Santa Cruisin'                                                                     by Gillian Kendall

Geography and Climate 

My favorite town lies at the center of the central coast, surrounded by big hills and small mountains. Santa Cruz really is a world-class beach and college town, famous for color, left-wing politics, and natural beauty. If you drive in from Highway 17 or 1, and go to the cliffs, you'll see that you're at the crown of Monterey Bay, looking south, not west. Santa Cruz curves along miles of white beaches and towering cliffs, all of it green and fragrant with eucalyptus and mist. Weather wise, Santa Cruz has two seasons â?? usually both in the same day.  Most mornings, fog hangs low over the mountains; most afternoons the sky clears up and the sun breaks through. Moderate temperatures prevail. Except in the winter, we don't get much rain here, and ocean breezes keep off the intense heat. 

 You'll discover that the city has two centers: the downtown shopping area on Pacific and Front Streets, and the boardwalk, an old-style pavilion with games and rides, and good greasy fair food. The long stretch of sand by the boardwalk invites walks or volleyball, though the water's too cold for swimming (unless you're very young or very brave).  Surfers in wetsuits hang outside the breakers from dawn to dark; surfboard and kayaking contests attract world-class competitors.  In the spring, migrating whales pass through the bay, visible from the cliffs on the north side of town, and seals and sea otters frolic in the coves all year round.

 The West side is more low-key and spacious than the center, with somewhat cheaper housing and prettier views. South side is humbler than the downtown, too, though still charming, with the river running to the ocean, and flowers in neat front gardens.

 Outside of Town

 Just a short drive in any direction, you'll find an endless variety of parks, beaches, and National Forest areas.  The famous Highway 1 curves along the jagged coast, taking you from view to breathtaking view. I like to take day outings to the wineries of the central valley, to the sea lion sanctuary, or the Monterey Bay and Aquarium.  An hour or so's drive (the time greatly depends on traffic) gets you to San Francisco. San Jose and Silicon Valley are about 45 minutes inland, if you're lucky and there are no accidents and no fog on Highway 17.

 Downtown Events and Atmosphere

 Pacific Avenue, the main drag, has a small-town feel, if our small town had citizens from all over the world.  An artist's paradise, Santa Cruz tolerates and encourages all manner of personal and political expression, so even the main business district is full of street musicians and mimes, bubble-blowers and people dressed in outlandish everyday costumes. Every lamppost and bulletin board flaps with urgent flyers. Students, artists, hippies, professors, and surfers mingle in the juice bars and cafés, or seek out bargains in the weekly farmers' and secondhand markets.  Also there's a fair whack of beggars (often young, startlingly attractive and well dressed). Knowing how easy it is to find work in this area, I don't donate to their causes.

 Here on "the mall" you can stop and listen to someone berating the government or reading poetry, or you can shop in the nutritional center of the town, the New Leaf health food supermarket. Nearby you can get organically grown cotton clothing, consignment clothes for large women, and any tattoo or piercing you want. Marijuana "clinics" go in and out of business, while the mainstay of independent bookstores, Bookshop Santa Cruz, stays busy seven days a week. The usurper Borders, which bulldozed its way in against vehement community protests, competes for customers from Bookshop Santa Cruz, Gateway (a bookstore with a spiritual bent) and Herland (a women's bookstore).

 Probably because of demand from students and tourists, Santa Cruz offers many great inexpensive restaurants, especially ethnic and vegetarian food.  You haven't really been to Santa Cruz till you've had Death by Chocolate at Saturn Café (a 24-hour eatery with a menu so varied you might not notice that it's vegetarian), or chosen your mixed plate and homemade bread at one of Asian Rose's two outlets.  I love the crunchy, sweet, tempeh dish and the potato curry. Five dollars will buy a meal at any of dozens of taquerias, or a trendy snack at one of the juice bars or coffee houses (check out PEETs, an excellent local small chain).  There's one gay bar (the Dakota) and one biker bar; the rest are mostly just surfer hangouts and music dens (the Catalyst). 

 No description of Santa Cruz would be complete without a reference to the drug/hippie culture, but it's a low-crime place, and the counter-drug-culture has a powerful influence in schools and on the streets. The wonderful New Year's Eve First Night parade & party are, by and large, clean and sober as well as a gorgeous spectacle and celebration.

 Culture abounds here, in readings at the many bookstores, poetry nights at various arts centers, and offerings of alternative theatre, and in performances by both big-name and unknown musicians at the little theatres and music venues (like Lollapalooza). KUSP, the college public radio station, both creates and broadcasts shows of a caliber you'd expect from a bigger, richer station.

 More on why I like Santa Cruz: it's a little like New York's Greenwich Village if you added a Mexican spin and a beach. Liberal politics prevail, as does tolerance. A lesbian's likely to fix your car, your veggies may be bagged by someone with dreadlocks, your mail carrier might sport have tattoos and piercings. Churches tend to be socially active and politically left-wing, renting rooms to 12-step meetings, sheltering refugees, and sending volunteers to Mexico.  The Holy Cross Catholic Church, on the site of the original Santa Cruz Mission, offers  services in English and Spanish.

 Public schools have good reputations, but the community also supports a variety of private schools: Montessori and Waldorf are both popular, as well as the Orchard School, Springhill, and Escuela Pacifica.

 By and large residents are happy here, because U.C. Santa Cruz is a competitive college, and the city has a very expensive housing market.  Anyone who isn't passionate about staying will end up leaving, often moving up the coast or inland to smaller, less overpriced housing markets.

 Santa Cruz's problems result from the fact that everyone wants to live here: shortage of housing (let alone affordable housing—Santa Cruz now has the highest median house price in California), shortage of parking space, and (like everywhere on the north central coast), shortage of room on the highways.  Despite the better-than-average public transportation (a comprehensive bus system), many people choose to drive – many people commute to Silicon Valley, risking their lives on Highway 17 to do so.

 I think Santa Cruz is a good place to raise your kids if you want them to appreciate diversity, to speak Spanish, to grow up a little wilder and freer than they might in, say, a similar-sized town in Michigan or West Virginia.  It's a great place to retire if you want to stay in touch with youth and drama, bold politics and artistic excitement, and most of all with the ocean.