What's the Deal with Oak Park?

[SacramentoBound]

Good to know. Fortunately neither of us is super fond of the suburban look... Great big two car garage sticking out in front, and all. The best-looking houses are the old ones, alas; the money pits!

[SacramentoBound]

So I (I being the half of the couple that won't be attending UC Davis) had a job interview in Sac yesterday, and afterwards I drove around and looked at a few of the homes that we'd found online and saved on our "Favorites" list - just by myself, not with a realtor. I was primarily looking in Old North/Hagginswood right around Del Paso Blvd., because that's where my interview was. I felt like some of the streets were beautiful and absolutely safe and acceptable, and others less so. One home (on Redwood Ave., to be specific) in particular I felt was in a great location. But I know that driving around one afternoon is not a good way to form opinions about neighborhoods, and unfortunately, I did not have time to stay longer. So, thoughts? On Del Paso Blvd. itself there were quite a few boarded up buildings and such, but nothing that struck me as particularly scary or completely unacceptable.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by SacramentoBound

Great big two car garage sticking out in front, and all.

Know what you mean. My wife and I refer to them as "snout houses" and find them particularly unattractive. "Hi! Welcome to my garage. By the way, there's a house back here somewhere." Thankfully, they're few and far between where we've relocated.

[SacramentoBound]

I'm reviving this thread just to thank everyone who contributed and shared their thoughts. We visited Sacramento this weekend and spent an evening and the better part of a day driving around looking at neighborhoods. (There was a dead pickup in the middle of I-80 near the river on Saturday night - we were wondering why it felt like rush hour!) For the most part we stayed north of 14th while we were in Oak Park, and while some streets were definitely better than others, we didn't pick up a bad vibe at all from the neighborhood. I did get a bad vibe on a bunch of streets around Hagginswood, and even when we went to some of the nicer streets we had to go through some really gross areas to get there.

For those who are familiar with Boston, I was afraid it would be reminiscent of some of the worse areas of Dorchester. It really wasn't. Thanks for your encouragement. We also drove through Colonial Heights, Tallac Village, Colonial Village, and parts of Tahoe Park. Not as convenient for my commute and often out of our price range, but there were a few properties that showed promise. We can certainly understand why people find those neighborhoods desirable.

[napanite]

if you are going to Davis...why not move to Davis? Dixon or Winters..even Vacaville? They are all much safer and closer to Davis than Oak Park.
Oak Park...i had a very good friend who lived there in 80/early90's...she said all the felons lived there so they went else where to rob etc...but she had a chain link fence around her total front yard. She often was waken at night to people running through her back yard ...usually being chased by police and helicopters with bright lights...not good sleeping.
Many people are giving you much better options. I totally disagree with person who said it was like downtown Sac 20 years ago...no way. DT Sac had many great pockets in it even back than. I had many friends who had lived in those pockets and had great neighborhoods/homes.
But if i were you..i seriously look into Davis, Winters, Woodland, Dixon, Vacaville areas to live in...you will still be close to Sac but if you move like to Vacaville...you are only hour from SF as well! 40 minutes to Sacramento and 20 minutes to Davis..or less. Downtown Vacaville is very nice if you want pretty old homes. Other wise i stay on the west side since east side can flood.
Dixon is smaller but has great older homes as well as man new ones....i can give you name of great vet ad doctors if you choose those areas ...well Kaiser doctors. I say well because not sure if you are member i love Kaiser and wish i could belong to it now.
So please check out those area.. commuting with how much gas is now days is crazy if you can live closer to your College plus...if you choose like Winters you can still ride you bike in easily.
Same with Dixon! there are great produce stands around there as well and nurseries!! Good luck

[SacramentoBound]

Thanks for your input, but we closed escrow nearly three months ago on the edge of Tahoe Park, so it's a moot point.