- Tom BrezsnyMore About House…
Continuing the conversation … still talking about all of those tall buildings going up around town and the thousands of new housing “units” that are on their way …and what it all means for a place that has been so stubbornly opposed to growth for the last fifty years.
Rarely a day goes by that I don’t overhear someone extolling the virtues of living here in Santa Cruz. The list of amenities is long… open space, beautiful beaches, laid-back vibes, great weather, caring community and even an unofficial mantra that reminds us all not to take ourselves too seriously: Keep Santa Cruz Weird.
As a Realtor who works with lots of seniors trying to downsize and figure out where they are going, the thing I hear most frequently is: “Where can I go that’s better than Santa Cruz? “
Yet, despite the widespread consensus about how fortunate we are, there also seems to be a growing number of complaints coming from more locals. Things that irritate them. Things that frustrate them. Things that are no longer the same. Things that make Santa Cruz less than the perfect place it would otherwise be.
This rising tide of negativity has become a backdrop of white noise residing just below the daily beauty we all enjoy. So which is it? Are we lucky to be here? Or… are we so beset by daily problems and irritating complaints that we’re miserable?
Demographically speaking, Santa Cruz is now the oldest county in a state that also happens to be the oldest state in the U.S. In addition to being the #1 most expensive place to rent and the #2 most expensive place to buy, we’re also in line for another dubious ranking as the # 1 oldest place to live in the country!
I worry that as we grow even older, we’re becoming a community of complainers, one that’s incredibly fortunate but also one beset by a litany of first world problems, And that we’re turning into a place where too many grumpy old men/women are (in essence) saying Get Off My Lawn when they say Not In My Backyard! If this keeps up, we’ll have to change the bumper sticker to: Keep Santa Cruz Crabby!
Not surprisingly, many of the complaints that are circulating relate to local housing issues. And with the current wave of new construction that’s hitting the streets, the decibel level of the discontent is on the rise. Depending on who’s doing the complaining we either have way too many housing units or way too few. Often, the perspective relates to their age.
Next Week: The Housing Gap and the Generation Gap
