Ventura County (San Diego, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks: bank owned, foreclose, rentals)

[CADRMNDANES]

We live in Northern CA.

Where would be a good area in Ventura County for a family.
Our kids will be going into Jr. High and High school.

We have a list of foreclosers and bank owned homes that we will be checking out. This isn't our first forecloser.

Any local pictures?

How is the weather?

Fires?

How are the schools?

Good neighborhoods?

Thanks!

[ImRandy]

Originally Posted by CADRMNDANES

We live in Northern CA.
Where would be a good area in Ventura County for a family.
Our kids will be going into Jr. High and High school.
We have a list of foreclosers and bank owned homes that we will be checking out. This isn't our first forecloser.
Any local pictures?
How is the weather?
Fires?
How are the schools?
Good neighborhoods?
Thanks!

Good cities in Ventura Co? Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Ojai, Moorpark, Fillmore, Oxnard, Port Hueneme....
Weather? Moderate on the coast damn hot the further inland you go.
Fires? You betcha.
Schools? Many good schools
Good neighborhoods? Yes, and bad ones too.

Any specific areas you're looking at or things you're looking for?

[CADRMNDANES]

Thanks so much for the info.

I didn't hear a lot of nice things about Oxnard??? I haven't been there in years.

What are the good areas of the cities that were mentioned. What areas should I stay far away from?

I'm also looking for a larger lot. I don't want to hear the neighbors breathing.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by CADRMNDANES

Thanks so much for the info.

I didn't hear a lot of nice things about Oxnard??? I haven't been there in years.

What are the good areas of the cities that were mentioned. What areas should I stay far away from?

I'm also looking for a larger lot. I don't want to hear the neighbors breathing.

What is your house price range?
What line of work are you in?
Where will you be working?

[CADRMNDANES]

We will be retiring from denistry. We will be starting a couple of small businesses after we get settled.

Home prices are not a big issue. Of course I don't want something that is over priced for the area and for the market.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by CADRMNDANES

I didn't hear a lot of nice things about Oxnard??? I haven't been there in years.

Oxnard has been coming around in a big way over the past five, six, seven years. The impressions of Oxnard as no good are a bit old fashioned. I'd still avoid south Oxnard and La Colonia. You'll find nice areas in north Oxnard, some real treasures, actually. Inland west Oxnard is working class, but very low crime and peaceful, nothing fancy except kids on bikes and nice ocean breezes. Beach neighborhoods are impressive, very pricey, but also targets of burglaries -- a lot of beach rentals, vacant properties, etc., make for crime targets.

Ventura's rough spots include lower Montalvo, the west-end "Avenue" area, and parts of the unincorporated east-end, Saticoy. Crime in all Ventura County cities is lower than the the national average.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[CADRMNDANES]

Originally Posted by cre8

Oxnard has been coming around in a big way over the past five, six, seven years. The impressions of Oxnard as no good are a bit old fashioned. I'd still avoid south Oxnard and La Colonia. You'll find nice areas in north Oxnard, some real treasures, actually. Inland west Oxnard is working class, but very low crime and peaceful, nothing fancy except kids on bikes and nice ocean breezes. Beach neighborhoods are impressive, very pricey, but also targets of burglaries -- a lot of beach rentals, vacant properties, etc., make for crime targets.

Ventura's rough spots include lower Montalvo, the west-end "Avenue" area, and parts of the unincorporated east-end, Saticoy. Crime in all Ventura County cities is lower than the the national average.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Thank you that was very helpful. Acutally I remember the north side of Oxnard in 99 and it was very nice.
Not too many people bother homes with a couple of Great Danes in it.
Burglaries can be bad here as well, that's why we installed surveillance cameras outside. We've actually used it agaisnt someone who stole some items from our ranch. Burned a copy on a CD for the sherrif.

[earthwatersunwind]

Hope you speak Spanish and you embrace the culture, if you are moving to Oxnard. It is now 65% Hispanic, but I'd say that's a very low number. Most of Downtown is like little Mexico. Many of the home prices reflect that they can charge what they want because 5 families will buy a house. My grandfather still lives there, and his neighbors on both sides and across the street are 4-5 families crammed into the house. Crappy cars on the lawn...If you can afford a house for your family by yourself, don't move to Oxnard. Which may or may not be a problem for you, it was for me. I didn't like going into a local store and hearing the announcements in Spanish first, then English. I was born and raised there and lived there for 18 years, then again for a year in my twenties. Dramatic changes, and I would NEVER move back. Ventura's ok, but way expensive.
If you can stay towards the beach, like Oxnard Shores, you might get a good neighborhood, but beware, there's lots of trailer parks.
Just my 2 cents.

[daisymama]

HELLO
I JUST WANT TO COMMENT ON OXNARD.
WE MOVED HERE 1 1/2 YEARS AGO AND HAD NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE.
WE ALSO HAVE HEARD BAD THINGS ABOUT OXNARD BUT DECIDED TO CHECK IT OUT OURSELVES. WE LIVE IN NORTH OXNARD AND NOTHING IS BAD THAT I HAVE SEEN. THERE ARE A LOT OF NEWER HOUSING MIXED IN WITH OLDER. A FEW NEWER HIGH SCHOOLS AND OF COURSE THINGS LIKE BEST BUY, WALMART, VONS (SAFEWAY) AND OTHER PLACES LIKE THIS. THE WEATHER IS MODERATE BUT THERE ARE TIMES SOME WINDS COME IN THAT'LL BLOW OVER OLD FENCES AND SUCH. FAIRLY SUNNY HERE BUT THERE ARE TIMES OF OVERCAST. THERE ARE A LOT OF MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS BUT IF YOU SPEAK ENGLISH OR SPANISH OR BOTH. IT DOES NOT MATTER EXCEPT SOME JOBS PREFER BILINGUAL. WE ARE LEAVING HERE IN THE NEXT 5 MONTHS BUT HAVE ENJOYED OUR TIME HERE. 2 HOURS AWAY FROM DISNEYLAND, I HOUR AWAY FROM LA, ABOUT 4 HOURS FROM SAN DIEGO AND 5-6 HOURS AWAY FROM SAN FRAN. IT REALLY IS A HAPPY MEDIUM FOR COASTAL LIVING. COMPARING HOUSING COSTS WELL, THERE IS ANYTHING FROM 1000-2500 MONTHLY RENTS. DEPENDS ON NEEDS, WANTS AND LOCATION. WE LIVE IN A 3BD & 2 BA WITH 2 CAR GARAGE ABOUT 10 MINUTES FROM BEACH. OUR RENT IS $1850. We ourselves can not afford to buy here but it was always a temporary stop for us anyway. hope this helps.

[Pam-i-am]

We recently moved to Camarillo from Hueneme. I have a daughter in middle school and I can tell you that I am VERY impressed with the difference in schools here. She has more homework and a higher quality of work at that...not busy work. She is very happy and that counts too!

Camarillo is very family oriented with low crime. I would check it out if you have kids! North Oxnard can be nice, but the Oxnard high schools are new, but already over crowded.

It's been a while since your original post....have you decided or made a move?