These 3 SoCal metros just saw a jump in home values. (click on title)

SANTA CRUZ, California

Take a tour of Santa Cruz, the Downtown and Beach Boardwalk.

The city of Santa Cruz, California, is the largest city in Santa Cruz County located between Highways 1/17. The area is widely celebrated for its Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which overlooks Monterey Bay. Because of its close proximity to San Francisco, Santa Cruz is a popular destination for San Franciscans looking to enjoy surfing, fishing, sailing and sunbathing. The community is widely celebrated for its support and propagation of liberal ideologies.

Santa Cruz may be known around the world as "Surf City," but its appeal for outdoor enthusiasts doesn't end with the waves. The climate is mild. The average high temperature is 69 degrees Fahrenheit and the average low temperature is 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall averages 32 inches per year. Come on, head for the beach!

Recreation
Santa Cruz is also a boating community, which has been home to many boatbuilding companies such as Wilderness Boats, C&B Boats, Pacific Yachts, Bill Lee Yachts, Moore Brothers, not to mention O'Neills. Many of these companies worked to perfect surfboard performance.

There are also many bikers in Santa Cruz, and most major roads have wide bike lanes for safety. Residents can bike along the San Lorenzo River and will be able to bike the Rail Trail once construction is complete.

Demographics
There are about 59,000+ residents in Santa Cruz living in about 23,000+ households. The median household income is about $51,000.

Did You Know
The Resource Center for Nonviolence is located in Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz has a pirate radio station, which was taken over by independent media producers, called Free Radio Santa Cruz.

The area is also well-known for its liberal alternative community lifestyles, sub-cultures, and counter-cultures. The city actually became the one of the first in California to defend medical marijuana laws in court. Since 2005, the city has maintained a government office that helps citizens obtain medical marijuana. In 2006, Measure K was put into place in order to make marijuana enforcement the lowest priority for law enforcement officials.