Moving to Santa Cruz

For those of you who haven't heard, I've been fortunate enough to be accepted to UC Santa Cruz's history PhD program for this fall.  I can't wait to start school again, and I'm so excited to be moving to California.

However, this means that I need to find housing.  From Shanghai.  I've been spoiled with the rental system here: you go to a local realty agency, look at a few places, and generally are able to sign a lease to move in within a month.  It's all fairly straightforward.

Looking for a place to live in Santa Cruz has proved less easy though, so I'm looking for help.  If you have any contacts in Santa Cruz, or know anything about finding a place to live there, I'd be exceedingly grateful.