12 months in Ventura - some thoughts (Ojai, Mesa: rental, house, taxes)

[user_id]

Somewhat prefer hipster infested coffee houses, some what to be able to quickly get a coffee in the drive-thru.

Regardless, I noticed that they built two drive-thru Star Bucks in Thousand Oaks recently. One in Newbury Park by Target, they moved the old location to a new building with a drive-thru. Another on the corner of Thousand Oaks blvd and Rancho.

Coffee is $2 at Starbucks.

[ArthurDaly]

Originally Posted by movistar26

Hi There! I know it's 3 years old, but this is very helpful and similar to my own observations. My husband and I will be relocating hopefully in a year and Ventura was one of the places we narrowed down to (San Diego/Dana Pt area are the others).

The more I visit the more I am disappointed with the pier area and the areas below Main St. I live at the Jersey Shore where areas like that thrive! The other beaches further North in Ventura are nicer. I like the area above Main St., love Ojai (although too hot for my husband) and love the Conejo Valley area (which we are now considering).

The best thing about Ventura county is its proximity to Santa Barbara and LA, and it's quaint downtown area which is important to us. I am happy that we have taken the time to visit and stay in several areas to try to narrow it down. Santa Barbara is my favorite but need to see if we can swing it. We live in NJ so it's really not that far off financially LOL.

You said you were moving? Did you? What area? How is it going?

Hi There, Yes we did move to CO. We are in Westminster and are really enjoying the area. We have great neighbors, awesome parks and trails everywhere and the weather is different everyday. They are just now building a Trader Joes (which we miss) AND, we have a local Starbucks with a drive through! Just so you don't think we have found complete paradise - the traffic (and drivers) here are the worst I have encountered anywhere - so you just have to leave earlier and arrive later.

SD and DP are really nice areas, but they are very busy (insanely so in the Holiday season) and expensive, but as you mentioned - so is NJ. Good Luck with your decision.

[DaniellaG]

I guess it depends on areas in NJ and CA but having lived in TO and Princeton area of NJ I found TO to be a lot more expensive.I like the living though better in TO.
I passed by the new drive thru on TO blvd so many times and just noticed it was there. I was surprised to see it with a drive thru since so many banks don't even have a drive thru which I wish they did. I agree with user id though some people just want to get something quick and in different areas that appeals more. Santa Barbara people may have more time to just hang out but TO people often are on the run.

[Iwaswondering]

Originally Posted by efoda

Sounds a lot like ALL major California beach cities to me.

Sounds like a lot of places EVERYWHERE now!
The original post is so full of NEGATIVEs! Sad. Not everyone can fit into California. Ventura is a wonderful town, full of history. There are so many hiking and biking trails and parks and ocean and mountains around that you can have FREE fun all the time in. The side trips are fantastic too, there's so much to do. When you don't fit in, you end up nit picking every little thing until you convince yourself that you are not responsible for how your life goes! It's ALWAYS someone elses fault. All beaches have foggy days, all towns have homeless. People are out of work and out of luck all over the United States. She/he just doesn't belong here, won't ever let go and enjoy life here. My family grew up in Thousand Oaks and we often went to Ventura. We are not, thank God, back East and would Never want to be! We don't consider Snow and freezing cold to be a benefit but, we can drive 30 minutes and enjoy the snow if we wanted to and then drive out of the mountains and go have a sunny day at the beach! Who wants to LIVE in snow? White Christmas? Who cares? My childhood memories of Christmas were that when we got bikes we could go right out doors and ride on a nice sunny day. You could play with everything right away out doors! Right next door, Carpenteria has the "world's safest beach" where I spent many happy days swimming and playing in. Everything is all around you there, a freeway close. There are a LOT of non Californians here now and like the poster, are gripey about everything. They just can't get their "groove" on! Lol! I LOVE California!

[ArthurDaly]

To "I Was Wondering" - If I read your post correctly, you have lived your entire life, or most of it, in or close to TO? And that therefore qualifies you as an expert on where CA ranks in the WORLD of coastal areas to live? You are a typical arm chair expert. You also feel qualified to classify Carp beach as the worlds safest? Based on what global research?
I would strongly suggest that you don't ever travel - because your rose colored view of CA and Ventura will most definitely take on a far less rosier hue. Much better to stay put and stay ignorant.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Carp is safe unless one is talking about tar.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by pterra

Ventura is a one of a kind place. Lots of bums , hipsters and burnt out people. A true working class town in the expensive socal area. Very different from Orange county.

Ventura is, indeed, very different from Orange County. Thanks be 1000 times for that! The downtown has changed a lot in the time I've been around, but mostly for the better. There was a time when venturing into downtown after dark could get you robbed.

What attracted me to the Ventura area many, many years ago was it's geographical location by a rustic coast and mild weather, its unpretentiousness and that the city had a real downtown, albeit not the nicest one back then. I liked the fact that Ventura didn't try to be something other than what it was, a laid-back place, somewhat rough around the edges. To my liking, Ventura did not, and still does not, try to be Santa Barbara south or Malibu north. The So Cal narcissism you sense in so many places in the lower end of the Golden State, hasn't made a foothold.

[Xica_da_Silva]

I just spent 2 weeks working in Ventura and must say I absolutely loved it! I know that since I come from Phoenix the bar might seem like it's not that high to begin with, lol, but I do A LOT of traveling so can definitely compare to many other places.
What I appreciate:
- cool weather/fog...I think something that's an advantage over San Francisco is that even though it's cool in the mornings/evenings, I didn't notice that it was really windy, so that made it just perfect weather the whole time I was there.
- the lack of heavy traffic
- access to ocean
- landscaping (I saw so many different types of trees/flowers/plant- for someone who's into gardening this was such a treat. I especially loved seeing all the healthy/happy Jacarandas with their lovely purple flowers)
-houses- especially the ones I saw driving through neighborhoods running through Poli St. Love the hillside homes, as well as some of the older-looking homes w/ ivy on them. Just adorable!
- downtown- the perfect size, not too large/small, with lots of great shops/restaurants
-last but not least, the people! Everyone who I encountered whether at work or out in public/shops/restaurants was so laid-back, friendly, and polite. Phoenix itself is not a horrible place in that regard, but this was just a few notches above that.

My final thought: If I could affordably move there someday, I would. It's definitely given me some food for thought in regards to considering moving away from Phoenix to someplace with a less extreme climate. I just fell in love with your town- hope you all appreciate living there every day!

[rgb123]

I'm starting to consider where to move now that I can work from home. Now that I have my options I have to say, Ventura is still up there in my top 10! In my opinion the downtown is hard to beat (at least for me) in terms of the size. It's not too big or too small. I wish there was more that could be done about the vagrants/homeless issues as I think it scares people away and investment. But I reall like the town and sense of community, happy to see what the are doing with the Botanical Gardens.

[Cyanna]

After being back in California for 5 years now, the Ventura County specifically, we are ready to move to Arizona or Idaho, with AZ being the preferred state since I am also familiar with the Mesa area. Northern Idaho is beautiful, but too cold in the winter.

We are finding that no matter how much money we make it just is not enough to do more that just get by. As soon as a pay raise or promotion comes along the taxes, gas, food and rents go up as well. Now that I am self-employed and working mostly from home we are looking for opportunities for my husband so that we can get out of here.