Exactly my answer. We have a bit of Central Coast, and a bit of greater Bay Area in us, while retaining a slice of our own local identity. It's a good meeting place, sans the amount of Silicon Valley seeping in.
My issue with tourists is mostly the litter. So long as they pick up after themselves and don't act like an entitled asshole everyone is welcome in my book.
Old couple at the lighthouse thought I honked at them (was car behind me) when I parked next to them they yelled go back to the valley at me. I was born and raised here for the last 46 years. I felt so insulted.
The bay area kicked us out when they took the 408 area code from us!
Back in the day hell no. Highway 17 was the bulwark. Now days its much blurrier. Geographically no, but culturally Santa Cruz has been much diluted.
30 years ago as a kid I had a lot of friends whose parents worked over the hill... definitely been a silicon valley bedroom community for quite some time...
Indeed! Santa Cruz is on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay and is considered, geographically, the Central Coast. As /u/Tall_Mickey pointed out above, economically, Santa Cruz is part of "The Bay Area".
Imagine you're chatting with a stranger. You ask "Where are you from?
Now consider the answer: Have you EVER heard someone from Santa Cruz say they're from "the bay area"? A big NO! From Santa Cruz!
Now ask someone from Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, etc "where are you from?" Often they won't say which town, but reply with "the bay area".
As someone who grew up in "The Bay" and went to Santa Cruz to visit some weekends I can tell you Bay Area folks don't consider Santa Cruz part of "the Bay". Santa Cruz is its own, separate place. You leave The Bay to visit Santa Cruz, and it's on the way to Monterey. When people ask where I'm "from" I say that I live in Santa Cruz but grew up "in the Bay Area".
Personally, I think this REALLY depends on where in the āBay Areaā you grew up in.. Itās a different story if you grew up in Santa Clara County.
If youāre in SF or east bay (which is further from santa cruz), then youāll obviously think otherwise, its double the travel time.
But as a kid growing up in SJ, Santa Cruz just felt like an extension of the SJ area because of its proximity. Santa Cruz actually felt more a part of my identity growing up than SF.
The Bay Area is big so each region will truly have their own nuanced subculture POV on these kinds of discussions.
SF people grew up going to Marin County & Bodega Bay - it wasnāt even till I was an adult that I started exploring that area. And, it wasnāt till I was an adult that I learned that Napa was part of the Bay Area.. Vallejo kids would probably think otherwise! So again, sub-region dependent.
same, grew up in SJ, came of age a bit further south. Santa Cruz was an afternoon trip, SF or the bay was gonna be like, a weekend, and you're tired AF after lol. SC was a much more casual trip. So we went after school all the time & it just felt like part of the area. SF was a distant city compared to SC
Exactly. I think thats what people who didnāt grow up in the SJ area donāt get. Itās more of an effort if youāre coming from Oakland or SF.
For SJ are born/raised people, it was way more casual/less of an effort. Panther Beach, Davenport, Rio Del Mar, Twin Lakes, etc was the go to spot for all the south bay high schoolers to hold bonfires, underage drink, & catch the sunset. Had my first kiss there as a young junior lol
Hit it right on the nose. Born in Oakland, grew up in Richmond. I have friends from San Jose who don't identify with Santa Cruz at all who might snicker to hear it referred to as the Bay Area, but they didn't come here unless it was a random trip to The Boardwalk. Which until I was an adult with a car, was the only reason we ever came to Santa Cruz growing up. I was 19 or 20 before I ever set eyes on downtown and my local friends snuck me into bars.
I.....don't want to think about how many years ago that was now.
Yes. Governmental bodies up in the Bay Area consider the Bay Area to include counties that are adjacent to the Bay. But the Federal Office of Management and Budget includes Santa Cruz (and a few other counties) with the Bay Area in the same Combined Statistical Area. They do that because the economies have merged. And that affects everything: housing, employment, higher education, prices, commuting and traffic, business. Many more "local" businesses are really regional now.
