Eastside - Santa Cruz, CA Area Guide

The Eastside of Santa Cruz served as the home to one of only three non-military towns established during California's Spanish colonial period. The Branciforte Adobe still remains as the last remaining building from that town. The Eastside was incorporated into the city of Santa Cruz in 1905.

Check out the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History overlooking Seabright Beach for some fascinating, old-school taxidermy displays that walk you through the area's scientific history. Check out the Rio Theater for special live music and indie film events throughout the year, or cross the San Lorenzo River over to Santa Cruz's Boardwalk neighborhood or head downtown for a wide array of art galleries and music venues.

Restaurants on the Eastside of Santa Cruz tend to serve easily recognizable comfort food such as burgers, sandwiches and Italian specialties. Look for clusters of restaurants along Soquel Avenue, with several great choices also scattered in areas closer to the bay.

The family-owned Lillian's Italian Kitchen on Soquel Avenue draws its recipes from the proprietors' Italian grandmother with a few Californian twists. Try the traditional Sunday gravy meal, in which beef, pork, sausage and spare ribs are simmered together for hours into a delectable meat sauce before being served over your choice of pasta. Start with the artichoke-asparagus cream soup, then end with the cannoli that the locals rave about.

When you want a casual, quick bite, stop by the Samba Rock Acai Cafe on Water Street for a filling and healthy acai bowl. Betty Burgers on Murray Street keeps locals happy with an amazing selection of burger choices and truly excellent, hand-crafted milkshakes. You may never find out what's in Betty's secret sauce, but make sure to ask for extra.

For a special occasion, head to La Posta , an Italian restaurant that prides itself on its housemade breads and pizzas, adventurous wine list and locally-sourced produce and fish. Check out the fig pizza, the scallops with pesto, the lamb ragu or the broccoli de cicco with burrata and olives. Locals know to drop in on Tuesday evenings when the restaurant features live music and a discounted menu.

Santa Cruz has a reputation as a bit of a party town, and while the Eastside may not get as wild as the neighborhood around the Boardwalk or the university, you'll find plenty of dive bars and lounges to show you a good time. Check out Brady's Yacht Club, a dive bar where even your dog finds a warm welcome. An pool table, plenty of TVs, inexpensive drinks and lots of your neighbors hanging out make this place feel like home. Happy hour at the Crow's Nest Restaurant lets you gaze at the glittering ocean while you sip your half-price drinks. Come back on Thursday nights during the summer for the restaurant's beach parties, complete with live bands, bar food and a fun-loving crowd.

Because of Santa Cruz's spread-out, hilly terrain, most people choose to drive their own cars to get around town. Parking can be tight near the Boardwalk or UC Santa Cruz, but in the Eastside, parking typically can be found without trouble. California Route 1 passes right through the Eastside to connect locals south to Monterey, and California Route 17 runs north along the edge of the Eastside to provide easy access to San Jose.

If you prefer to take public transportation, Santa Cruz Metro runs buses that connect the city to Watsonville, Capitola and San Jose. Just across the San Lorenzo River to the west, the Santa Cruz Trolley connects downtown Santa Cruz to the Boardwalk for a mere 25 cents. Taxis, Uber and airport shuttles all remain on call when you need a ride to the airport or home from a late party.

Major Santa Cruz streets all feature bike lanes, and the city encourages cyclists to take advantage of them. While distances can make commuting on foot prohibitive, locals enjoy walking through Eastside neighborhoods, especially near the ocean.

Surrounded by the natural beauty of the ocean and redwood forests, Santa Cruz borders two California state parks: Wilder Ranch State Park along the ocean to the west of UC Santa Cruz's campus and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park just inland. Closer to the Eastside, you can also find several parks to let you enjoy recreation and natural beauty.

At Ocean View Park, kids can play on the awesome, long slides and playground while their parents enjoy gazing out at the ocean. With a dedicated off-leash area for dogs and a basketball court, you'll find plenty of your Eastside neighbors hanging out here. Jose Avenue Park includes a small skate park, barbecue grills and playgrounds, plus community vegetable gardens.

Head to Seabright Beach to enjoy fire pits, beach volleyball, soft sand and gentle waves. The nearby lighthouse serves as a touchstone for the community and lends itself to beautiful photos. Locals don't want anyone to know about 26th Avenue Beach, a laid-back, dog-friendly beach that's so secluded, some people even sunbathe topless. Twin Lakes State Beach has clean sand, awesome views and fire pits for evening singalongs and s'mores.

The cost of living in Santa Cruz runs 8 percent higher than that of San Jose just to the north and 34 percent higher than the overall cost of living in Los Angeles. The cost of housing contributes to that higher cost of living, with an average one-bedroom apartment in Santa Cruz running $1,544 a month. Also a contributor to the cost of living, the price of gasoline in Santa Cruz runs about 8 percent higher than the national average. If you choose to take public transportation instead, you can get downtown for $1.50. If you feel the need to stop at a pub on your way home from work, expect to pay $5 to $7 for a pint.

Santa Cruz has never been known as a shopping mecca, and most locals tend to drive "over the hill" to San Jose when they have major shopping expeditions ahead of them. The nearby Capitola Mall, anchored by Macy's, Kohl's, Target and Sears, provides most of the necessities, with many name-brand national chains also represented, including Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Foot Locker, Hot Topic and Ulta Beauty.

If you're looking for intriguing specialty shops, you're in luck. Check out Clearwater Bazaar on Portola Drive for a fascinating and always-changing selection of antiques and memorabilia. Just a quick browse might lead you to discover vintage stained-glass lamps, mid-century modern chairs, furniture made by local craftsmen or bargain vinyl records.

Just to the west of Eastside you'll find Bookshop Santa Cruz , widely acknowledged as one of the finest independent bookstores in all of California. Locals flock to this store to take advantage of its rich sections on travel, surfing, children's literature and local authors. The store sponsors many events and book signings, sells used books as well as new ones and posts handwritten commentary and reviews of books along the bookshelves that are almost as much fun to read as the books themselves.

Your neighbors in Santa Cruz's Eastside do their grocery shopping at the Safeway or Whole Foods Market on Soquel Avenue, but you'll also find many specialty grocery stores in the neighborhood. Shopper's Corner has an old-school butcher's department selling grass-fed beef and also stocks a wide variety of ethnic and U.K. products. People head to Deke's Market for its amazing in-house deli and sandwich shop. Staff of Life Natural Foods Market stocks excellent gluten-free, organic and vegan choices as well as a wide inventory of vitamins, beauty products, kombucha and fresh herbs. The Live Oak/Eastside farmers market opens up every Sunday morning to sell farm-fresh fruits and veggies as well as fresh pasta and fish, all with a live band playing in the background.