californian girl Posted February 25, 2009 Posted February 25, 2009 Hello! I have been admitted to UC Santa Cruz for Ph.D in EE. Is there anyone else going there or already a student? How is the area and the housing opportunities?
LinguistK Posted February 25, 2009 Posted February 25, 2009 I'm not going to UC Santa Cruz, but I do live in Morgan Hill, which is, as we say here, "over the hill" from Santa Cruz. "The hill" is the Santa Cruz mountain range. As far as living...Santa Cruz is crazy expensive. I moved out to this area from Maryland in June 2007. I have been absolutely, 100% shocked about living expenses in California. I don't mean to scare you at all, but seriously...my parents raised me in a fairly affluent/snobby area (though I'd like to think I'm not snobby and I know I'm not affluent!) and I'm still floored. The average home price in 21044 (my home zip) is $351,500. In 95037 it's $554,500. Just be prepared that not only is rent crazy expensive, but gas, groceries, and everything else is also crazy expensive. There are certainly ways to cut expenses and it's something you'll definitely want to look into. Definitely check out craigslist to find roommates...there are some cute and affordable rooms in Santa Cruz, but don't expect a yard, tons of space, or to be able to have pets. I hope this isn't too pessimistic...I am going for realistic.
sfbbgurl Posted February 26, 2009 Posted February 26, 2009 It all really depends on your reference point. I grew up in San Francisco, and am pretty familiar with high rent for small spaces. With that being said, Santa Cruz wasnt that bad in comparison. I attended UC Santa Cruz for my undergrad and lived off campus for two years. Rent for my own room in a house with other roommates was $625, a shared room was $525. The shared room was a much nicer apartment. If you do your research, Im sure you can find something that will fit your needs. Of course, the closer you are to campus the more expensive housing prices are. To save money, Id recommend living on a bus route (as your student ID will let you on free). Groceries can be expensive. Santa Cruz is very much the hippie vibe with many grocery stores catering to the organic all natural crowd, which is usually so over-priced anyways. Safeway on Mission, and Trader Joe's downtown were good options for me. I probably spent about $25-$30 per week on groceries, and I avoided eating out as much as possible. You can definitely find ways to save money. Good luck!
saritapie Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 So, did you [californian girl] decide to go to UCSC? If so, congratulations
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