Neighborhoods good for young families in Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Soquel, Capitola areas (Aptos: renting)

[Ocean4Life]

I'm relocating to Santa Cruz area in the next few months with my better half and 2 young girls. What are some good kid friendly neighborhoods in the area? Skypark comes to mind but we like slightly more space between us and our neighbors. Hoping for neighborhoods where the kids still congregate in the streets and ride their bikes or otherwise have fun outdoors rather than hiding behind locked doors spending most of their time looking at screens.

[nobodysbusiness]

You hardly ever see kids playing in the streets in Santa Cruz.

I would recommend Scotts Valley. It's very family oriented and just a short drive to the beach.

[Ruth4Truth]

I was going to suggest Scotts Valley, too. Though I see kids congregating on the beach and riding bikes in the vicinity, on the east side of SC. Not so much on the west side. There's bus service between Scotts Valley and SC, too, so kids could get to the beach on their own.

[FiremanMike]

Could help you more if I knew your price range, whether you are going to be renting or buying. How close you want to be to the beach etc

[Ocean4Life]

Originally Posted by FiremanMike

Could help you more if I knew your price range, whether you are going to be renting or buying. How close you want to be to the beach etc

Looking to buy, price range up to 1.2M. Just hoping for something a little more family friendly. I know most of the bad areas to steer clear of (ocean st, beach flats, coral st, etc) but would like to know any areas with a higher concentration of young families (my girls are 2 and 6). Aptos has some good neighborhoods but the traffic on the 1 makes it much less desirable so we were thinking Scotts Valley, Soqel, Pasatiempo, Carbonera, Live Oaks, Westside, etc. Close to the beach would be great but not required. Nothing too close to downtown and nothing too isolated in the woods. Thanks.

[VA Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Ocean4Life

Looking to buy, price range up to 1.2M. Just hoping for something a little more family friendly. I know most of the bad areas to steer clear of (ocean st, beach flats, coral st, etc) but would like to know any areas with a higher concentration of young families (my girls are 2 and 6). Aptos has some good neighborhoods but the traffic on the 1 makes it much less desirable so we were thinking Scotts Valley, Soqel, Pasatiempo, Carbonera, Live Oaks, Westside, etc. Close to the beach would be great but not required. Nothing too close to downtown and nothing too isolated in the woods. Thanks.

Scotts Valley has lots of nice neighborhoods in that price range. Check out Victoria Woods at the intersection of Bluebonnet Ln and Bean Creek Rd. Houses range from $800K to mid-$900K. It's walking distance to all the same amenities as Skypark, but with a bit more space and privacy. There are also some beautiful homes east of Lockwood Ln - those homes start in the upper $900K range and go up into the mid- to upper-$1M range. I hope this helps!