I'm from here and still live in the mountains. The 60s spirit has waned. I wouldn't say SC has hippy vibes anymore. Just take a walk down pacific avenue and look around, compared to 20 years ago.
Having grown up in Santa Cruz, the place kind of died for me after the Loma Prieta Earthquake. The Santa Cruz downtown merchants/city council really screwed up with the rebuild. Took the beautiful Roy Rydell botanical mall and turned it in to little San Jose...
