Thousand Oaks vs Santa Clarita (wood floors, rental, condo)

[deezine]

Which one would be best for a professional and well educated black family. I just want to raise my teenager in an area nice, safe and decent area that is away from the city. And have narrowed my selections down to these areas.

Thanks in advance for you comments and suggestions.

[mommabear2]

I don't know anything about Thousand Oaks, but I have lived in Santa Clarita for 2 years. I moved here with my family from the city of L.A. I was resistant - I used to call it "whiteyville" and thought it wasn't as diverse as I wanted it for my children. I judged it prematurely and was wrong about that. It is actually a very nice place to live. People are predominately educated, the population is diverse, and it is safe. Families come up here because they know it's a good place to raise a family. Open space and parks are the norm. The schools have a great reputation (but there are some that aren't as reputable, so, do your research). I think anyone is welcome here as long as you are not ignorant. If you have more questions or want more details just ask...

[Winston Smith]

What other factors are important to you? Santa Clarita and the surrounding area is bigger than Thousand Oaks. The two cities are in different counties with different priorities in terms of planning, growth, etc. LA County's population of 10 million makes Ventura's 800,000 look like one city block by comparison. There are good and bad with both. Ventura's tax base is poor compared to LA, but the average citizen is also more visible to the government with the smaller population. Just wondering if these weigh on your decision.

Thousand Oaks is cooler in summer and closer to the ocean than Santa Clarita, if this is important. Without looking at demographic data, based solely on personal knowledge of both cities, my guess is that Santa Clarita is more diverse than the primarily-Caucasian Thousand Oaks.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by deezine

Which one would be best for a professional and well educated black family. I just want to raise my teenager in an area nice, safe and decent area that is away from the city. And have narrowed my selections down to these areas.

Thanks in advance for you comments and suggestions.

Where will you be working? Commuting is a major factor. Both places may have commuting vulnerabilities. That's just they way SoCal is. If you have to leave either region into the LA area, you will have problems (unless you can start work at 6AM or something like that.)


Thousand Oaks is one of the finest places to live in Southern California for raising kids. Schools are excellent. Lots of community activities/sports teen dance clubs, part time jobs for teens.

My gut feeling is that Santa Clarita has many of these same amenities. I have a couple of friends there and that is the feeling I got when I visited them. (They even have an old Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor there.)

Farrell's!* The Fun Is Back!!

The Santa Clarita region seems to have a greater standard deviation in home prices too, that is there is a greater range of housing prices available. Thousand Oaks has two housing prices: expensive and very expensive.

Personal Choice: Thousand Oaks. I did live there for eight years, leaving in June 06.

[deezine]

Thanks for your replies. Weather is not a big concern as long as it is not humid. But my other factors will be:

1 - rental prices no more than $1700 - $2000 for a 2 bdrm
2 - ability to keep my teenager "busy" with exta curricular activities

Everything else I can pretty much deal with. I will be down to actually visit the area and see which one "fits me" the most.

[mommabear2]

Originally Posted by deezine

Thanks for your replies. Weather is not a big concern as long as it is not humid. But my other factors will be:

1 - rental prices no more than $1700 - $2000 for a 2 bdrm
2 - ability to keep my teenager "busy" with exta curricular activities

Everything else I can pretty much deal with. I will be down to actually visit the area and see which one "fits me" the most.

deezine - I don't know what specific extra curricular activities you are looking for but the city of Santa Clarita offers youth activities thru their website (parks and rec.). You can check that out - the brochure is calles "Seasons Brochure" - just google City of Santa Clarita and you'll probably find it.

I have not rented in Santa Clarita - I just own my home. But housing prices can fluctuate from around 400K (condo/townhome) on up - houses are for the most part average for L.A. County. As far as rent goes, I'm sure you can find a place within that price range. Areas of Santa Clarita include: Valencia - closer to the 5 freeway, has a nice mall, chain restaurants, several parks, paseos you could walk or bike on without crossing a street; Saugus - the "older" part of SC - family oriented, good schools, two very nice parks, bedroom community, about 15 minutes from the freeway; Newhall - some parts of newhall aren't that great, but their are neighborhoods that are really cool - big oak trees, non-cookie cutter houses, large lots, I'm not sure about the schools though, freeway access is fairly easy - less than 10 minutes.

[SCValleygirl]

Santa Clarita has terrific school districts and a good amount of diversity. I actually have a condo there I'm trying to rent out. I love the area, and it is where I eventually want to raise my own family. I just can't live there right now (family needs me closer).

[SCValleygirl]

Oh, by the way, the condo is a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom for $1695/month, wood floors, vaulted ceilings, newly remodeled bath. It is actually in Newhall, a mile off of the 5 freeway.

[SoCalMomma]

I have to add my 2 cents.

I live in Thousand Oaks. Been here about 30 years. It is a great place to live. I have teenagers and there is quite a bit for them to do (never enough as far as they are concerned, however). There is a teen center, with lots of classes, outings, events. There are many neighborhood parks, a nice skateboard park, movie theaters, malls, etc. The schools are excellent, always highly ranked. Neighborhoods, for the most part, are very nice. The city is a master planned community, so that makes it nice. Weather is easily 10 or maybe more degrees cooler than Santa Clarita in the summer, and warmer during the winter. You can drive to the beach in 15 minutes, to the mtns in less than an hour, and to the desert in about an hour. It's more 'remote' than Santa Clarita. However, I do think that Santa Clarita is a more diverse area. But that doesn't mean we are not welcoming to people of all races. You could find a 2 bedroom home/condo for $2000. I'd definitely take a look at both places, you'll be the best judge. But dont rule out Thousand Oaks