Santa Cruz is ugly compared to Monterey (San Diego, San Jose: real estate, amusement parks)

[the city]

I spent this last Friday visiting Santa Cruz for the first time and couldn't believe it. There was so much traffic and the downtown and boardwalk didn't have that old school hippy vibe. It was more Bay Area city vibe with street performers and street merchants. The boardwalk was WAY overpriced for what you can do and I can imagine if I was a local or lived nearby, I wouldn't want to go on the rides or there more than once. I think the boardwalk just makes their beautiful beach more busy than it should be.

On a side note, some parts of Santa Cruz seemed run down and I am guessing gangs and crime trinkle over from neighboring communities?

Did I mention traffic was horrendous?

I have been to Monterey several times and I feel Monterey has more of a cosmopolitan feel and is much more upscale. I feel I can walk around safely at night in Monterey and see alot of young professionals living there. Traffic in Monterey doesn't seem that bad and I think the economy in Monterey County is more diverse than Santa Cruz.

I also went by CSU Monterey Bay recently and it seems their college is expanding which is good because I feel many would want to go to college in the area.

I even felt Santa Cruz's downtown was smaller than Monterey and even smaller than the downtown in San Luis Obispo.

The real gem of the Santa Cruz area was Capitola. I liked it alot more.

[MtnSurfer]

When I was young (many years ago ), Santa Cruz was my dream destination in terms of places to live. So much so my wife and I actually got married there because we enjoyed the area so much. Through the years (decades) however we've watched the area steadily decline, at least in part. There still are nice sections like Capitola, Aptos, Soquel and Scotts Valley. But the main areas closer to downtown have really lost their charm to overcrowding and along with a general grunge factor. The infrastructure was never designed to handle so many people. Driving the streets and freeway on weekends and anywhere near commute hours and this becomes painfully obvious.

Monterey, on the other hand, has not grown very much at all over the years. Expansion has been basically flat. The commutable distance into the Valley has had a greater impact on SC in terms of population expansion. That said, it's certainly not a horrible place to live and obviously some pay a very high price to call it home. It's got its charms like the redwoods in the SC mountains, nice beaches and good surfing spots. Though if given the choice we prefer Monterey as well.

Derek

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I'll have to agree, too. Santa Cruz was also my retirement destination, but not anymore. For all of the reasons listed above. I do love to people watch on Pacific Ave. But overall, SC had become kind of a grunge homeless mecca.

Monterey is great. If you are into upscale yuppy and can afford it, Carmel is even better.

[the city]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I'll have to agree, too. Santa Cruz was also my retirement destination, but not anymore. For all of the reasons listed above. I do love to people watch on Pacific Ave. But overall, SC had become kind of a grunge homeless mecca.

Monterey is great. If you are into upscale yuppy and can afford it, Carmel is even better.

I feel Santa Cruz and Davis had both a little of the same problem. Lots of development due to commuters who commute to the big city and with little growth in industry.

The college in Santa Cruz is beautiful though, but I'd hate to go there with how isolated it is. No car and yikes life would suck.

You't can bike to campus or bike to town like you can at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UCD, or UCSB.

[bigsurluvr]

I'm sorry to hear that. I have great memories of spending time in Santa Cruz (from the mid-'70s). I was stationed at Fort Ord at the time. After partying late into the night (early morning) hours on Friday or Saturday nights, we would get up early on a Saturday (or Sunday) morning, throw on our swimsuits, grab our stuff, and head up to Santa Cruz at the Boardwalk to lay on the beach all day. The water was always warmer than down in Monterey, so we could actually get in the ocean if we wanted to with our swimsuits on (no wet suits). I always enjoyed the "hippie vibe" in Santa Cruz as well. I haven't been back to the boardwalk since then... and have only driven through Santa Cruz a couple times since then.

[Hawk J]

My brother still lives in Prunedale. He was telling me the other day, he & my niece went to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. He said parking in the area by the boardwalk was $17.
Of course, everything on the boardwalk was more expensive then a few years ago.
hmm

It's less then Disneyland, though.....

[the city]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

My brother still lives in Prunedale. He was telling me the other day, he & my niece went to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. He said parking in the area by the boardwalk was $17.
Of course, everything on the boardwalk was more expensive then a few years ago.
hmm

It's less then Disneyland, though.....

I don't even go to Disneyland these days. Amusement parks are an old and outdated model that are apart of the old suburban sprawl model.

Lots of wildlife was paved over for what once was a nice amusement park where Disneyland and Disneyworld sit. Now, any of those amusement parks are overcrowded and wait periods for rides are ridiculous and prices for those amusement parks have skyrocketed where most families can't even afford it.

Disneyworld is really the only theme park I can somewhat appreciate because you don't have alot of rides and Animal Kingdom is amazing!

Amusement parks and over development is the product of human greed. We tear out God's beautiful creations and put in place man's money makers.

I can't even appreciate Sea World because they treat their whales badly.