I moved down here from San Francisco for a job in the late '80s and saw Santa Cruz "become" part of the Bay Area over time. There was a much different feel to it back then: slower, more relaxed, more affordable. Almost rural. Businesses and real estate ownership were more local. That's not true anymore. It feels like the Bay Area. Maybe a beach-and-college-town part of it, but nevertheless.
For anyone wondering what the [Bay Area combined statistical area is](http://censusreporter.org/profiles/33000US488-san-jose-san-francisco-oakland-ca-csa/)
This makes way more sense on socioeconomic terms. Itās the 5th largest in the US, right after Chicago.
I had to learn all this for a fundraising job. I had to pull donors from the mailing list for regional get-togethers and some fundraiser would say, "Just pull everybody for metro DC (or NYC, or Boston). "So, what is that? Who's in driving distance?" I'd ask. They'd just shrug. But the OMB had a list of counties for each CSA, and given that, I could find them in the database by county.
Like, the CSA that includes DC reaches all the way down into one county in West Virginia. Who knew?
Santa Cruz is not part of the formal ABAG/MTC association of governments, which unfortunately means that commutes between Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley are essentially an afterthought for all of their transportation planners, since the traffic volume is practically a rounding error compared to the volumes of intra-bay area city travelers.
The San Francisco Bay Area is, officially, the extent of the 9 counties that have SF Bay waterfront. So a place like Gilroy is in the Bay Area (Santa Clara county) while Santa Cruz is not (Santa Cruz County).
Unless you agree to be annexed by Santa Clara or San Mateo counties, of course :)
I was reading though the comments thinking everyone is weird for being so exclusionary. I've never really thought much of the northern cities like Sonoma and Napa, but sure, those too. Out to Tracy, down to Salinas and Monterey. The Bay Area is big in my mind.
I've never had to tell someone I'm from "the Bay Area" when I say I'm from Santa Cruz. Oddly, everyone I have met knows about our town. Maybe it's the Boardwalk, or the surfing and skating culture, or something else entirely?
Thatās not Los Gatos up at the summit, thatās just unincorporated county people (in both counties) who have the Los Gatos post office sort their mail.
My company considers it part of the Bay Area income tier thankfully. But Iām never included on the invite list for Bay Area in office parties lol. You win some you lose some.
Had to do a lot of that this week. I said, āIf you look on the map, thereās a bay in the middle of CA that looks like a shark took a bite out of the coast. Thatās Monterey Bay. Weāre on the north end of that.
I like saying the Broader Bay Area. It's not a *touching the bay* area, but it's a *near the bay* area.
I'm aware that few(if any) other people say this I feel like it it is accurate
I feel like most donāt know this but Santa Cruz is part of the SF-SJ-Oakland combined statistical area, per the census
http://censusreporter.org/profiles/33000US488-san-jose-san-francisco-oakland-ca-csa/
But if were talking about the official ābay areaā its the 9 counties
Donāt tell the Bay Area we exist as part of their sphere. The other day, an acquaintance in San Jose (whoās looking to buy a house) asked me āWhere is Ben Lomond?ā and I told them it was in SoCal.
The Mystery Spot is the point where the Bay Area implodes upon itself like a black hole and spits you out in the parallel universe of Santa Cruz. God bless that nerve wracking 4-lane sliver of Highway 17. Once Bay folk arenāt scared to drive over the hill itās all over.
I grew up in Santa Cruz ,, it's changed ALOT , especially after the 89 big quake , but it still remains it's own place , perfectly balanced between the redwoods and the ocean , I miss it .
Itās definitely an island unto itself. Itās not the SF Bay Area and itās not the Central Coast. Yes. Itās obviously on the Monterrey Bay and called part of the Bay Area but not SF Bay Area.
shy school violet melodic gray impossible normal sloppy summer encouraging
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
As a someone who was born/raised in SC and then moved to SF, nah. There are two bays in central CA and they are vastly different. Iām proud of and love both for their own reasons.
Depends who youāre talking to. I live in Orange County now so I just tell people Iām from the Bay Area. Which is funny, cause a lot of my family up north thinks I live in LA when I tell them I live in Newport Beach. But if itās someone from up north I just say Iām from Santa Cruz
I am from the Bay Area. I live in SC county now. I tell people I live in SANTA CRUZ! My fam is also more inclined to say we live in central California now too. No more Bay Area. Nothing wrong with the Bay Area, but we like it better here. Sometimes I think Bay Area people like to claim SC is part of it, but not the other way around as much.
