ever go back is - well, I wouldn't. I'd drive 100 miles through the back roads to avoid the place if I had to travel up or down the coast for any reason.
Once you leave Santa Cruz and go 10 miles inland, the people are awesome. Friendly, helpful, nice, decent and caring. Yet the Santa Cruzites consider them Trailer Trash because they drive pickups and wear off-the-rack common brand clothes.
If only they would build a NASCAR-ready track in SC, all their issues would be solved. Gotta watch out for that 10-mile meth, though.
I came to CA for a number of reasons; one of which was the reputation CA has for being "laid back" and open-minded. Then I reached Santa Cruz. I've lived in some of the snobbiest towns in the country, but Santa Cruz has them all beat - hands down! Almost every person I've met in Santa Cruz has been a wannabe Yuppie with an "I cr@p gold and pee rose water because I live in Santa Cruz" attitude. It's amazing! The town has the worst heroin problem in the entire state of CA, parents teach their kids not wear any clothes that have colors associated with the local gangs, homelessness is rampant, and these people think they have a nice town?
What is THAT all about? I come from the East Coast, and I can tell you that out there people with real money drive their cars for 10 years, wear Levis and flannel shirts, and treat most everyone with respect. In Santa Cruz, if you aren't wearing designer labels and driving a European car you get that "I'm better than you" attitude all the time. It's sickening.
Once you leave Santa Cruz and go 10 miles inland, the people are awesome. Friendly, helpful, nice, decent and caring. Yet the Santa Cruzites consider them Trailer Trash because they drive pickups and wear off-the-rack common brand clothes.
The irony is that if you were on fire, a Santa Cruz dweller would complain about the smoke; while the "Trailer Trash" inland would jump in to help you out in a heartbeat.
Santa Cruz doesn't STILL suck, it sucks worse than ever! The only reason I would ever go back is - well, I wouldn't. I'd drive 100 miles through the back roads to avoid the place if I had to travel up or down the coast for any reason.
Wow.
I've heard many complaints about Santa Cruz but status consciousness has never been one of them.
Where were you hanging out that you encountered such un-santa cruzians?!
One of the things many people like about the county is the fact that people don't give a s*** about what kind of car you drive, or how thin you are or what you're wearing, or what you look like, etc., etc..
That's so strange to me that you had that experience.
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I lived in Santa Monica - which was in the 60s and 70s a California Dreaming surfing town that was still a family oriented, beach community - NOTHING like it is today. The Greedy '80s destroyed it just like I am sure the Greedy '80s started to destroy Santa Cruz - with the yuppies, guppies or whatever they called themselves moving in. 
