Ventura County Vs Orange County

[majoun]

Originally Posted by happ

In some ways Ventura county reminds me of Orange county 50 yrs ago. All the citrus groves are basically gone in Orange county but there are miles of them & avocado groves in Ventura county. Ventura county is a fraction the population of Orange county w/ lots of open space. Ojai valley is quite beautiful & unique. But Orange county is more exciting w/ nice beach cities.

As others have said, it's like comparing oranges with no oranges left

I'd personally take Ventura over any OC beach city. But maybe that's just me.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Ventura County has a much more substantial hinterland than Orange. There is nothing like the Topatopas or the sort of country that Hwy 33 passes through in Orange. The Santa Ana mountains are quite limited compared with the multiple massive ranges of Northern Ventura. Ocean wise, Orange gets the nod. Nicer beach areas (especially Laguna, Newport, Huntington, etc). In terms of urban and suburban type stuff again, Orange gets the nod.

[happ]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Ventura County has a much more substantial hinterland than Orange. There is nothing like the Topatopas or the sort of country that Hwy 33 passes through in Orange. The Santa Ana mountains are quite limited compared with the multiple massive ranges of Northern Ventura. Ocean wise, Orange gets the nod. Nicer beach areas (especially Laguna, Newport, Huntington, etc). In terms of urban and suburban type stuff again, Orange gets the nod.

Entirely agree I love driving the back country in Ventura & Santa Barbara counties. Lake Piru\ Santa Paula & the Highway 33 above Ojai is spectacular. The drive from Santa Barbara on 192 to Carpinteria & then hwy 150 into Ventura county around Lake Casitas & into Ojai is beautiful. I once drove into a thunderstorm on 33 near Pine Mt summit that was incredible.

[cabolissa]

Grew up in VC, lived in OC as an adult. Totally different vibes. OC very conservative but diverse & segregated. VC more whitebread but more open-minded. OC has more new subdivisions, VC more character. OC has oranges and better beaches. VC has strawberrries and nicer people. Believe it or not, it's easier to access LA from VC, and IMHO I'd rather be closer to Santa Barbara than San Diego any day of the week. More camping and nature nearby too.
I vote for VC!

[graciously]

pretty hard to compare like said few times before. If you want to enjoy or be next to the valley than vc obviously the choice and possibly downtown la and westside at least for time to get to. Think they are very similar. Many other things they both would be alike possibly like family oriented or ages of residents etc.. Believe vc has less people many places than oc or might be bit slower paced.

[College.sandygirl]

i've lived in Orange County my whole life and now i'm at UCSB which is neighboring with Ventura county. it does not compare, at all. in terms of Quality and atmosphere, OC is the way to go! for instance, Orange County is way more developed whereas Ventura county is neightboring with Oxnard and we can all see that Oxnard is an agricultured based city! in Orange county, you wont find any agriculture based city, its beautyful enough to have had a show named after it, The OC. all in all, its great!

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by College.sandygirl

i've lived in Orange County my whole life and now i'm at UCSB which is neighboring with Ventura county. it does not compare, at all. in terms of Quality and atmosphere, OC is the way to go! for instance, Orange County is way more developed whereas Ventura county is neightboring with Oxnard and we can all see that Oxnard is an agricultured based city! in Orange county, you wont find any agriculture based city, its beautyful enough to have had a show named after it, The OC. all in all, its great!

An interesting view, but describes the difference well. In Ventura County, agricultural land is prized. So much so that the voters insisted on keeping ag land with SOAR, soarusa.org. In conjunction with protecting ag land, sprawl is not welcome in VC. OC, on the other hand, is the antithesis of this. No more strawberry fields forever as the strip malls and condos have long ago gobbled them up. Pick your world.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by College.sandygirl

i've lived in Orange County my whole life and now i'm at UCSB which is neighboring with Ventura county. it does not compare, at all. in terms of Quality and atmosphere, OC is the way to go! for instance, Orange County is way more developed whereas Ventura county is neightboring with Oxnard and we can all see that Oxnard is an agricultured based city! in Orange county, you wont find any agriculture based city, its beautyful enough to have had a show named after it, The OC. all in all, its great!

Oxnard residents will be shocked when they find out they are neighbors with Ventura County rather than residents of Ventura County.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Charles

Oxnard residents will be shocked when they find out they are neighbors with Ventura County rather than residents of Ventura County.

Aw, come on, Charles, be nice. It was apparently her first post.

But I was also thinking that, and, that Oxnard (and VC) residents would be shocked to find out that they live near agriculture. A theme I hear over and over is the desperate need to make sure Ventura County protects its farmland and -- precisely does NOT become like Orange County!