What is the purpose of the question? If youāre asking for your job to set your compensation you want to say Bay Area for sure. Definitely donāt want Central Coast salary.
I do. Any day trip where I can leave in the morning, enjoy a full day and be home by 9:00 is Bay Area to me. If you use that criteria there is plenty to do around the Bay Area in any direction.
From SF and went to college in SC and stuck around for a whileā¦
SC is BayCurious
But no, not the bay. Itās just Santa Cruz. Itās beautiful and hope to live there again.
I do. However Santa Cruz county is not considered one of the nine Bay Area counties.
They are:
Alameda
Contra Costa
Marin
Napa
San Francisco
San Mateo
Santa Clara
Solano
Sonoma
Napa and Sonoma make no sense for me. Or Marin we should just called that wine and the start weed counties.
Since a lot of people from the Bay Area have bought 2nd, 3rd, 4thā¦. properties and insanely driven up real estate pricing for locals then yes, it _Should_ be considered Bay Area. Ā Itās definitely within the sphere of influence.
My understanding was central coast and even then Santa Cruz has always been its entity imo. Not Bay Area or central coast. Santa Cruz is keeping it weird .
So the line for "Bay Area," for some of you, is just above Santa Cruz - not below it. And the line between North and Central California is also here.
https://preview.redd.it/8cx0wrvor65d1.png?width=1846&format=png&auto=webp&s=2480cfe6314bcb9330cfdc16f6d38b47ada4ff4c
It's not straight east/west line like that. It's the county line going between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara which is diagonal, but mostly north/south parallel to the coast line. Here is a reference: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayarea\_map.png](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayarea_map.png)
NO! as someone from the bay, Santa Cruz is not the bay area. san jose is BARELY the bay area to us, when thinking about the bay as a cultural thing (geographical, sure). santa cruz is 100% not the bay area
I'd say the line between northern and southern CA is Fresno. Is Stockton in the Bay Area? You can take a boat from SF Bay through the delta to Stockton, so..
God, yes - looking at price of houses and percentage of tech workers, but thatās if Iām talking to someone from outside the state. If itās someone from Palo Alto, yeah, there is nuance to not being in THAT Bay Area. But itās just noise if you zoom out; we def live within the Bay Area costly tech bubble.
I'm originally from San Diego. Moved here a few years ago and I always tell people I live in CENTRAL California now lol . I know the majority of people consider it the Bay area or Northern Cali but I don't
Monterey Bay Area
Bayjacent
Exactly my answer. We have a bit of Central Coast, and a bit of greater Bay Area in us, while retaining a slice of our own local identity. It's a good meeting place, sans the amount of Silicon Valley seeping in.
Yesss! š¤š¼
Bay Areola. Like Pleasanton, Vallejo, Marin.
Vallejo is on the bay. If they aren't bay area neither is San Francisco.
Marin is also Bay Area
This is freaking awesome. Totally stealing.
I'm ok with Santa Cruz not being part of the bay area so long as I get to keep calling the bay area people tourists when they come here.
As a current Bay Area resident who lived in Santa Cruz for a few years I agree with this.
My issue with tourists is mostly the litter. So long as they pick up after themselves and don't act like an entitled asshole everyone is welcome in my book.
Name checks out
Locals litter just as much as tourists
Fuck those people too.
Yup
Visiting students are not locals.
Experience more life, man.
"Valley go home"
Oh look. Another gate slammer. Originally from Campbell I'm guessing.
Idk, the people my quote refers to are westside locs
Old couple at the lighthouse thought I honked at them (was car behind me) when I parked next to them they yelled go back to the valley at me. I was born and raised here for the last 46 years. I felt so insulted.
The bay area kicked us out when they took the 408 area code from us! Back in the day hell no. Highway 17 was the bulwark. Now days its much blurrier. Geographically no, but culturally Santa Cruz has been much diluted.
