Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz sits on the northern curve of Monterey Bay, where the Santa Cruz Mountains come down to the water and Highway 17 is the only real road over the hill to San Jose. The San Lorenzo River runs through the middle of town, and the city reads as a beach town, a college town and a redwood town all at once. Houseberry's nineteen neighborhoods fall into a few clear groups. Downtown, Beach Hill / Beach Flats and the River Street District make up the busy core around Pacific Avenue, the Wharf and the Boardwalk. The Westside, including Lighthouse / The Circles, Western Drive / Nobel, King Street and Westlake, runs from the surf breaks up toward Pogonip. Lower Ocean, Upper Ocean, Upper Seabright, Lower Seabright and Banana Belt form the flat, sunnier east and center, with California Street / Mission Hill rising just above downtown. Branciforte Drive, Carbonera, Prospect Heights and Tanner Heights climb into wooded hills, and Harvey West District and UC Santa Cruz sit along the north edge. Homes lean small and old. Beach cottages, Craftsman bungalows and a few Victorians fill the flats, apartments stack above the shops downtown, and the hillsides hold larger lots under oaks and redwoods. Outdoor life is the reason most people stay. The West Cliff Drive path hugs the bluffs from the lighthouse toward Natural Bridges State Beach, Neary Lagoon gives wood ducks and herons a refuge in the middle of town, and DeLaveaga Park and Pogonip put real trails a short drive from any front door. Food has a strong local streak. Companion Bakeshop on Mission Street is the bakery people line up for, Marianne's Ice Cream has been scooping on Ocean Street since 1947, Linda's Seabreeze Cafe handles breakfast on Seabright Avenue, and Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company has been roasting on Pacific Avenue since 1978. Getting around depends on where you land. The flat core and Seabright suit bikes and Santa Cruz Metro buses, while the hills mostly mean a car. Highway 1 runs through town and backs up at rush hour, and summer visitors pile onto the beach streets. For the people who live here, the ocean is rarely out of reach, and the town's routine tends to follow the fog and the swell.