We live a half block from the beach in the central coast town of Santa Cruz, California. It’s the kind of place where you know your neighbors and feel safe walking alone at night. With the lure of the ocean, as well as nearby mountains, parks and Boardwalk, we’re never short of visiting friends or family. We’ve spent countless hours building sand castles, strolling on the beach and enjoying boardwalk rides with our nieces and nephews and can’t wait to do the same with a child of our own.