How is Oxnard, CA? (Los Angeles, Orange: oceanfront, renters, crime rate)

[Chochan]

Can anyone tell me abut Oxnard?
I was told it is really close to LA and the beach.
How is the community? Is it too far from LA?
Thanks.

[kansaslady]

I grew up in Ventura County (Oxnard is in Vta Co), and as far as I'm concerned, Oxnard is TOO close to L.A., parts of Oxnard are right on the beach, it just depends what area you want to live in.

Housing is ridiculously overpriced...mid is probably near $600k by now and if you are filthy rich or don't care if you're house poor, then I guess it wouldn't be a problem.

Community: too much crime.

I have to be realistic and tell you that it is not a pretty area at all, so if you're wanting nice scenery, you'd be better off heading to other parts of CA.

Not sure where you are now, and what you'd be comparing Oxard to.

[dennismpat]

I have a good friend who grew up in Oxnard, and now lives in Austin, TX with his wife and family. My impression of Oxnard was, first of all, coming off the 101 Freeway, that there are a lot of strawberry fields. The Strawberry Festival they hold every year in May is a fun event.

This same friend's wedding was held in the back yard of his parents' house in Oxnard. His parents don't live in a very bad part of town, but I did notice that their house as well as many other homes in the neighborhood had bars in the windows, so that told me that the crime rate there tends to be on the high side. By comparison, the nearby cities of Ventura and Camarillo looked to be cleaner and safer.

[PnutButter]

We've lived in Oxnard for 30+ years. When we first moved here, there was veggie fields all around. The housing market has taken up much of that now. Last count I believe the population was about 185,000...not a huge city but not small either. It's the largest city in Ventura County. The surrounding cities love to talk about the crime in Oxnard..but in 30+ years, we've never been broken into, burglarized, victimized, or anything else. There are areas of the city that are crime prone (as in all cities I might add). Oxnard is on the coast, an hour north of LA, although you don't see much of an LA influence here. I'm not sure why kansaslady would say it isn't pretty here. I'm in contact with people that travel to SoCal and this area every day and they say the exact opposite. The weather's about the best you'll ever find..mild summers and mild winters. Homes generally don't have a/c as it's not needed. Yes, the housing market is high...average homes are about $600K now. Homes on the water are over $1M. The city has a diverse population, with Hispanics being the majority. We must like it since we haven't moved yet and don't intend to when we retire (although we could easily move to about any community we want now).

[Roma]

PnutButter, Home prices for oceanfront in Oxnard are over 3-4 million dollars. You might find one for $2,750,000 but that would be a fixer upper. We used to live in Oxnard "oceanfront" and moved 2 years ago. You can get on the channel for around 2 million but no where can you get on the water for a million especially oceanfront.
When you live on or near the water you do not shop in the heart of Oxnard. You shop in the Channel Islands Ralphs center or you go to Ventura or further. It is not safe and I am shocked at the people on here that say it is. When you live at the beach you do not feel like you live in Oxnard. We all wanted to annex from Oxnard but the city would not let us. Our area pays so much tax that Oxnard would go broke if we would annex from them.
I lived in Ventura County since 1976 and Oxnard has always been a crime ridden place. There is Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Simi Valley, Oak Park, Agoura that you could chose if you could not afford living at the beach and they are all very safe and nice.

[Winston Smith]

You might look at the thread "Oxnard, CA" on this forum from earlier this year http://www.city-data.com/forum/calif...oxnard-ca.html

In short, Oxnard is not as bad as people would have you believe. To say it's "crime ridden" (Roma) is just unfair. (A point of correction in Roma's post: the CI Ralph's is in Port Hueneme, not Oxnard.) I could editorialize about the element on the beach who claim to know Oxnard yet never go there, but won't. I'll stick to facts and let you decide. The climate is awesome and crime is low. Read PnutButter's post. Oxnard is the largest city in the tri-counties region (Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Louis Obispo), so it gets the most attention, naturally. But by CA standards, just under 200,000 population, Oxnard is not a big place.

It's 60 - 65 miles from Los Angeles downtown, which is served by commuter rail. The San Fernando Valley, 45 miles away, is served by train and express commuter bus.

There is a misconception by outsiders that west Ventura County is somehow a suburb of LA by way of sprawl upon more sprawl, like the Inland Empire or Orange County. This is not the case. Ventura County cities are separated from each other and LA by hills, open space, ag-land and large tracts of state and county parkland. Ventura County's cities are more compact than those of other southern California counties. Sprawl is discouraged by way of public policy. This is great in many ways, but it has caused upward pressure on housing. Oxnard is feeling the pressure, too.

[Hardcorediver]

If you have the cash and don't mind living in a city with a large hispanic population then Oxnard might be for you. If all you can afford is 500k then get ready to fight for thr right to park in front of your own house. As a lot of folks are multiple families or they have renters in their garages which inturn leads to 5+ cars per home. I know I grew up there having been born and raised there. I left 2.5 yrs ago and not regreted it. Taking advantage of the boom in prices I made a fortune off my place. Rents are high and crime was getting out of controll when I left. There are a lot of murders for a city that size. What's good is you have the ocean and the cool air. If you want to go to a good mall then you have to go to Ventura 13 miles away..there are not very many good stores except for fry's electronics on the 101 freeway. You are close to a lot of outdoor activities with the mountains and lakes less that an hour away..but start early as the traffic is getting congested no matter how many additions they add to the freeway. So take a good look before you buy as a good neighborhood will set you back 650-800k unless your rich ..then what does it matter. Ventura is a better place if you can afford to move there and it's just across the ventura river from Oxnard

[CedarView]

I work in oxnard every day doing home health--driving around, going to patients' homes after they've left the hospital. It's pretty scary, even in the daytime. I'm from Las Vegas--a total craphole with nice areas strewn here and there. It's kind of like that, only on the beach. When I moved here, I didn't know any better and moved to Oxnard first.

[brokencrayola]

I saw this thread on Oxnard and it made me flash back to my childhood. I lived in Oxnard when I was a child in early grade school. We are talking like 47 years ago. We literally lived ON the beach in a tiny rental house. Our yard was the sand of the beach. I remember foggy mornings as a child walking along the ocean before the school bus came to see if we could find shells etc. We sometimes found dead sea creatures washed on shore. It was rural and a small town then.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by brokencrayola

I saw this thread on Oxnard and it made me flash back to my childhood. I lived in Oxnard when I was a child in early grade school. We are talking like 47 years ago. We literally lived ON the beach in a tiny rental house. Our yard was the sand of the beach. I remember foggy mornings as a child walking along the ocean before the school bus came to see if we could find shells etc. We sometimes found dead sea creatures washed on shore. It was rural and a small town then.

Do you remember PCH being called Roosevelt Highway?