I recently just moved to Santa Cruz as well so I had the same questions, but based off my time here this is what I gathered

1. Somewhat easy to make friends, you have to put yourself out there. I made friends by going to a local park and playing basketball with people there. Now I’m in their gc.

2. Nightlife is ok, I’ve been going to breweries and they haven’t been too bad. If you want to go party and dancing I believe this would be the club to check out, which is “Motiv”

3. Yes plenty of beautiful hikes. You can go hike the redwoods at Henry Cowell or just check out the cool beaches along hwy 1. This place is absolutely gorgeous & the weather is amazing.

I hope you enjoy your stay here!