By Julia Sinn

For locals, and perhaps outsiders, it seems like common knowledge: people want to live in Santa Cruz over Silicon Valley because it’s an objectively wonderful place. Beach, redwoods, limited fog, cheap parking garages.

But what is it, truly, about Santa Cruz that draws us in? People from all over the world settle here over cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. And what specific aspects of Santa Cruz’s uniqueness attract business pioneers and start-up founders?

We’re starting here for our six-week series examining Santa Cruz’s business realities because the legendary “lifestyle” factor is an enigma that even most locals are still trying to understand and grapple with. While we can’t simply ignore the very real challenges that come with living in Santa Cruz—and we’ll look at those later in this series—locals remain fiercely devoted to and defensive of this evolving beach town, and more and more people want to call it home.

At the same time, the tech industry is at an interesting place in history as corporate leaders begin to realize just how heavily happiness and health weigh on business success.

Davenport’s own Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, celebrated marine biologist and ocean activist, trekked the entire Western Coast from Oregon to Mexico with his family before intentionally choosing to plant his family’s roots on the Slow Coast. Nichols (who was born in New York City and has lived and worked all over the world) is now Chief Evangelist for Water at Buoy Labs, founded and based here in Santa Cruz. 

Why Santa Cruz? "We liked it here," Nichols says.

But that’s clearly not the entire story. Nichols is a marine science expert with a passion for environmental conservation and adventure. His groundbreaking book Blue Mind details the incredible psychological and physical benefits of being near water. It seems that an enormous factor is the ability to balance or even combine work and lifestyle values. 

Santa Cruz, with its unique blend of nature, culture, and business, has become a place where entrepreneurial dreamers discover fertile ground to combine their passions with their work.

Anatomy of a Happy City

While just “liking it” might be good enough reason for some people to relocate to this beloved beach nest, what’s the draw for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and start-up founders? Why does the Santa Cruz lifestyle make good business sense as compared to Silicon Valley or San Francisco?

It doesn’t take a sociologist to see that the tech job explosion brought, along with an extreme influx of wealth and opportunity, a trend toward unhappy, unhealthy work culture. Longer and longer work hours, harsher commutes, high stress, the “always on” work ideal, burnout. (But that’s a subject for another time.)

But are people in Santa Cruz really happier? Statistics say: yes. Santa Cruz continues to hit lists of the “happiest cities in the country.” While drawing some consternation from people who actually live here, these are researched-backed studies that consider factors known to contribute to overall well-being: community engagement, access to healthy food and the outdoors, vitality of residents’ social connections. Still, the ever-vocal local public took issue with the fact that these rankings seemingly ignored local issues like housing costs and the homelessness crisis. 

Paradoxically, the tendency and ability of Santa Cruzans to engage in discourse around Santa Cruz’s stereotypical shiny reputation might be one more thing that actually makes us happier: Participation in cultural and community decisions provides a sense of purpose and increases happiness. 

It’s easy to forget that, despite the very real challenges of making home here, Santa Cruz really does boasts conditions that encourage positive lifestyle choices, particularly compared to the rest of the Bay Area. The 262 days of sun, 14 state parks or beaches within an hours’ drive, and 29 miles of beaches are just a start.

The Natural Choice

It turns out that living somewhere we like makes a big difference at work.

“If we’re happy where we live, we tend to achieve bigger goals,” says Annie Fitzimmons of National Geographic Traveler in Forbes’ 2017 report on the country’s happiest cities.

The availability of healthy lifestyle choices and a “mainstream” culture of health and wellness has been a long-time signature of Santa Cruz. A recent Gallup report rated Santa Cruz as one of the top cities in the U.S. for healthy eating. By now, it’s well-known that citizens’ health majorly impacts a region’s economic success.

Increasingly more scientific studies are showing us that being close to water and nature improves our psychological state and physical well-being in amazing ways. Being in nature can even make us more creative and helps us solve problems. A 2016 study in the UK found that "individuals living near the coast are generally healthier and happier than those living inland.” 

