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Oak Park House Rental
updated: Mar 02, 2013, 3:30 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Our family is seriously considering renting a home right across the street from Oak Park. I have heard from some friends about possible loud noise from picnics and parties at the park, particularly on summer weekends. Does anyone have personal experience living in this area? Input would be very much appreciated. And we are fully aware, and enjoy festivals and people out enjoying the park. Concern would come more from amplified music until 10 pm as we have young children.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 380658	2013-03-02 03:47 PM
I haven't lived there but with the downside of Cottage traffic and helicopter noise & the summer ethnic festivals, it doesn't sound attractive.
ROGER DODGER	2013-03-02 03:49 PM
Not to mention the illegal campers..Talk to the neighbors see what they say..
COMMENT 380660	2013-03-02 03:49 PM
Isn't there drug and/or gang activity in the vicinity of the park? If yes, festivals, loud music and people out enjoying the park would be the least of your concerns.
COMMENT 380664	2013-03-02 03:58 PM
If you like loud music it's a nice place. I always loved when families would drop all their crap off at 6am to set up for a midday party. (And sometimes just leave their kids to hold the table) just make sure you are closer to the state street side of the park, because the closer you get to Junipero the worse it is.
COMMENT 380667P	2013-03-02 04:00 PM
If you enjoy mariachi music, helicopters flying overhead, and rv dwellers whose sewage is dumped,,,,,,yea sure go for it
COMMENT 380670P	2013-03-02 04:01 PM
And, don't forget about the parking, or lack of street parking. But, the noise from the 24hr heliocopters might be unbearable, unless you have the triple-pane windows. Years ago, 1973, I lived on Oak Park Lane, and it was really nice in that area. But, things have dramatically changed since then. I don't think I would live over there, unless it was such a great deal that I couldn't pass up. Like dirt-cheap rent or something.
COMMENT 380676	2013-03-02 04:17 PM
I lived there for 3 years (but prob about 3 years ago...) i don't really remember the loud music ever going too late, but my bedroom was on the quinto side if the house. There were definitely parking issues on a regular basis - parties in the park on weekends and hospital related parking during the week but I could usually find a spot not too far away. I loved the Proximity to downtown and freeway access. I don't remember any gang/drug issues anywhere, but I have heard drug addicts show up at the hospital thinking they can get something at times. We had great neighbors and I loved our little place! And I'd probably live there again!
COMMENT 380682	2013-03-02 04:48 PM
We lived therre for three years. Thought proximity to the park would be charming. It was not. One night during our first week a drunk women kept trying to get in through our bedroom window while insisting "this is SO my house." We had many drunk passerby in the years to come. Some amusing. Some scary. My potted plants were all stolen so many times I gave up trying to make the porch nice. Final straw? The homeless who live in the park use the bushes as toilets. Toilet paper and ... all. My kids and dogs discovered this. *gag*I asked a park worker why the toilets couldn't be kept open at night to prevent this, and her response was "No, because then they have sex and do drugs in there." We moved. So glad.
COMMENT 380687	2013-03-02 05:04 PM
I haven't lived there but I worked in that exact area for many years, up until 2012 and I can tell you it's NOT a safe area. A lot of drug activity and ranting and raving in the park at night as well as weirdness during the day. Please reconsider this location. :(
COMMENT 380691	2013-03-02 05:10 PM
Just don't go out in the park barefooted or you could step on a needle.
COMMENT 380695	2013-03-02 05:14 PM
Oakpark was good back in the 70's but now is a safe haven for child molesters, herion abusers, drunks, tweakers, RV campers, lawyers, politicians, and idtiotic pitbull owners. Good luck with that noise brah.
COMMENT 380700	2013-03-02 05:23 PM
My husband and I live across from Oak Park... We've been here for 2 years. It's a great neighborhood and its exactly as the OP described... Some festivals/music on weekends and sometimes parking is harder to find on the street. But we love it. Helicopter noise from Cottage isn't bad at all... People just like to complain and over exaggerate :)
COMMENT 380716P	2013-03-02 05:59 PM
I have lived within a few blocks of Oak Park for the last 22 years. As mentioned, the traffic and parking are difficult. I have never seen any drug or gang activity there. It's a great neighborhood.
COMMENT 380730	2013-03-02 06:34 PM
I'm a SB native and play tennis @Oak Park. Parking is a little busy on the weekends, but I've neved seen problems. I think the earlier posts are exaggerations.
