Oxnard (Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara, Camarillo: spring break, rental, waterpark)

[de1buzz]

Hi everyone, been offerd a job in the Oxnard area and would like some opinions on that area. I know it's expensive but was wandering how people make there. I'm looking to rent a 3 bed and will commute up to an hour away. Have one child in high school so that is a concern. The job offerd $114,000/year. Can I make it there or not? Thanks

[Winston Smith]

Yes, you can make it on that salary. Oxnard is a fairly big place with a mix of neighborhoods, some very nice, some older with known crime problems -- Colonia and South Oxnard. The city is the biggest in the area and growing fast.

I'd recommend private high schools over public in Ventura/Oxnard, though I hear there is a public charter school in Ventura that's supposed to be good. Sorry, I forget the name (Ventura Technical, Foothill Technical, something like that). If you're considering public HS, try Thousand Oaks, 20 miles distant.

[JustChar]

Well, I live in Oxnard and have now for 25 years. I have seen in it good times and bad times. Gangs are a major concern here. There is a large gang in the Colonia area of Oxnard and another large gang in the south part of town. The local newpaper said recently there are 1000 gang members, but I was talking to a police officer and he said that there are over 3000 gang members. Two nights ago in the parking lot of Toppers Pizza (in north Oxnard) there was a confrontation of both gangs and a fight ensued with someone bringing out a gun and shooting a guy in the leg. Now mind you this was at 8 in the evening and at that time Toppers is a busy place. This was witnessed by people in the restaurant and some had their families with them. And this was across from the new high school and in a nicer area of town.

The other problem is graffitti. We have a wonderful team with the city called Graffitti Control. I have called them many times about graffitti on my property. They do the best they can, but the taggers can out do them at times. And of course there is a lot of beige paint sprayed everywhere from fences, to housing track walls, to bill boards, garages, and homes themselves.

My car has been broken into at least 3 times where I live now and 3 times where I lived before in another area of Oxnard. And I live in a decent area of Oxnard. So as you can tell there are crime issues in Oxnard, bad ones. We got a police/fire scanner recently and I didn't realize all the armed robberies and assaults there are around here. A couple of nights ago in north Oxnard a middle-aged woman was looking to park her car and a group of 3 people pulled her from her car and BEAT her, she is still in the hospital in serious stable condition. I think crime is definetly an issue, especially for a city of under 200,000.

Now for the rental prices - yes Oxnard is slightly cheaper than Ventura, but I like Ventura much better. They do have their problems and yes they have gangs too, but you just don't here or see as much as Oxnard. The areas to stay away from in Ventura - The Avenue (Ventura Ave.) on the west side of town, very near downtown. And the area around Whipperwill in the east side of Ventura. On the map look for Bristol - Whipperwill - area. They are building some new homes in the area just to the north, but it is just a couple of streets away.

Camarillo is even nicer, yes they have gangs there too, but it is not near as bad as Oxnard. I do not know of a "bad" area in Camarillo to warn you about although I am sure there is one.

Now rent for a 3 bedroom/2 bath in Oxnard can range about $1600 to $2000+ a month. Ventura will run about $1800 - $2200+ and Camarillo $2000 - $2500 a month. There are 4 public high schools in Oxnard (Rio Mesa, Oxnard, Pacifica, and Channel Islands) my daughter went to Oxnard and got a good education. Pacifica is the newest and seems to also be good academically. My daughter's friend went to Channel Islands and did well. All have advance placement classes, college prep classes, and standard. All have awesome marching bands, Oxnard High travels at spring break to perform in places like the Bahamas, Vancouver, Hawaii, and Mexico. In Ventura there are 2 public high schools, Ventura and Buena. Both are good schools, Buena being a little higher on my list. And Camarillo has only one high school Camarillo High. It is also a very good school.

As far as you making it on $114,00 a year, IMO yes I think you could. I don't know what your family expenses are ( private school, sports, gym, music, special needs) but it sounds definitely doable. The weather here is great, the sights are beautiful, the two harbors are great (I love Ventura Harbor), and you are close to LA for big items like Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc.

If I were just coming to this area, I would think about east Ventura first, Camarillo second, and north Oxnard last. There is also Port Hueneme (not good IMO), Santa Paula (not good IMO), Thousand Oaks (very nice, but pricey), and Ojai (nice, small, and pricey)

Good luck - hope this info helps a little. If you can spend some time here before moving it will help you. AND, by all means when you find a place, seek out the local police office (some areas have store front divisions in strip malls) and ask about the area and ask to see their call sheet for the area. We called the Oxnard PD before we moved to our place and at the time they told us what was going on in the area (which wasn't bad then), if I called now it would be a totally different story. If I can be of help let me know or PM me.

