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Old 12-07-2013, 12:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,254 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi,

I'm a graduate student moving from Boston to Santa Cruz.
What is the cost of living in Santa Cruz vs Boston (think extremely low income.)

I've already found a place to rent at only slightly higher rent than my Boston apartment, so I'm mainly interested in groceries, coffee shops, bookstores, etc.

Anyone have any input on the biggest difference between the cities?
I don't live in downtown Boston, but within walking distance or a short trip on the T to get anywhere I need. I love being in the thick of things, and I'm worried that Santa Cruz isn't a big city like I'm used to.
I also won't be bringing a car, so how accessible is the city by public transportation?

Are the people really that different? Most people here consider Boston to be fairly liberal. Does Santa Cruz make Boston seem conservative in comparison?

Any tips or advice?
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Old 12-07-2013, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Planet Earth
1,963 posts, read 3,044,110 times
Reputation: 2430
It sounds like you've already found a place to live, and will be moving out here. Why don't you just wait to see 'what it's like' - experience it for yourself instead of believing us random schmos on the interwebs. The people on this forum fall in to two groups : they either love S.C. or they hate it (and invent crap as to why they are correct). Well, maybe not "invent" - "selective memory" might be a better term.

2nd, the public transportation in the county is decent. I'd get a cheap bike, though. Unless you have to go up in the hills (such as biking up to U.C.) you can get anywhere easily enough. All the buses have a bike rack on the front, with room for 3 bikes. So you bike to the closest direct bus route to where you want to go, then take the bus.

You mentioned "graduate student" - if you are enrolled at U.C., your student ID card gets you on every bus for free. Here's their web site : Santa Cruz METRO
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Old 12-19-2013, 01:33 AM
 
Location: Portland, OR
416 posts, read 871,547 times
Reputation: 501
Quote:
Originally Posted by D3nat View Post
Hi,

I'm a graduate student moving from Boston to Santa Cruz.
What is the cost of living in Santa Cruz vs Boston (think extremely low income.)
Santa Cruz is likely cheaper than Boston, given it's smaller... but it's not cheap by any comparison.

Quote:
I've already found a place to rent at only slightly higher rent than my Boston apartment, so I'm mainly interested in groceries, coffee shops, bookstores, etc.
Groceries will likely be more expensive. California has an extremely high cost of living.

Quote:
Anyone have any input on the biggest difference between the cities?
I don't live in downtown Boston, but within walking distance or a short trip on the T to get anywhere I need. I love being in the thick of things, and I'm worried that Santa Cruz isn't a big city like I'm used to.
I also won't be bringing a car, so how accessible is the city by public transportation?
Santa Cruz Metro is rather crap. It only has main routes, and while you can get from UCSC to downtown, it's not nearly as public transit-friendly as large East Coast cities. Also, you're looking at a lot of travel time with SCMTD.

Quote:
Are the people really that different? Most people here consider Boston to be fairly liberal. Does Santa Cruz make Boston seem conservative in comparison?
Yes. Completely. It's beyond the line of lunacy when it comes to Santa Cruz.

Quote:
Any tips or advice?
I'll come back when I don't have to be up for work.

I'll share this now, though: I spent the majority of my first 24 years of life in Santa Cruz... and I will NEVER move back there. EVER. (Nor will I ever consider moving back to the flaming pile of crap that is the State of California).

I'll let you stew on that.
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Old 12-19-2013, 05:45 PM
 
1,614 posts, read 2,072,214 times
Reputation: 804
JXBC was exiled to California's equivalent of Siberia...
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Old 12-19-2013, 09:57 PM
 
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
9,197 posts, read 16,843,125 times
Reputation: 6373
Quote:
Originally Posted by JXBC View Post
I'll share this now, though: I spent the majority of my first 24 years of life in Santa Cruz... and I will NEVER move back there. EVER. (Nor will I ever consider moving back to the flaming pile of crap that is the State of California).

I'll let you stew on that.
In other words, the angry people leave. Folks in SC are OK with that.
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Old 12-20-2013, 04:07 AM
 
Location: Planet Earth
1,963 posts, read 3,044,110 times
Reputation: 2430
It sounds like JXBC fits the stereotype of "those who grow up in SC leave, those who move to SC stay".
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Old 12-20-2013, 06:24 PM
 
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
173 posts, read 255,200 times
Reputation: 249
Well I still live nearby and it's been 41 years
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Old 12-23-2013, 11:52 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
416 posts, read 871,547 times
Reputation: 501
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdumbgod View Post
In other words, the angry people leave. Folks in SC are OK with that.
I wasn't angry. I just didn't like the area, nor was it conducive to my career growth. My personal opinions about not liking the area, however - if others enjoy it, more power to them.

I can't really understand why people like it, but I'll leave them to their own enjoyments.

Quote:
Originally Posted by marcopolo666 View Post
It sounds like JXBC fits the stereotype of "those who grow up in SC leave, those who move to SC stay".
I'm fine with fitting into that stereotype, lol.
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Old 12-24-2013, 08:23 AM
 
9,961 posts, read 17,524,172 times
Reputation: 9193
Quote:
Originally Posted by marcopolo666 View Post
It sounds like JXBC fits the stereotype of "those who grow up in SC leave, those who move to SC stay".
Yeah, which is true in many ways... Being born in Santa Cruz and spending most of my childhood there before leaving for good when I was 19, I think most of my smart friends who went away for college moved somewhere else. For whatever reason though most of the people I knew who stayed in Santa Cruz were the ones who barely passed high school. The stoners and surfers and hicks all sort of stuck around and just got increasingly madder about how the town changed over the years. But I'm sure that's true of a lot of places, people who go away for school often leave and have more ambitious plans in life and the townies in a college/tourist town can be a little bitter.



To the OP, you'll have a fine time for a few years if you're going to Grad School. The biggest issue can be obtaining housing, it's expensive and there's a lack of good rental options in the area. It's not a bad place to go to school, though the campus has always felt cut off from the rest of Santa Cruz itself. It's nothing like Boston whatsoever--just imagine a hippy liberal college town combined with a tourist beach town that ends up being a expensive place for tech industry commuters to reside with a slightly sleazy edge to it. It's a beautiful location, nothing can ever take that away from the town. The beaches and redwood-covered mountains surrounding town are all gorgeous. You can get around with out a car, but it's sort of difficult and long to leave the area with just public transit--there's a lot to do in the Bay Area just over the hill.

Whenever Santa Cruz comes up, it becomes a touchy subject, because you'll get a mix of people who overly love the place and other people who feel it's a crime-filled hellhole. Which despite a sketchy side to the town that's always been there, can be sort of exaggerated. It's sort of reflective of the small-town mentality of the place. I'm sort of in the middle though on my opinions on the town, it's not paradise these days, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be either--though that's just from returning to see my family these days since I don't live there any longer.

Last edited by Deezus; 12-24-2013 at 08:35 AM..
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Old 12-24-2013, 08:29 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,505,733 times
Reputation: 38576
I totally disagree with groceries being more expensive in CA. They're grown here! Also, California wine is cheap here. Utilities are cheap, because you'll hardly need heat or a/c in Santa Cruz. You already know what rent will cost and you're going to take public transit, so honestly, I think you'll be surprised at how affordable it will be after rent is paid.

Welcome and enjoy SC. One of my favorite towns.
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