COMMENT 380759	2013-03-02 07:44 PM
Don't let the chronic complainers project their negativity on the Oak Park area. If your rental has off-street parking, you'll love the neighborhood. My kids and I lived across the street in a small detached cottage, and we loved the interesting things going on. We could be as involved in activities or as private as we needed, and the kids loved the kiddie pool! Neighbors are great, location and proximity to all needs (grocery, etc.) is stellar. We loved being near hospital. Good luck!
ROGER DODGER	2013-03-02 07:45 PM
I hear scanner calls in the area but not as bad as other places near by.
COMMENT 380825	2013-03-03 06:18 AM
Although it is nice to live by a park, I wouldn't recommend Oak Park. Yes there are undesirables in the park. If you do decide to move there I wouldn't let your kids go there alone.
COMMENT 380855	2013-03-03 07:51 AM
I've been across the street for several weeks now. The park is not as bad as described, no needles, no trash, etc., but there is an element of motor home dwellers. Note, I did not call them homeless. They are not the destitute like you see on State Street. They seem to have enough skills to 1. Keep a vehicle running. 2. Keep a vehicle registered. 3. Keep a vehicle moved every 72 hours. These are considerable skills, well above those of the 'homeless.' Motorhome dwellers are 'landless.' If there were affordable motor home spaces, I'm sure they would be there. As far as the noise, yesterday there was a band playing. At first I thought, 'do I have to listen to this all day?' Then thought, 'it's a public park, they have every right to use it, and why am I upset over people having fun?' Spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the thought people can have some fun, and that our city was robust enough at one time to put in public parks.
COMMENT 380859	2013-03-03 07:54 AM
855, you do realize that a good number of homless on state started out in motor homes and then lost those, right? Also, "skills" as you speak of are common sense and basic survival. That can't be done if you are in the grips of mental illness. I think you have more compassion for people who have lost their place in society and not differentiate between someone who has a car and someone who doesn't. Not everyone fits neatly into your little categories.
COMMENT 380886	2013-03-03 08:59 AM
Which neighborhoods in SB are desirable safe and affordable??
COMMENT 380888	2013-03-03 09:05 AM
OP here -- thanks to everyone with personal experience who commented. We really appreciate it.
COMMENT 380889	2013-03-03 09:05 AM
Lived in the area for a long time, it's great. not sure where this skidrow described by others is but certainly not Oak Park. Homeless come and go and occasionally congregate on the tennis court side of the park, they get moved on and the park is patrolled at night. No worse than most areas of SB and I've lived in a lot of them. The RV problem is easily solved, there is a pre school on the corner making the area eligible for NO RV parking signs. Just needs a couple of requests to the City, let's get it done. We have a nice community around the park please don't listen to these odd exaggerations. As far as an area for kids my real worry would be the busy road, it does have accidents due to the curve and street parking but road danger is everywhere. Facts of life. Parties in the park are celebrations, no idea why some folks are scared of them. perhaps they should lock their doors and never come outside. Good luck
COMMENT 380895	2013-03-03 09:34 AM
Parking problems, traffic, transients, crowds, helicopters, drug transactions, drinking and profanity at the horseshoe pits, noisy events every summer weekend, proximity to the freeway.... there are so many safer, quieter, and less problemmatic neighborhoods in SB I would never consider living in this one.
COMMENT 380903	2013-03-03 10:20 AM
Lived there for a year, but it was back in '99-'00. We had a one year old and it was a totally friendly neighborhood and a fun place for a small family. My wife stayed home and took our son to the park many days. It was quiet for us. Enjoyed the creek behind our house. I would recommend it back then, don't know about currently. It appears most agree its not great but they could just be nay-sayers. I was close to de la vina. Good luck.
COMMENT 380922	2013-03-03 11:04 AM
I lived in that neighborhood as a child and it was great. We used to play at the nearby park and look for "fools gold" (iron pyrite) in the creek. We were able walk or bike to school at Garfield (now the adult ed. center). Cottage Hospital was much smaller (they actually had street signs that said "Quiet-Hospital Zone"). The many satelite medical offices were still small tidy residences and Knapp College of nursing was still operating. Unfortunately like so many things in Santa Barbara the neighborhood has changed significantly. Much, much larger Cottage Hospital, numerous appartment buildings and medical offices and ten times the traffic, noise, etc. Oak park is no longer the quiet bucolic park setting it was and is now more or less, in constant use for parties, festivals, picnics and barbecues, etc. not to mention a habitat for the ubiquitous homeless "bums" and on-street parking is practically non-existant almost all the time. Sad to see what that neighborhood has become.