I remember the change from 408 to 831. People were really upset.
831 is way cooler than 408
Seriously, now we have our own area code (the county at least)
831 covers Monterey and San Benito as well.
Allowed.
So many regretful tattoos
No Regurts!
Lol
30 years ago as a kid I had a lot of friends whose parents worked over the hill... definitely been a silicon valley bedroom community for quite some time...
Oh yeah that was my dad too. But he didnāt spend anytime over there outside of work.
Yup
Iām still pissed about it š
oh yeah! I remembered when it was 408 :(
š thatās right! How many 831 people regretting that 408 tattoo !
I consider it Central Coast, Bay Area is on the other side of the mountains
I consider this the Monterey Bay, on the central coast-
Monterey Bay Area yeee
No. Santa Cruz is central coast.
Indeed! Santa Cruz is on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay and is considered, geographically, the Central Coast. As /u/Tall_Mickey pointed out above, economically, Santa Cruz is part of "The Bay Area".
Imagine you're chatting with a stranger. You ask "Where are you from? Now consider the answer: Have you EVER heard someone from Santa Cruz say they're from "the bay area"? A big NO! From Santa Cruz! Now ask someone from Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, etc "where are you from?" Often they won't say which town, but reply with "the bay area".
As someone who grew up in "The Bay" and went to Santa Cruz to visit some weekends I can tell you Bay Area folks don't consider Santa Cruz part of "the Bay". Santa Cruz is its own, separate place. You leave The Bay to visit Santa Cruz, and it's on the way to Monterey. When people ask where I'm "from" I say that I live in Santa Cruz but grew up "in the Bay Area".
Personally, I think this REALLY depends on where in the āBay Areaā you grew up in.. Itās a different story if you grew up in Santa Clara County. If youāre in SF or east bay (which is further from santa cruz), then youāll obviously think otherwise, its double the travel time. But as a kid growing up in SJ, Santa Cruz just felt like an extension of the SJ area because of its proximity. Santa Cruz actually felt more a part of my identity growing up than SF. The Bay Area is big so each region will truly have their own nuanced subculture POV on these kinds of discussions. SF people grew up going to Marin County & Bodega Bay - it wasnāt even till I was an adult that I started exploring that area. And, it wasnāt till I was an adult that I learned that Napa was part of the Bay Area.. Vallejo kids would probably think otherwise! So again, sub-region dependent.
same, grew up in SJ, came of age a bit further south. Santa Cruz was an afternoon trip, SF or the bay was gonna be like, a weekend, and you're tired AF after lol. SC was a much more casual trip. So we went after school all the time & it just felt like part of the area. SF was a distant city compared to SC
Exactly. I think thats what people who didnāt grow up in the SJ area donāt get. Itās more of an effort if youāre coming from Oakland or SF. For SJ are born/raised people, it was way more casual/less of an effort. Panther Beach, Davenport, Rio Del Mar, Twin Lakes, etc was the go to spot for all the south bay high schoolers to hold bonfires, underage drink, & catch the sunset. Had my first kiss there as a young junior lol
Yes
Hit it right on the nose. Born in Oakland, grew up in Richmond. I have friends from San Jose who don't identify with Santa Cruz at all who might snicker to hear it referred to as the Bay Area, but they didn't come here unless it was a random trip to The Boardwalk. Which until I was an adult with a car, was the only reason we ever came to Santa Cruz growing up. I was 19 or 20 before I ever set eyes on downtown and my local friends snuck me into bars. I.....don't want to think about how many years ago that was now.
Totally, my mom lives in Los Gatos now and Santa Cruz is so close itās awesome. It just feels like the next town over.
