Is moving to Oxnard a good idea? (Orange, Santa Barbara: for sale, real estate)

[sarah212]

Hello!

My husband and I currently live in Seattle and want to move to California in the next year. LA is a little out of our reach financially, but we came across the city of Oxnard and found homes within our reach ($400k). The town seemed great to me, near the beach, restaurants, etc. but I've read a lot of posts where people say the city is ghetto and filled with crime.

Can anyone give me a read on the town and let me know if it's worth moving to? Thank you!!

[Charles]

Some places in Oxnard have a bad reputation. But, you know, we really need to know more about your situation.

Are you retiring? If not, where will you be working?
Kids? Ages? Be careful about schools. Most are not really high performing API in Oxnard.


check it out:

http://www.schoolperformancemaps.com...1%2C13%2C1%2C2


But otherwise, the weather there is great. Never hot, never cold, sometimes foggy but generally perfect. No traffic, unless you are heading towards LA.

One hour to the mountains (or 30 minutes to the Santa Monica Mountains), 30 minutes to Santa Barbara, one hour to LA (in no traffic - which doesn't mean much because there is always traffic).

[sarah212]

I am 27 and my husband is 32 and currently we don't have any kids but we will want to start a family in a few years. It's funny you mention the education system because I am a teacher and my husband has his own business that he works from at home. We don't really have any predjudices amoung different ethnic groups, but we want to live in a safe, friendly environment.

[Charles]

If it were me (and it is, in a way), I'd work that school performace map tool and also use Find All the Homes for Sale & Experienced Real Estate Agents | Redfin for house hunting. Redfin has lots of great info on it.

Also, check out the thread I started for people looking for homes in CA. It is a little weighted towards Orange County but it has lots of good general tools in it:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/orang...ing-tools.html

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I have lived in the area most of my adult life. I grew up in Port Hueneme a city that is surrounded by Oxnard on 2 sides, the Navy base to its west and the Pacific Ocean, south of the city. As an Oxnard resident I would say that the areas of interest would be the North Side, West Side, North East Side near St. Johns Hospital, although that is also near Colonia, an older area with project style apartments. In the North East side of the city between Rose Aveneue and Oxnard Blvd, south of Gonzales Road you will find some newer homes built between 2001 and 2007. Many of those homes are selling in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. A coworker that I know acquired 8 of those homes and would be happy to speak with you. Pacifica High School in that area was built during that same time frame. Riverpark is a townhome community at the North end of the city. They are still building in that community and you can buy new in the mid $200,000 range. Also RiverPark has a new K-5 and a new 6-8 school all part of the Rio School District. Two of our kids attend the middle school and love it. In our neigborhood south of Vineyard on the North end many homes built in the mid 1970's and early 1980's are selling in the high $200,000 range and low $300,000 range. The highest price I have seen currently is $310,000. On the west end just south of the Airport near Patterson and 5th Street is another newer development that has plenty of homes for sale. In 2007 many of those homes were in the $600 and $700,000 range. Today those are in the high $300,000 to mid $400,000 range. They are building a new grade school in the neighborhood, next to a beautifull park. It is just south of the Airport and Oxnard Airport is a feeder airport to LAX. I love to fly so for me it is not a problem. Oxnard is also mostly Hispanic. Not a problem for me as my wife is Mexican. Spanish is spoken in the area. Hope all of this helps.

[zotmeister]

You have to pick the right parts of Oxnard as some are gang infested.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Although zotmeister is correct that Oxnard has a gang problem, the city had taken a hard line against gangs. Many of the gangs have taken their show on the road and do business in other cities now. Oxnard created a gang innitiative that makes it difficult for gangs to congrigate, associate, or do what ever it is that they do. Police have cracked down on the gang problem over the past four or five years. Gang related crime in the city on average is now lower than what you will find in Santa Barbara and probably even better than even Woodland Hills.

[rlscallahan]

Oxnard has many wonderful areas. I have taught there for almost 30 years and lived near the beach for about 4 years. If you are looking for a community feel with a lot of personality, I recommend Ventura.

[DowntownVentura]

Sarah, if you are interested in Oxnard, you want Ventura.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I live in Oxnard and work in Ventura and for me I prefer to live in Oxnard.