What Can You Tell Me Ojai?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Ojai is a great place to live and raise a family. About 8,000 people live there. There is a nice Hospital that is part of the Community Memorial Heathcare System, a 2 hospital 9 clinic system. I work for the company that operates the hospitals. The area is surrounded by mountains (up to 4,800 feet I think.) In the winter you will feel the chill of the snow on those mountains. In the summer you will have heat into the 90's. The only way in or out on the road anyway is the 33 heading south to Ventura and North into the Mountains and eventually to Kern County. Also the 150 heading west will take you toward the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara. Heading east on the 150 will bring you on a nice winding drive through the mountains over to Santa Paula. For the most part these are single lane each way devided highways. The area does have a bus system that will bring you into Ventura for a day at the beach or some other fun excursion. For the most part Ojai does not allow chain stores in the city. In the area you will find a McDonalds, Taco Bell, Circle K store, and a few other places but they are all in Oak View.

The area is made up of more communities than just Ojai though. Oakview, Casitas Springs, Mira Monte are all county communities. You could also look in those areas for homes within your range.

Lake Casitas is also in the area. They have a small aquatic center play area with water slides and pool. The lake is mostly for fishing as it is a water supply for the area. They do not allow you to swim or enter the water at anytime, accept when on a boat. You can also rent boats there at the lake and rent camping trailers if you need one. Plenty of great camping there at the lake.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by rainedancer1

Currently I am self employed and make enough for us to survive. My husband does concrete construction, I am not sure if there is much of this in Ohai however he also drives tractor trailers if need be.

What type of self-employment are you engaged in? What's your business? This can be very well suited in Ojai as folks in town prefer to do business with locals. In fact, Ojai recently started a new venture, called the "Ojai Dollar," attempting to create a local "currency" to form a sustainable local economy, VC Star: Group in Ojai looks into local currency.

Not sure about construction jobs. For tractor-trailer trucking jobs you'll have to go to either Ventura or Oxnard, where your husband might find work with either food and beverage distributors, sand-and-gravel/concrete, or other local trucking companies.

Commuting in and out of Ojai can be a pain, as the city is connected only by two-lane roads in four directions. The most traveled is Hwy 33 between Ojai and Ventura (about 12 miles) and it can get bumper-to-bumper. Another popular route is Hwy 150 west into Santa Barbara County. It connects with U.S. 101 in Carpinteria after around 20 miles of twists, turns and a mountain pass. Pretty drive, but not fun as a daily commute. Bad accidents on that road sometimes.

[Chava61]

Ojai is a nice town to visit. It looks like it might also be a nice place to live.

[rainedancer1]

Thank you for your input, it is very much appreciated. Maybe I will check out Encinitas also. I work at home selling veterinary equipment. Also I do scientific copywriting. My sister in law recommended Ojai however where we live in Connecticut is not far from big box stores and things like that. We do live in the country and we can there is about 15 minutes. Is Encinitas a safe place?

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by rainedancer1

I work at home selling veterinary equipment. Also I do scientific copywriting. My sister in law recommended Ojai however where we live in Connecticut is not far from big box stores and things like that. We do live in the country and we can there is about 15 minutes.

I guess your veterinary clients would be local, but your scientific copywriting clients don't need to be. There are a lot of horses in the Ojai area and vet clinics/hospitals all over west Ventura County.

For big box stores you'll be going to Oxnard, Ventura or Goleta. None exist in Ojai, where they have a zero-tolerance for things like that and chain restaurants.

There is a general anti-big-box sentiment in the area. Walmart is facing massive opposition to a new store in Ventura. No big boxes exist in Ojai's neighboring (relatively speaking) Santa Paula and Fillmore, other than chain grocery stores, but those exist in Ojai, too.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by rainedancer1

Thank you for your input, it is very much appreciated. Maybe I will check out Encinitas also. I work at home selling veterinary equipment. Also I do scientific copywriting. My sister in law recommended Ojai however where we live in Connecticut is not far from big box stores and things like that. We do live in the country and we can there is about 15 minutes. Is Encinitas a safe place?

I have been on the San Diego forum quite a bit lately and I have read lots of great things about Encinitas. Recommend tuning in to the San Diego forum and doing some searches, then post after you've researched the threads.