Will my family fit in in SoCal/Ventura area?

[Wintermomma]

Hi. Did you decide yet?

I'm from Ventura Cty and live in San Jose; maybe I can help with a unique POV. We left a little under 10 years ago. What city will the job be in? In general...
1. 101 is bad, just like here. Commute direction is North to South in the AM; right into the sun. Reverse in the afternoon, right into the sun. I'd try to avoid moving with all the others.
2. Ventura County is not LA and generally not snooty at all; though there are some snootier towns (Westlake comes to mind).
3. It is conservative...that was hard for me. I love that when we have an election up here all the signs around are like-minded with our family. It was very very hard to live in Simi (probably even more conservative than some cities there) during Prop H8 and have people standing on corners with signs, seeing signs in your neighbor's yars, etc. so that may be a consideration if you are more lefty, but like others have said, some areas are crunchier than others for sure.
4. There are definitely homeschoolers, but you will also find the conservative religious type, too. I'm pretty sure there are online groups that can help hook you up with both. I do think some of the crunchy ones may be driving to the valley and LA a bit for meet-ups and classes.
5. Love the beach cities weather! If you are a sun-worshipper, however, you may wish to go a bit inland. My family lived in Oxnard, not too far from the water, we used to call it "the place where the sun doesn't shine all summer."
6. Check crime data. Oxnard, Pt. Hueneme, parts of Ventura, i wouldn't want to live in. That's part of why my family left and joined us up here in SJ, and now tease me all of the time how crime feels SO much worse here on the news: graffiti worse, more homeless, more gang activity, more murders. There are still parts, however, of those cities I wouldn't want to live in or be in after dark.
7. Inland areas will be hotter than SJ, for longer. Definitely find a place with AC.

[Calix]

You said Ventura "area". If it isn't too far, I would suggest looking at the Camarillo and Thousand Oaks areas. They would be much more in line with what you are looking for. Very family oriented, lots of things to do, hiking, biking, community events.

It sounds much more in line with what you are looking for and a commute to Ventura is about 20-30 min, very easy.