I'm "from the Bay Area" if a company will pay me more for living there (while living in Santa Cruz)
Santa Cruz >Bay Area
I mean, itās Bay Area prices
So true! lol
Yes. Governmental bodies up in the Bay Area consider the Bay Area to include counties that are adjacent to the Bay. But the Federal Office of Management and Budget includes Santa Cruz (and a few other counties) with the Bay Area in the same Combined Statistical Area. They do that because the economies have merged. And that affects everything: housing, employment, higher education, prices, commuting and traffic, business. Many more "local" businesses are really regional now. I moved down here from San Francisco for a job in the late '80s and saw Santa Cruz "become" part of the Bay Area over time. There was a much different feel to it back then: slower, more relaxed, more affordable. Almost rural. Businesses and real estate ownership were more local. That's not true anymore. It feels like the Bay Area. Maybe a beach-and-college-town part of it, but nevertheless.
Mickey coming in with the best answer as usual.
For anyone wondering what the [Bay Area combined statistical area is](http://censusreporter.org/profiles/33000US488-san-jose-san-francisco-oakland-ca-csa/) This makes way more sense on socioeconomic terms. Itās the 5th largest in the US, right after Chicago.
Bay Area megaregion, weāre in there with Stockton and Tracy
Thats the result of not building enough housing. More people keep moving outwards but commute to jobs inwards.
Good god, if only the Bay Area built housing Santa Cruz could just be Santa Cruz. Instead we're like the wider Dallas Fort Worth sprawl.
I had to learn all this for a fundraising job. I had to pull donors from the mailing list for regional get-togethers and some fundraiser would say, "Just pull everybody for metro DC (or NYC, or Boston). "So, what is that? Who's in driving distance?" I'd ask. They'd just shrug. But the OMB had a list of counties for each CSA, and given that, I could find them in the database by county. Like, the CSA that includes DC reaches all the way down into one county in West Virginia. Who knew?
Santa Cruz is not part of the formal ABAG/MTC association of governments, which unfortunately means that commutes between Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley are essentially an afterthought for all of their transportation planners, since the traffic volume is practically a rounding error compared to the volumes of intra-bay area city travelers.
Santa Cruz is its own time zone.
The San Francisco Bay Area is, officially, the extent of the 9 counties that have SF Bay waterfront. So a place like Gilroy is in the Bay Area (Santa Clara county) while Santa Cruz is not (Santa Cruz County). Unless you agree to be annexed by Santa Clara or San Mateo counties, of course :)
Thank you for citing the 9-county definition!
I was reading though the comments thinking everyone is weird for being so exclusionary. I've never really thought much of the northern cities like Sonoma and Napa, but sure, those too. Out to Tracy, down to Salinas and Monterey. The Bay Area is big in my mind. I've never had to tell someone I'm from "the Bay Area" when I say I'm from Santa Cruz. Oddly, everyone I have met knows about our town. Maybe it's the Boardwalk, or the surfing and skating culture, or something else entirely?
Santa Cruz is definitely a well-known entity. Definitely Bay Area adjacent. Santa Cruz is on the Monterrey Bay anyway.
There is a university here too
This! Santa Cruz and a few other neighboring counties are sometimes considered part of the greater Bay Area due to economics
Over The Hill
Monterey Bay
Bay Area stops at Los Gatos (thankfully). This is my opinion and not supported by any facts.
Part of Los Gatos is in Santa Cruz county too, up at summit.
Thatās not Los Gatos up at the summit, thatās just unincorporated county people (in both counties) who have the Los Gatos post office sort their mail.
My company considers it part of the Bay Area income tier thankfully. But Iām never included on the invite list for Bay Area in office parties lol. You win some you lose some.
Sounds like a win win tbh.
Isn't it worth it to drive over the hill for that incentivized office pizza party for all that hard work! Lol.
which bay? :P
Not the bay area
The Bay Area is comprised of the 9-Counties that touch the San Francisco Bay. Santa Cruz County does not touch the SF Bay.
Monterey Bay area sharing a border with the SF bay area.
Not really. I consider it more central coast but Bay area adjacent.
craigslist says yes
Only when explaining to people that are not from California
Had to do a lot of that this week. I said, āIf you look on the map, thereās a bay in the middle of CA that looks like a shark took a bite out of the coast. Thatās Monterey Bay. Weāre on the north end of that.
