Advice for Young Family Moving to Santa Cruz/Aptos/Montery (Cupertino: renting, how much)

[murphlea]

Hello! We are planning a move to northern California within the year and we are looking for help in figuring out the best fit for us. We have been poking around on these threads for a while now, but we now need some specifics since we are taking our first trip to visit next month. We could really use some help.

Here is a brief rundown about us. We are a young professional couple and we work for ourselves, which makes choosing a location a little bit easier. I grew up in southern California and my husband was raised in Connecticut. We have lived in NY, MA, DC and we are now in Virgnia. We do not like Virginia. We are drawn to California because of its natural beauty - esp. the ocean!! -, the weather and the culture of the people. We are looking for a place that is genuine, lively, laid-back, engaged and fun. We do not want typical suburbia, nor do we want to be in the middle of the city at this point in our lives. However, we would like access to restaurants, culture and all that good stuff.

The complicating factor is that we have two children (3 years old and 10 months), so we are concerned about schools in addition to safety and overall environment. We are really interested in the Waldorf schools (one is in Santa Cruz) or similar kinds of educational options that fit with our parenting style. We have considered homeschooling, but we aren't sure that is the best fit for us. Since our kids are so young, we don't know how we will feel about schools so we want a lot of options.

We would really appreciate some input about the best places to look into and visit in the next month. Thanks!!!

[Snort]

Have a look at the Los Gatos/Saratoga area, if you've never been there. All the places you've mentioned have their pluses and minuses, but you're closer to "the action" up in the South Bay and these are really nice towns with good schools. Cupertino has good schools as well, but I'd take the other two places any day as a place to settle down.

[coyoteskye]

When you think "Santa Cruz" think the entire county Santa Cruz County, California and check out Soquel as it's a very family friendly town and the schools, from what i've heard (i don't have kids), are better than the Santa Cruz schools.
Scotts Valley also has relatively good schools from what i've heard and i believe that the public schools in Aptos are o.k. too.
If i could have gone to a Waldorf school when i was a child i'd be the better for it! so if you have that opportunity .
There's also Mountain School in Soquel which i've heard great things about.
Mountain Elementary School
And, contrary to what Snort says, i'd definitely recommend Santa Cruz county over anywhere else in the Silicon Valley area.
The nature is beautiful and powerful, redwoods and ocean and the climate creates a lush and fertile environment (it's a great place to garden) the air is clean (much of it is not in the bay area), the people are relaxed, open and friendly and there isn't that emphasis on status, money, fashion, etc., etc..
It's very liberal but there are lots of "regular" folks and there is, generally speaking, a great tolerance for anybody and everybody.
The beaches are good (a couple are great!), the bus system is excellent, it's a very bike friendly and eco-friendly place without being oppressive / obnoxious about it.
And San Franciso is an easy drive and less than 2 hours from Santa Cruz (when not during commuter times).

Parts of Monterey County are very nice as well ... a bit more stayed and i guess it's safe to say a bit less "active" and a bit "older" than the Santa Cruz area and i don't know about the school system.
MtnSurfer (a regular poster on the general CA forum) lives in Monterey and i believe he raised his kids there and he'd be a good person to ask about that area (he knows it very well) but you may want to do it (post a query about Monterey County specifically) on the main CA forum.

[murphlea]

Thanks for your insights. I think we are definitely narrowing things down. So far, Santa Cruz, Aptos and Soquel seem promising and we will definitely be visiting there. I looked up the Mountain School online and it seems like a great option. Coyoteskye - your description of the culture and geography were right on to what we are looking for... We also like Los Gatos and Saratogo so far, but we are afraid it will be too expensive for the kind of lifestyle we want. We'll visit those places, too.

At this point, we are bouncing between two different feels: 1) right on the ocean with the kind of culture described above; and 2) near - not on - the ocean, but in a vibrant and open community that is stimulating for us and our kids. We are leaning towards being on the ocean in an open environment. Our fear is that the Santa Cruz area will be too laid-back and not be motivating enough. We've heard that many of the kids who graduate around there don't really go on to do much. Although I am sure that is a generalization, I don't want that kind of attitude to pervade. It is strange because I don't want our kids to be pressured to be super-achievers or over-value status, money, etc. - but I don't want to swing too far the other way either. I hope that makes sense. Although most of this will depend on how we parent more than any particular area, it would be nice to live in an area that doesn't force us to work so hard to overcome a certain attitude.

