Santa Cruz, CA

[radicule]

On 3/31/2017 at 5:45 AM, ZahP said:

Just fyi as a black girl when I went to Santa Cruz I felt like I was in get out, the tension was weird and uncomfortable- I didnt feel safe at all.

Sorry to hear about that ZahP, were you visiting or studying there?

Edited April 10, 2017 by radicule

[nafizamin]

On 4/10/2017 at 1:49 PM, radicule said:

Is it 19800 before the student approved fees? I haven't accepted yet but probably will soon. I bargained a bit because Amherst was giving me an awesome fellowship and so UCSC offered a bit of summer/setup money which I'm hoping to use for flight tickets over the years! (I'm planning long ahead and I have no idea how that'll work out)!

No I have no idea about housing yet. I was thinking of going for campus housing in the beginning to make it a little easier for myself to settle down. I guess that might mean I'll get ripped off in the first year, but I figured it'd be much easier for me to find a place and roommates once I've been in the city for a while. I'm not decided on this though. 
But I was told in one of the emails that when you accept the offer you're put on the listserv, which makes it easier to find other students looking for/offering a place. Did you figure that out?

I'm not really sure where to find the student fee deduction, as it wasn't mentioned in my letter. Just an intelligent guess seeing your post. Do you have any link where I can confirm it for myself ?

I wasn't informed anything about listserv, I'm trying to explore the off-campus housing options with help from some senior brothers there in UCSC. I think you could use the same idea- pick some options in craiglist, or fb 'UCSC Community' and take opinions from people already there to judge the options. 

[ZahP]

On 4/10/2017 at 2:50 AM, radicule said:

Sorry to hear about that ZahP, were you visiting or studying there?

Visiting but others poc's that lived there confirmed what I was feeling.

[radicule]

Hi! I have a nice-ish possibility of moving into a house on Miles St. Would anyone have a sense of how safe the area is?

[YS90]

Hey! 

Anyone here planning to move to Santa Cruz this fall? Would be great to talk! 

Besides that, I was wondering if anyone tried to live in towns near SC for cheaper living? I'm trying to evaluate different options considering the housing crisis SC is going through. 

 

[antifarecruiter]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:25 PM, YS90 said:

Hey! 

Anyone here planning to move to Santa Cruz this fall? Would be great to talk! 

Besides that, I was wondering if anyone tried to live in towns near SC for cheaper living? I'm trying to evaluate different options considering the housing crisis SC is going through. 

 

I've been considering living in SJ, but I have a car. I might still live in SC. Have only really begun thinking about it.

[zetasp]

Hello! I just got an unofficial offer of acceptance to UCSC so I've been researching a ton. I come from Hawaii, where rent is insane, and I didn't think I could be scared by another housing market (apart from San Fran or New York) until I read this forum and looked at Zillow/Apartments.com ? I live with my partner and we don't want to live with roommates anymore, but I've only really seen people suggesting roommates. We're both probably going to make about the same--between $20,000 and, at a very generous estimate, $35,000--so more expensive housing isn't ideal. Family housing at UCSC is a little over $1700/month, which is a lot for me but sounds like a steal compared to what I've been reading. Is that right? Is it plausible to get a place for just the two of us that's not more than $1500/month and also isn't in a sketchy area? 

I'm also wondering how plausible it is to commute from elsewhere if Santa Cruz really is too expensive. Are there towns nearby? I know someone mentioned coming from San Jose (and a 40 minute commute (at least according to Google Maps) is roughly what I face here with traffic) - is that feasible? Is there somewhere better to be looking? 

One last question, less housing related - what's the job market like in Santa Cruz? Again, I'm moving with my partner and he'll need to find a new job. I'd prefer it not to be too stressful for him with the move, so a place with a reasonable, non-hunger-games job market is ideal.

Edited January 26, 2022 by zetasp

[Triton7193]

In regards to what zetasp said, I am also an incoming grad student to UCSC and would like advice on the area if anybody has experience.

[Scuttlefish]

In response to what Zetasp said - I am a current PhD student at UCSC, and I can confirm that finding safe, affordable housing can be incredibly challenging, especially if you have a partner/pets/children. Most graduate students here rent a single room in a house with other grads, and a single room can cost anywhere from $800- $1500 depending on the location, size, etc. I moved here with my partner and ESA several years ago, and we were turned away from almost every affordable rental we looked at for one reason or another - it's a real landlord's market, and we encountered some blatantly illegal practices because the demand for housing is so high that landlords can get away with a lot in Santa Cruz. I would recommend to anyone who is considering moving to Santa Cruz that you begin looking for housing as soon as possible - we started looking six months before moving here, and still ended up getting stuck paying almost $3000/month for a 650 sq ft, one bedroom apartment our first year. Contacting your department and seeing if you can get on any grad student listservs or chats is also a good idea - often people find places through these resources. Also, be very wary of scams, and read reviews on apartment complexes - we almost moved into one that seemed affordable and animal friendly, but from reading reviews, I found out that the place was also notorious for their mold, bedbugs, and other pests, and had very hostile, unhelpful management to boot. I now live in Family Student Housing on campus, and can confirm that while it has some downsides (very old buildings, poor insulation, etc.), it's one of, if not the, most affordable options for couples looking for a private space in a safe area. We've never been able to find anything cheaper. Feel free to DM me if you have questions about living at FSH at UCSC. Best of luck!