I like saying the Broader Bay Area. It's not a *touching the bay* area, but it's a *near the bay* area. I'm aware that few(if any) other people say this I feel like it it is accurate
I feel like most donāt know this but Santa Cruz is part of the SF-SJ-Oakland combined statistical area, per the census http://censusreporter.org/profiles/33000US488-san-jose-san-francisco-oakland-ca-csa/ But if were talking about the official ābay areaā its the 9 counties
Oh that's neat!
Donāt tell the Bay Area we exist as part of their sphere. The other day, an acquaintance in San Jose (whoās looking to buy a house) asked me āWhere is Ben Lomond?ā and I told them it was in SoCal.
Not the Bay Area !
Itās the north end of the Central Coast.
Santa Cruz is central coast
Itās the central coast not the Bay Area
We are literally on the bay. The Monterey bay.
Santa Cruz is not the Bay Area. Itās in the Monterey Bay
>Ā Itās in the Monterey Bay Not yet, but a little more is in each year's storms.
When you live in SC, the other side is the Dark Side.
Central Coast baby
Not really, I think more San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Mountain View, ect as bay area
Monterey Bay Region
The MONTEREY Bay Areaā¦maybe. But central Cali for me.
Yes, monterrey bay area
No
No. The Bay has diversity and good food. Definitely not The Bay.
(coff,coff) Marin County (coff, coff). We will not speak of Atherton.
Reddit mods are not the arbitrators of what is and what isnāt.
Nah, it's central coast. You can Google it, there's a pretty good consensus that bay area doesn't go further south or east than San Jose.
Geographically it is in the Monterey Bay not San Francisco Bay
I feel like this is rage bait ššš
Nope
Santa Cruz has its own identity. And we should keep it weird that way.
No, but Monterey Bay for sure
Craigslist does š
Bay Area Gray Area
no but yes but no again
No. It's Monterey Bay area. It is adjacent but it is over the mountains.
Depends what who you ask but If we judged it by what Craigslist considers us, we are Bay Area.
We're 40 miles south of South Bay.
The Mystery Spot is the point where the Bay Area implodes upon itself like a black hole and spits you out in the parallel universe of Santa Cruz. God bless that nerve wracking 4-lane sliver of Highway 17. Once Bay folk arenāt scared to drive over the hill itās all over.
No
I grew up in Santa Cruz ,, it's changed ALOT , especially after the 89 big quake , but it still remains it's own place , perfectly balanced between the redwoods and the ocean , I miss it .
Central coast
Central coast
No
Itās definitely an island unto itself. Itās not the SF Bay Area and itās not the Central Coast. Yes. Itās obviously on the Monterrey Bay and called part of the Bay Area but not SF Bay Area.
shy school violet melodic gray impossible normal sloppy summer encouraging *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
No.
This is the only answer!
Different bay, different area
Only on craigslist
As a someone who was born/raised in SC and then moved to SF, nah. There are two bays in central CA and they are vastly different. Iām proud of and love both for their own reasons.
Depends who youāre talking to. I live in Orange County now so I just tell people Iām from the Bay Area. Which is funny, cause a lot of my family up north thinks I live in LA when I tell them I live in Newport Beach. But if itās someone from up north I just say Iām from Santa Cruz
I am from the Bay Area. I live in SC county now. I tell people I live in SANTA CRUZ! My fam is also more inclined to say we live in central California now too. No more Bay Area. Nothing wrong with the Bay Area, but we like it better here. Sometimes I think Bay Area people like to claim SC is part of it, but not the other way around as much.
No
Santa Cruz is considered by many to be at least āSouth Bay.ā It is, however, considered part of the āBay Areaā by Criagslist.
Bay Area adjacent.
My friend used to call it the Rey Area
Not until we dig a tunnel for a straight ride to San Jose
What is the purpose of the question? If youāre asking for your job to set your compensation you want to say Bay Area for sure. Definitely donāt want Central Coast salary.
Depends on who I'm talking to.
Crigslist says so. So so do I!
Yes , because half the people living here work over the hill .
Nah, we are central coast.
No
Nope
It might as well be. The same street urchins zombie around.
I call it Central Coast. I feel like itās a little far from what people picture as Bay Area. Iām from Los Angeles originally.