“Research has shown that being near, in, on, or under water can provide a long list of benefits for our mind and body, including lowering stress and anxiety, increasing an overall sense of well-being and happiness, a lower heart and breathing rate, and safe, better workouts,” Blue Mind author Nichols describes.

The drastic difference between Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley’s relationship with the natural world is exacerbated by the time workers spend commuting—an indisputably unnatural activity that contributes to a swath of negative lifestyle outcomes. In Santa Cruz, the average commute time is 21.9 minutes. In Silicon Valley, the average commuter spends 72 minutes a day in the car. In a comparison of cities whose workers are commuting 90 minutes or more each way, San Francisco ranked sixth in the country for most “super commutes”; San José ranks 24th.

The impact of happiness on economics is coming to the forefront not only within tech circles, but across the U.S. We’re seeing that happiness doesn’t lead to success: it’s the other way around. Research by Shawn Achor and many others shows us that happier people do better work, and optimistic mindsets lead us to greater success.

“Your employees’ engagement, energy, and vitality are the lifeblood of your organization,” writes Naz Beheshti of Forbes.

In other words: lifestyle is a business strategy. 

Small City Advantage

The small city atmosphere provides a sense of psychological safety for entrepreneurs. It’s easier to build a network, bond with mentors, make a bigger local splash with marketing. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports often on the attraction of business leaders to small cities. With a smaller city like Santa Cruz comes more opportunity to really engage and invest in local community. (Of course, a limited pool of competitors can also limit the scope of customers—and we’ll look at that in a few weeks.) 

Speaking to what makes a good place to live and work, Healthways (now Sharecare) president Karissa Price says,

“It isn't just about physical health or income—there is a larger need to feel connected.” 

That connection can feel more accessible and more impactful in a smaller city. Smaller pond, bigger waves. (We’ll look at what this means for networking, funding, and mentorship in a few weeks.)

And in a smaller city, commute times shrink, especially with access to active transportation like bike infrastructure and safe walking routes. Kelly Harkins Kincaid, founding CEO of Claret Bioscience, notes that her biggest lifestyle change came when she moved to a house within biking distance of everything she needs—including both the company she runs and the mountain biking trails she loves.

The Crossroads of Lifestyle and Business

For Emma McLaren, founder and CEO of new digital wellness company Myrth, culture and lifestyle drew her to Santa Cruz, and a sense of belonging inspired her to stay. McLaren intentionally landed herself in Santa Cruz after living, working, and exploring in over 60 countries. 

“Santa Cruz had that small town feel with lots of these awesome, diverse small communities,” McLaren told me.

She loved the ability to connect personally with an accessible network, but found enough going on to create a vibrant life: a rock climbing community, improv groups, plentiful events, and a prominent independent bookstore in Bookshop Santa Cruz. 

“I have a good sense of what makes a lovely community,” McLaren says, “and one of the things is an amazing bookshop.” 

Of course, lifestyle simply lays one piece of the foundation for business success—but a paradigm shift in the business world indicates that wellness and engagement are inching their way up the ladder of priorities.

Kelly Harkins Kincaid recalls that people telling her she’s “built a great team with a great culture” feels like one of the greatest compliments.

For Kincaid, Santa Cruz is home to the right kind of people for her “gritty” bio-tech company, a place full of renegade thinkers and creatives unafraid to ask unconventional questions.

Smart start-up creators and business leaders who value lifestyle and wellness have a choice: build a company somewhere with mediocre lifestyle values and try to create an oasis of positive culture, or purposefully build in a place with a lifestyle of health and happiness from the outset. In Santa Cruz, entrepreneurs are choosing the start with a solid foundation. 

Part 2: Room to Grow: Office Space and Wages

Julia Sinn is a freelance writer and editor, brand messaging consultant, event designer, and project manager. Read more of her work and connect with her at juliarosesinn.com.