Char

[Lynnie63]

Great post Char. Just wanted to add that Ventura actually has 4 high schools. Buena, Ventura, Foothill Tech and El Camino. El Camino is an independent study school where the students go and meet with thier teachers once a week and are required to hand in 20 hours of work and be tested. They also get triple credits for going to Ventura College. My daughter graduated from there and by the time she did she was over half way to getting her AA at VC as well. It worked great for us. Camarillo's area to avoid IMHO is Barry St area off Arneill. I also have a scanner and was shocked at the stuff you hear on there! I would not want to be a family member of our brave law enforcement! I would go crazy

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by JustChar

Gangs are a major concern.... There is a large gang in the Colonia area of Oxnard and another large gang in the south part of town. ... Two nights ago in the parking lot of Toppers Pizza (in north Oxnard) there was a confrontation of both gangs and a fight ensued with someone bringing out a gun and shooting a guy in the leg.

Darned scary. According to one source, the Topper's incident had something to do with the fact that rival gang members were present at the establishment at the same time to watch a Lakers' basketball game. But it's not just Oxnard.

This incident reminds me of last month's gang brawl in Santa Barbara -- at 2:30 p.m. smack dab in the middle of State Street -- where one person was killed. No one was killed in the Oxnard incident. Both cases demonstrate that the entire Santa Barbara - Ventura region has a gang problem. Until recently, Oxnard was the only city in the area with injunctions that allow the PD to aggressively crack down on gangs. The injunctions have significantly reduced gang crime in Oxnard. Port Hueneme now has a gang injunction, and the city of Ventura is apparently considering one for known gang areas there, Saticoy, the Avenue and Montalvo. Injunctions are also under consideration in Santa Barbara County.

Gangs are a fact of life throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, but so are efforts to deal with the problem. Yesterday (4/26) TV station KEYT (Santa Barbara) hosted a town-hall meeting regarding local gang issues, Communities in Crisis, shedding a bright light on the depth and breadth of the region's gang problem http://www.keyt.com/news/local/7205306.html.

[Tia 914]

I lived in Oxnard for quite a few years... was the most expensive place I've ever lived, & ended up having to move elsewhere for that reason

[KARL_MARX]

lol gang issues are as over-hyped in the ventura country as the bird-flu dont buy into it

[JustChar]

California is superior - Ummm if you live in Monterey and I live in Ventura County I think I would know a little more about the gang issues going on down here and also have spoken to the police and I think they know more than you or I do. So NO it is no over-hyped. I have had taggers hit my garage and fence 3 -4 times a week. And have had gang related shootings within blockes of where I have lived and in several places I frequent, such as Toppers Pizza. I do not think the police departments here would agree with the over-hyped comment AT ALL!!

[Jarmmy]

Originally Posted by de1buzz

Hi everyone, been offerd a job in the Oxnard area and would like some opinions on that area. I know it's expensive but was wandering how people make there. I'm looking to rent a 3 bed and will commute up to an hour away. Have one child in high school so that is a concern. The job offerd $114,000/year. Can I make it there or not? Thanks

Hi,
I would definitely recommend CAMARILLO to you. I have lived here for close to 15 years. I am 39 years old and this is a great place to raise your kids. My eldest son is now 20, but I have one son who is a freshman at Camarillo High School. Camarillo, is incredibly safe. The ONLY area to stay away from is BARRY STREET which is a street right off the freeway at the Arneill exit.
It is a very quiet community. Not a lot of night life and restaurants, but we are slowly getting more. Easy drive into Thousand Oaks and Ventura for the better restauarnts. VILLAGE at THE PARK is a great new master planned community that is worth looking into. Some great condos that I am sure will be up for rent now. I would stay away from OXNARD personally. It does have some amazing spots, but IMO crime is a major deterent for me in so many areas of Oxnard. VENTURA is great. Just a bit more expensive then CAMARILLO. You can rent a condo in VENTURA near the new waterpark for about the same price as some comparable in CAMARILLO. The area I believe is off Johnson and Telephone Rd. around there.

Westlake Village is very pricey but gorgeous. And Newbury Park High School is the #1 High School EVERYONE wants their kids to go to. That and Moorpark High School. So, also check out MOORPARK and NEWBURY PARK.

Good luck! We are re-locating to AUSTIN we think. Cashing out...

Smiles,
Michele

[Winston Smith]

Straight To You, Oxnard PD's crime-stoppers video blog: http://www.oxnardpd.org/straighttoyou/