Santa Cruz on a Shoestring (Or How I Survived Without Being a Trust Fund Kid)

look, i got accepted to uc santa cruz. cool, right? my parents cried, i panicked. santa cruz isn't just a postcard of the boardwalk and redwoods, it's a place where your bank account cries in the corner while you try to study. let's get the brutal stuff out first.

the money sink (aka, the rent trap)

everyone talks about the beach. nobody talks about how your 'ocean view' apartment is actually a converted garage 3 miles from the water that costs $1,800 a month for a studio. i did the dirty work. here's the real breakdown i wish someone gave me, not the glossy university brochure stuff.



you can do it for under $1,300 if you live like a monk and never buy the $7 'artisanal' kelp juice at the local co-op. welcome to the price of paradise: you pay for the weather and the vibe with your soul and your savings account.

the university shuffle (ucsc vs. the rest)

uc santa cruz is... a vibe. it's not your competitive ivy league stress-ball. it's more like, 'here's a biology major who's also a certified yoga instructor and a drummer in a punk band about banana slugs.' the campus is literally built into the redwood forest. you will get lost. you will see a deer during your 8am class. it's weird and beautiful.

but! there's also cabrillo college (community college, brutal reality check, but saves like 20 grand a year) and ucsc extension for weird niche programs. if you're not loaded, start at cabrillo and transfer. it's not a secret, it's a survival tactic. local gossip i overhead at that one coffee shop by the mall: 'my cousin did two years at cabrillo, transferred to ucsc for film, now he's an assistant to a guy who makes youtube ads about pet rocks. it's a ladder, but it's a ladder.'

job market? more like hustle market

there are no big corporate offices here sucking up interns. it's all tourism, gig work, and under-the-table stuff. you'll find jobs:
- boardwalk food slinger (pay's okay, smells like corn dogs for life)
- research assistant (if you're in bio/astrophysics, fight for these)
- farmer's market vendor helper (cash, always cash)
- delivery apps (the modern day slavery simulator, but your bike gets a workout)
the unemployment rate is low because everyone has three part-time gigs. a local warning from my friend who did the coastal trail cleanup for money: 'don't expect a 'real job' here unless you want to manage a surf shop for the rest of your life.' brutal.

random survival pro-tips (gear list of shame)

- a bike with gears. the hills are not a suggestion. a fixie will murder your legs.
- a wetsuit. not for surfing (unless you surf), for the 7am fog that chills you to the bone from may to september. it's called 'santa cruz winter.'
- a thick blanket. the apartment heaters are decorative.
- an open mind. you will meet a vegan anarchist who forages for mushrooms, a tech bro from san jose who weekends here, and a guy who just really likes turtles. all will be your professors.

the weather & the neighbors

nthe weather isn't 'nice.' it's a fickle roommate. it'll be 75 and sunny in the afternoon, then 55 and foggy by 6pm, with a 40% chance of your hair becoming a science experiment. and the neighbors? short flight/bus to san francisco (see all your friends become software engineers) or short drive to monterey (see all the tourists you'll serve). you're stuck in this weird triangle of hippie holdouts, trustafarians, and people just trying to get by.

drunk advice & overheard rumors

at *tyrrell's pizza (yelp's got the hours right, thank god), i heard: 'the santa cruz revolution won't be televised, it'll be a block party on soquel where everyone shares a keg and complains about property taxes.'
someone once told me: 'watch out for the *westside after dark, not because it's violent, but because you'll stub your toe on a broken bottle and your bike chain will be gone by morning.' true story.
the *boardwalk is a blast, but the parking lot at 2am is a different beast. tripadvisor reviews call it 'atmospheric,' which is code for 'full of rowdy teens and confused parents.'

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i love it here. i really do. but love doesn't pay the screaming rent. you gotta be scrappy. you gotta use the public library for wifi and ac. you gotta learn to cook with a $20 budget. and you gotta accept that your degree might come with a side of cortisol and a permanent weirdness that either breaks you or makes you fascinating at parties. probably both.

side note: if anyone knows a cheap sublet for next quarter, hmu. my current roommates are practicing kambo ceremonies in the living room. it's a lot.*