Morro Bay, Carpinteria or Port Hueneme (Oxnard, Thousand Oaks: sales, car insurance, movie theater)

[Lynnie63]

I live in Ventura County and everyone I know stays far away from Port Hueneme. Hueneme is the worst city in the county by far. I dont have stats or anything but Oxnard and Hueneme has most of the crime in the county. Ventura is the meth capital of Vta County. I had family that lived in Morro Bay and I loved it there when we would visit! Always wanted to live there. Morro Bay is the best bet IMHO. Good luck

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Lynnie63

I live in Ventura County and everyone I know stays far away from Port Hueneme. Hueneme is the worst city in the county by far. I dont have stats or anything but Oxnard and Hueneme has most of the crime in the county. Ventura is the meth capital of Vta County. I had family that lived in Morro Bay and I loved it there when we would visit! Always wanted to live there. Morro Bay is the best bet IMHO. Good luck

Excuse me for saying that you sound like someone you lives in east Ventura County. "Just say no to east county snobbery about the west," is another saying I've heard. I live in VC also and disagree completely with your statements about Oxnard and PH. Neither is "the worst by far." If Oxnard and PH are so bad, backup your claims with facts, or at least with anecdotes. Also please state specifically which areas of Oxnard and PH you're talking about (if you know). It's an area of about 30 square miles and 200,000+ inhabitants, 300,000+ if you throw in Ventura -- plenty of room for both good and bad. So what do you know? Be specific! What do you know about the changes taking place in Ox/PH? How often do you visit the area?

Morro Bay is great, and the housing prices there reflect that. But at 10,000 residents in a small county with a small economy, it's a tough place for jobs.

[Lynnie63]

Originally Posted by cre8

Excuse me for saying that you sound like someone you lives in east Ventura County. "Just say no to east county snobbery about the west," is another saying I've heard. I live in VC also and disagree completely with your statements about Oxnard and PH. Neither is "the worst by far." If Oxnard and PH are so bad, backup your claims with facts, or at least with anecdotes. Also please state specifically which areas of Oxnard and PH you're talking about (if you know). It's an area of about 30 square miles and 200,000+ inhabitants, 300,000+ if you throw in Ventura -- plenty of room for both good and bad. So what do you know? Be specific!

Morro Bay is great, and the housing prices there reflect that. But at 10,000 residents in a small county with a small economy, it's a tough place for jobs.

I dont live in east county. I have lived in Oxnard, Nyeland Acres, Strickland, Saticoy, East Ventura, Somis and Piru. If the OP wanted numbers she could easily look them up. From what I read she wanted info from locals and I, being a local, am giving her my info. For some reason you cant handle something negative being said about PH. Sorry to inform you but It's an OPINION held by alot of Vta county people. I thought this was for locals thoughts not just spouting off numbers? I have read the hole thread and plenty of numbers have been produced.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Lynnie63

I dont live in east county. I have lived in Oxnard, Nyeland Acres, Strickland, Saticoy, East Ventura, Somis and Piru. If the OP wanted numbers she could easily look them up. From what I read she wanted info from locals and I, being a local, am giving her my info. For some reason you cant handle something negative being said about PH. Sorry to inform you but It's an OPINION held by alot of Vta county people. I thought this was for locals thoughts not just spouting off numbers? I have read the hole thread and plenty of numbers have been produced.

Not to get into a flame war, but just for the record, I can handle bad things being said. But don't you agree that truth has more value than opinion?

I've heard all of the complaints about the area, some of it is true, but a lot of it comes from people who rarely set foot in Oxnard or PH and don't really know the area. The complaints are often based on biases and prejudice, neither of which describes much, IMHO. The truth is that per 1000, crime in Oxnard is lower than Santa Barbara. (Oxnard is three times larger than SB.) Oxnard and PH are mixed bags with some very nice areas and some not so nice. That is a fact.

[Lynnie63]

Originally Posted by cre8

Not to get into a flame war, but just for the record, I can handle bad things being said. But don't you agree that truth has more value than opinion?

I've heard all of the complaints about the area, some of it is true, but a lot of it comes from people who rarely set foot in Oxnard or PH and don't really know the area. The complaints are often based on biases and prejudice, neither of which describes much, IMHO. The truth is that per 1000, crime in Oxnard is lower than Santa Barbara. (Oxnard is three times larger than SB.) Oxnard and PH are mixed bags with some very nice areas and some not so nice. That is a fact.

Last time I checked SB wasnt in Vta County. Since you know all the numbers, Is there another city IN Ventura County that has worse crime stats than Oxnard/PH?

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Lynnie63

Last time I checked SB wasnt in Vta County. Since you know all the numbers, Is there another city IN Ventura County that has worse crime stats than Oxnard/PH?

I never claimed to know all of the numbers. The ones I do know show that Oxnard and PH are no less safe than any other city in the region. Anecdotally, I can attest to this as I've lived in several places in SB and Ventura counties.

But my main point is to counter balance statements that describe Oxnard and PH as no good and to be avoided. These are beautiful cities with no more or worse problems than anywhere else in the immediate area, including SB. (BTW, this thread covers three counties -- VTA, SB, SLO.)

[it's all good]

Cinbad, why don't you just move there and find out? You're single, so you can always move to somewhere better if you don't like the place you are. You can never tell until you try.

[RHLpressurewashing]

PH has its ups and downs. There will be more work opportunities and the cost of living is fair. However, the size of the city is much less appealing. Morro Bay on the other hand is the place to be. Finding a job that will accommodate the cost of living may be a bit more of a challenge, but the lifestyle and friends you will meet here are irreplaceable.

[threeactingup]

I just wanted to mention that Cre8 is correct about Hollywood Beach Schools and Hueneme students being able to attend. I live in Hueneme (zip code 93041 specifically) and my 3 children have attended there for 3 years now. There are MANY children who do not live on Silverstrand or Hollywood Beach who also attend there. It is part of the Hueneme School District, but to attend there you do have to request an interdistrict transfer if you are not on Silverstrand or Hollywood Beach.

As far as the original question, we have lived in Port Hueneme for 4 years now. I have always felt safe. Although, there are some areas that I wouldn't necessarily walk around in at night. If you are on the base side of Ventura or beach side of Hueneme Road I would say you are fine in terms of safety and selection. Keep in mind this is a military area, and I am sure that husbands would be reluctant to deploy for 6+ months and leave their wives alone if the situation was as horrible as some would have you believe.

As far as being able to get a job on base with veteran status, you should have no problem whatsoever. Spouses do not get priority over veterans!

My advice would be if you are interested, come drive around, it is small, in less than an hour you will be able to tell where the "good" places are.

[115db]

I lived and worked in Port Hueneme and it wasnt all that bad, as long as you lived north of Pleasant Valley Rd, if you choose to live near the Ventura Rd area. Theres the navy base which indicates you'll see a lot of seabees, but they are generally pretty good guys. I was walking distance to the beach, and not as crowded as some of the more 'popular' beaches.
Not sure what rentals go for these days but you can check out rent.com, set your criteria and they'll take it from there. Your criteria may have to bend a little but you never know. Hope you can find what you might be looking for.