Santa Cruz Real Estate's Blog: Santa Cruz Real Estate and thing goings on in Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz, California welcomes the minimum wage increase.

Living is Santa Cruz, California is easy and difficult. The lifestyle is easy, but the cost of living makes it difficult for the entry level worker. The California state law went into effect today  to raise the minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $ 8.00. While this seems like a big increase, and nearly 1.5 million Californians will benefit from this, it is not enough to live on in most parts of California.

Wait people often get income above this due to good service whereby they receive tips, but still need this to make ends meet. Many other states have a tip credit programs that businesses use to offset this labor cost. Oftentimes the biggest expense of a business is labor cost. As you can…

The winter season is upon us, which means the best surfing is yet to come. There are great waves, some of them epic, which has the surfers ready in 24 hours notice for the great contest at Mavericks. This surf contest is located up the coast from Santa Cruz, California in the Half Moon Bay area. There are many past and current champions from Santa Cruz. It is a great thick wave that has recently been brought to the publics attention. and the surf contest has recently gone mainstream.The waves are huge, i.e. 30+ feet in height. These guys who ride them have to be qualified and have real cajones to ride them. They also have in common the liklihood that they may get surfers ear. Others will likely suffer from surfers ear if they don't use hoods and ear plugs.…

Santa Cruz County recycling of Christmas stuff

Christmas can be a delightful time for all, even for the environment. Granted we drive around a lot which isn’t, but at least we have fun wrapping and unwrapping gifts and being responsible.

The deluge of boxes and paper can be recycled with some forethought. The wrapping paper is not good for woodstoves with catalytic converters, but is good for wrapping other smaller gifts. Unwrap carefully and you can re-use the paper and the bows or ribbons. The less of this stuff that ends up in the land fill means the county won’t have to buy more real estate to expand the land fill and it lasts longer. For the old stuff that needs to go because you got a new computer or blender, there is Grey Bears which…

As I sit in front of my computer thinking of what I will be working on today, I can’t help but be thankful. In the past two hours the temperature has risen two degrees to a balmy 39 degrees. I am thankful I am inside and have shelter overhead. Today I will be working on getting things for our Adopt-a-Family. The Adopt-a-Family family is a program that our office at David Lyng Real Estate supports. I am the office representative to assist 4 families. What this program does it provide a way for a number of families to receive gifts and presents during the holidays. In a society bloated with excess, these members do not have material excess. So I am, with the help of many fine agents in my office, to bring some basic needed items and hopefully some cheer and…

Santa Cruz, California is once again in the news. Local charter school Pacific Collegiate School has been named the #2 high school in the nation. Second In The Nation. Pretty heady stuff for a small town school.  Pacific Collegiate School was named to the Top 100 High Schools in the nation list by U.S. News & World Reports. The magazine lists a raft of different educational levels in this issue as being the best to consider.

Part of the key to success for the 9 year old charter school is that it has 100 % participation in advances placement programs, with an amazing 93% pass rate. The school with is located on Swift Street in the old Natural Bridges Elementary school site, was also named California Charter School of the Year for 2006.

Santa Cruz has…

Surfing is one of those pursuits that is part physical, part mental and part spiritual. Sometimes, there is no good surf, but there are always pretty sites to see to soothe the mind and spirit. Surfing has the youth of Santa Cruz firmly in its grasp, as it should. With the area rich in natural beauty and consistent surf, the real pleasures come on the cheap. What was once the sport of kids, baseball or football, the youth of Santa Cruz, and the general populace, primarily go surfing. The estate of things are such, if it is free and available, people will do it.

Santa Cruz has a wide variety of real estate and topography. There are point breaks, reef breaks and shore breaks. Knowing where to find them, and when they are active, is the local knowledge.…