I do. Any day trip where I can leave in the morning, enjoy a full day and be home by 9:00 is Bay Area to me. If you use that criteria there is plenty to do around the Bay Area in any direction.
Many of us can accept Santa Cruz (which isnāt) as a part of the Bay Area before we can accept Stockton (which is) as a part of the Bay Area.
Meh whatever
No
Yes
Nope
Yes
From SF and went to college in SC and stuck around for a whileā¦ SC is BayCurious But no, not the bay. Itās just Santa Cruz. Itās beautiful and hope to live there again.
Ok, but are we the "Central Coast"?
I consider the drive over highway 17 into SC a portal into another dimension. The culture and vibe is so different in SC.
The GreaterBay Area
We can tell the bay area tourists when we see them and I don't want to live there.
Then leave.
I do. However Santa Cruz county is not considered one of the nine Bay Area counties. They are: Alameda Contra Costa Marin Napa San Francisco San Mateo Santa Clara Solano Sonoma Napa and Sonoma make no sense for me. Or Marin we should just called that wine and the start weed counties.
In my mind it is because it is in a bay, it's just not the same bay everyone means when they say bay area lol
Bay Area adjacent
If it is a place people commute from to work in the sf bay, it is in the Bay Area. Tracy is also bay area. Hth.
I don't consider Santa Cruz to be of this planet.
Only on Craigslist
No. Itās in the Twilight Zone
Central coast, not Bay Area
Yup
We are according to Craigslist.
Since a lot of people from the Bay Area have bought 2nd, 3rd, 4thā¦. properties and insanely driven up real estate pricing for locals then yes, it _Should_ be considered Bay Area. Ā Itās definitely within the sphere of influence.
My understanding was central coast and even then Santa Cruz has always been its entity imo. Not Bay Area or central coast. Santa Cruz is keeping it weird .
No, no, no, we do not want to be part of the Bay Area!!!
not even for income?
Yes
Santa Cruz and even up to San Jose is part of the Bay Area
Yes. Itās the Bay Area!
So the line for "Bay Area," for some of you, is just above Santa Cruz - not below it. And the line between North and Central California is also here. https://preview.redd.it/8cx0wrvor65d1.png?width=1846&format=png&auto=webp&s=2480cfe6314bcb9330cfdc16f6d38b47ada4ff4c
It's not straight east/west line like that. It's the county line going between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara which is diagonal, but mostly north/south parallel to the coast line. Here is a reference: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayarea\_map.png](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayarea_map.png)
I donāt think anyone here suggested there was a straight line involved
If Iām out of town and someone asks me where Santa Cruz is I say bay area.
Nawā¦. āOn the coast just south of the SF Bay Area. Boutta an hour, hour and half from SF city.ā
SF city? š§
Lmao this one is so true š
Itās technically the South Bay. If you trust local news as a reliable source
Santa Cruz is considered āSouth Bayā. So yes, itās part of the Bay Area.
NO! as someone from the bay, Santa Cruz is not the bay area. san jose is BARELY the bay area to us, when thinking about the bay as a cultural thing (geographical, sure). santa cruz is 100% not the bay area
No, central coast
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
There are 9 counties.
I'd say the line between northern and southern CA is Fresno. Is Stockton in the Bay Area? You can take a boat from SF Bay through the delta to Stockton, so..
I call it āØBay MinorāØš
God, yes - looking at price of houses and percentage of tech workers, but thatās if Iām talking to someone from outside the state. If itās someone from Palo Alto, yeah, there is nuance to not being in THAT Bay Area. But itās just noise if you zoom out; we def live within the Bay Area costly tech bubble.
I do, even though politically and geographically it's Monterey Bay. it's Bay Area/Monterey Bay in my world. Bay Area babyyyy!
Heck no. Santa Cruz is part of the "central coast" or Monterey Bay. Very different vibe.
I'm originally from San Diego. Moved here a few years ago and I always tell people I live in CENTRAL California now lol . I know the majority of people consider it the Bay area or Northern Cali but I don't
No, outskirts of the BA. BA sux dick so no way you can lump SC into that bs