Any thoughts one way or another?

[coyoteskye]

Santa Cruz county is quite expensive as well.
And "right on the ocean" may or may not be feasible for you but the proximity to it and the energy of it does positively affect most of the county.
Communities up in the S.C. mountains (like Felton, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek and parts of Bonnie Doon) aren't that close to the coast and the "scene' and climate are somewhat different from the communities closer to the coast.

Scotts Valley, btw, is another town that you might want to explore.
I've heard their schools are good and it seems just a bit more conventional.
It's not right on the coast (kinda "in between" the coastal communities and those those other S.C. mountain communities i mentioned) but it's a quick and easy drive down HWY17 (unless it's the evening commuter time!).

I can't really address that attitude that you fear as i'm "one of them" (i'm one of the many variations of what those unambitious high school students become when they get older ) and also i'm just not that keyed into what the kids are doing in and after high-school.
What you say does make sense although i'd imagine that if your kids went to private school that attitude you're worried about would be much less prevalent.
Also, i see that your kids are really young. Maybe it's too early to worry about their level of ambition?

And although Santa Cruz county is an open and tolerant, liberal and relatively laid back area, it's not as though there aren't plenty of ambitious / driven people here although the emphasis on higher education (and i guess career as well) will not be what it is in much of New England or in Virginia.

The other option that you may want to consider is Marin County ... various communities there may suit you.
Although i have to say that one of the reasons that i much prefer Santa Cruz county over Marin County and other bay area communities is because it doesn't have that hyper driven attitude and it's much less congested which, to me, is a big plus.
Although you're used to the east coast so the congestion may not be a big deal to you.

The combination of a private school to ensure that your kids will receive a good education and living in a place like Santa Cruz county seems like a good one to me but i'm not a parent so i don't know what it's like to have such concerns.

[murphlea]

Thanks, Coyoteskye. Seriously. Thanks. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your candor! I think we have become way too worried about everything since we had kids...maybe that's normal or maybe not. I really hope you didn't take offense to my comments about high school kids, although I could see if you did. I guess I read too many crazy reviews online... We are really excited to see all of Santa Cruz and we are definitely leaning in that direction because it seems to really fit us, but I guess we'll see. We are really excited to see Aptos, especially.

Anyway, thanks for your insight and advice!!!

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by murphlea

Thanks, Coyoteskye. Seriously. Thanks. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your candor! I think we have become way too worried about everything since we had kids...maybe that's normal or maybe not. I really hope you didn't take offense to my comments about high school kids, although I could see if you did. I guess I read too many crazy reviews online... We are really excited to see all of Santa Cruz and we are definitely leaning in that direction because it seems to really fit us, but I guess we'll see. We are really excited to see Aptos, especially.

Anyway, thanks for your insight and advice!!!

You're welcome.
I'm not offended at all.
I left high-school many years ago.
And i went to a private school back east ... i didn't turn out the way i was "supposed" to so you just never know.
I hope you have enough time to explore the entire county.

[Lariat]

If you want beaches, you can't beat Santa Cruz (the city) in NorCal.

You didn't say what your budget was, but with your requirements...bring money!

[Amy8425]

Hello!

From reading your posts and seeing that the wonderful Waldorf school is near UCSC, I would recommend looking at homes in west Santa Cruz County and central Santa Cruz. I do believe what you read about lack of motivation is a generalization seeing that a great University is right around the corner to those that are privileged to attend. I live on the boarder of Capitola and Aptos and in all honesty, Aptos is not my first choice and I usually steer towards Captiola Village (you must visit this area while you are here). Anything past Park Ave or State Park Dr off of the 1 (while the beaches are beautiful) resides a rather older conservative generation, the Aptos town is small and quiet, not much to do, but definitely check it out for yourself! The houses are still beautiful, but the energy in Santa Cruz is a bit more lively, artistic, out-spoken, eco and health conscious = ) Hope this helps!

Perfect time to visit with the weather warming up!

Enjoy!

[Curmudgeon]

Ya want advice? I got your advice.

Enjoy it to the fullest! The whole Monterey Bay area is beautiful and vibrant.

Lucky you! And as a bonus you'll have Coyoteskye as a neighbor!