[Ruth4Truth]

Street vendors ARE part of the old-school hippie vibe. Look at Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley; the old-school hippie vibe preserved almost as a living museum.

The traffic is horrendous only within a certain window of commute hours.

Of course Monterey is upscale, lol! And nearby Pebble Beach, and Carmel. Santa Cruz never tried to be in that league. It's a more laid-back vibe. You can't have "upscale" and "hippie vibe" in the same place. Take your pick.

It sounds like you saw the wrong parts of Santa Cruz. Did you walk along the promenade that goes along the cliff by the ocean, heading down to Capitola? It's beautiful, and the people hanging out there, enjoying the view and strolling, are really friendly. My niece went to UCSC, and loved it. And actually, people do bike into town. They can take their bikes on the bus, too. There is bus service, not sure if you noticed.

There are no gangs. The part of town you saw is the Hispanic and working class part of town. That's what low-income neighborhoods look like. That part of town has its nice spots, though.

The boardwalk isn't for the locals so much as it's for vacationers. And there are lots of those.

I think Santa Cruz is great. Clearly, it's just not your cup of tea. The main problem IMO is the homeless. Also, I wish there were more variety in shopping downtown; the clothing stores are all for students. I love the redwood parks, the ocean views, the beach vibe, and the university. I like the New Leaf grocery store as an alternative to Whole Foods. It's a great town for students, surfers, artists, and other creative types. Too bad it's close enough to San Jose that rents and real estate have followed the trend in the Bay Area. It's still a funky little beach town and university town, which is why some people like it.

[the city]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Street vendors ARE part of the old-school hippie vibe. Look at Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley; the old-school hippie vibe preserved almost as a living museum.

The traffic is horrendous only within a certain window of commute hours.
and on holidays and I will also add if it's bad in commute hours then IT'S BAD

Of course Monterey is upscale, lol! And nearby Pebble Beach, and Carmel. Santa Cruz never tried to be in that league. It's a more laid-back vibe. You can't have "upscale" and "hippie vibe" in the same place. Take your pick.
the downtown didn't even have a hippie laid back vibe besides street merchants which i don't think adds on charm. when i think of hippie vibe i think of used book stores (which the downtown had), weird coffee shops, funky art, ty dye shirts, and eco conscious stores. When I think of hippy vibe towns I think of Sebastpol, Berkeley, Haight-Ashbury in San Fran, and the gaslamp district in San Diego. Santa Cruz had a yuppie beach town stores and places to eat and the usual college stores like Forever 21, American Apparel, Gap, and Urban Outfitters.
It sounds like you saw the wrong parts of Santa Cruz. Did you walk along the promenade that goes along the cliff by the ocean, heading down to Capitola? It's beautiful, and the people hanging out there, enjoying the view and strolling, are really friendly. My niece went to UCSC, and loved it. And actually, people do bike into town. They can take their bikes on the bus, too. There is bus service, not sure if you noticed.
Buses only run alot during peak hours though and I bet the wait to get the bus is long the farther from peak hours. When I was there on the weekend, I didn't see any buses and saw one girl trying to hitch a ride at the college. We went around town. The area closer to the college seemed more old school Santa Cruz with interesting shops.
There are no gangs. The part of town you saw is the Hispanic and working class part of town. That's what low-income neighborhoods look like. That part of town has its nice spots, though.
Then I guess I must be imaging when I read the news about shootings and crime in downtown Santa Cruz.
The boardwalk isn't for the locals so much as it's for vacationers. And there are lots of those.

I think Santa Cruz is great. Clearly, it's just not your cup of tea. The main problem IMO is the homeless. Also, I wish there were more variety in shopping downtown; the clothing stores are all for students. I love the redwood parks, the ocean views, the beach vibe, and the university. I like the New Leaf grocery store as an alternative to Whole Foods. It's a great town for students, surfers, artists, and other creative types. Too bad it's close enough to San Jose that rents and real estate have followed the trend in the Bay Area. It's still a funky little beach town and university town, which is why some people like it.

To summarize, it felt like beach suburb to the Silicon Valley w/ a college and a tourist trap beach area.

Capitola was the real gem. That is a nice beach. I wish I had more time to spend there.

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by the city

To summarize, it felt like beach suburb to the Silicon Valley w/ a college and a tourist trap beach area.

Capitola was the real gem. That is a nice beach. I wish I had more time to spend there.

Capitola's downtown is really small. There's more happening in SC. They have a good movie theater that plays indie films and political/social activism films.

Crime and an occasional shooting don't mean there are gangs. That's a leap that's not warranted. Homelessness plus the transience of a large number of tourists are a problem.

Agree that SC has become a bedroom community of San Jose/Silicon Valley, but it's still a pretty cool one, imo. On Monterey Bay there's something for everyone, so if you don't like one place, you can move on, and find another that's a better fit. No need to rant about it; everyone has different tastes.