BONNER	2013-03-03 11:08 AM
I own a rental where you describe and have had a new family the last 2 yrs who've told me they LOVE the neighborhood and the other friendly families with kids. The mother goes to the park frequently with her baby and dog and has never complained about music, parties, festival, or cottage helicopters; believe me, I ask. It all depends upon your attitude. I'm moving there myself one day and it's because of the lively and diverse atmosphere, plus the great access to nearby coffee houses, TJs, restaurants, a lively and exciting environment to those who appreciate such.
COMMENT 380931P	2013-03-03 11:25 AM
The neighborhood really is great, but I'm lucky enough to live a few blocks away. I know I'd be unhappy right across the street, but I'm getting old and crotchety. Had a friend who lived across the street for years, nothing like theft or trying to get in happened to her, and this was pretty recent (up to about a year ago). I would spend quite a few hours at the park, across from your possible home, on a weekend, to get a better idea. G'luck
COMMENT 380938	2013-03-03 12:03 PM
Just remember, this forum has become a place for people anonymously vent, and spread suppositions and half-truths. Throw out the worst comments, and take many of the others with a grain of salt since they live in posh neighborhoods and don't have a frame of reference. Ask people who actually live here. They know better than anyone.
KATETHECAT	2013-03-03 01:56 PM
I lived right across the street in a condo when I first moved to SB. Loved it--a bit busy when they have the festivals, but great to live right across the street from a nice park.
COMMENT 380970	2013-03-03 02:38 PM
I walk my dog there daily, never seen a needle, never seen drug transactions or people using drugs. one or two smoking weed which I've seen or smelt in every area of town. It's a really lovely family park, the paddling pool in summer is always full, fun and friendly place for families. Not sure where the non and ex residents get this idea of a moral wasteland maybe they are projecting. I'm sure it has changed since their childhood but find me a part of town that hasn't. Ha, I can't believe someone wrote profanity at the horseshoe pits as a reason not to live in Oak park. I Love our park, love the people and hey I even find a parking spot everyday. What is up with the negativity on edhat?
ESTAR	2013-03-03 04:29 PM
I lived in that area a few years ago. What people wrote here is true. Lots of parties there on the weekend and there are a lot of transients. Be aware that you will have ppl going thru your trash and recycling on a daily basis. I lived alone and pretty much always felt safe. But I did get annoyed with the rummaging. Not a terrible area but not the best either.
COMMENT 381018	2013-03-03 06:35 PM
Holy geez: I live on State by Mission and right now the loudest amplified music I've ever heard is blaring up the canyon from Oak Park. It literally sounds like it's in my backyard; I can only imagine how loud it must be across the street from the Park.
COMMENT 381152	2013-03-04 08:59 AM
The music wasn't coming from Oak Park 018. Another example of guess work from non residents about what happens in our neighborhood!
COMMENT 381183	2013-03-04 10:01 AM
I have lived 2 blocks from Oak Park for the last 4 years. Yes, it is a dense neighborhood. Yes, parking is bad during festivals - 3 weekends a year - and street sweeping days. But I have never seen the drug/gang/transient problems others describe. Music/Noise from the park never goes late into the evening. The occasional Cottage copter noise will only wake the lightest sleeper. I agree if you live next to the park, off street parking is a must. But it is a nice little neighborhood with a lot of young families. I don't know what neighborhood others are talking about, but it's not the one I live in.
COMMENT 381212	2013-03-04 11:12 AM
I live near Quinto/Alamar across from the park. Parking can be a pain, especially on festival weekends & nice summer weekends, and street sweeping days. If you have off street parking, it's not an issue. As for noise, the parties aren't that bad, and like parking, the closer you are to State, the better it gets. Helicopters - totally not that bad. No big deal. Yes, homeless/drunks/druggies live/hang in the creekbeds & near the tennis courts on the other side of Oak Park. But I've never had any issues with them & I've been in the park alone at night (I'm a young female). We have had issues with people going into unlocked cars and open garages (haven't heard any neighbors say anyone came into their homes, though), but if you lock your doors/cars & keep garages closed, it's fine. There are some issues with the neighborhood, but I like the area. Hanging at the park at night is cool - stars are beautiful, and I saw an owl once catch a mouse. LARPers on occasional Sundays are cool to see.
COMMENT 381261	2013-03-04 01:19 PM
I've been watching children and their parents come and go all morning and into the afternoon there. It truly is a resource to the community.
COMMENT 381304	2013-03-04 03:33 PM
@152: oops, my bad. I did assume after investigatory driving toward the area that it must be Oak Park but I did not drive all the way to the park to confirm. I certainly did not think it could possibly be coming from Earl Warren but you know what happens when you assume...

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