Did I miss the nice parts of Ventura? (Thousand Oaks, Burbank: for rent, insurance)

[user_id]

Wait....you mean all the happy talk about the Ventura/Oxnard area is not accurate?

Anyhow, I grew up in Ventura county and LA and I still find Ventura a bit creepy, I'm not even sure what it is... Its just weird, you know, like if you stay there at night things are going to start crawling out of the ocean.

Visit Thousand Oaks and be done with it, there will be a bit of a drive to PH but its one of the nicest (relatively affordable) cities in Southern California. The costs in Thousand Oaks aren't going to be much more than a good place in Ventura or Oxnard.

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by user_id

Wait....you mean all the happy talk about the Ventura/Oxnard area is not accurate?

Anyhow, I grew up in Ventura county and LA and I still find Ventura a bit creepy, I'm not even sure what it is... Its just weird, you know, like if you stay there at night things are going to start crawling out of the ocean.

Visit Thousand Oaks and be done with it, there will be a bit of a drive to PH but its one of the nicest (relatively affordable) cities in Southern California. The costs in Thousand Oaks aren't going to be much more than a good place in Ventura or Oxnard.

Lol...thanks. That is my impression overall of Thousand Oaks, and I'm used to driving a bit for work...how is traffic generally from TO to Port H during rush hours?

For me it would be a bit disappointing to move to CA and not live near the ocean (relativley speaking), but TO does seem to fit me a bit better in some respects, especially in that it seems a place a professional could rent an apartment and not feel as though they will be treated as a hood rat, or have to hide out in their place because the pool is being used by gang members everyone is afraid to confront...

while I'm sure the above statement is an exaggeration, it seems more avoidable in TO.

Do you know of any places in particular that are good?

Or should I just give up and rent a house? Im starting to think about increasing my budget....just sell everything i own, near and dear and drive down there instead of getting a moving truck.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by rgb123

...how is traffic generally from TO to Port H during rush hours?

I'm not sure, there isn't much traffic on the 101 in the Conejo Valley during rush hour but I'm not sure what happens once you go over the hill to Camarillo.

Originally Posted by rgb123

For me it would be a bit disappointing to move to CA and not live near the ocean (relativley speaking), but TO does seem to fit me a bit better in some respects....

All things being equal I'd prefer to live on the ocean, but all the nice ocean front cities are considerably more than cities that are next to it. Thousand Oaks isn't that far from the Ocean, its a beautiful ~15 minute drive through the Santa Monica mountains to Malibu.

There are a few so-so apartments in Thousand Oaks, but it will be obvious which ones they are from the reviews and price. Mostly they are just lower-income (and more so Hispanic) complexes.

Originally Posted by rgb123

Do you know of any places in particular that are good?

It depends on far you want to get from PH. In terms of apartments, I'd say the nicest ones are in the Westlake Village (the Thousand oaks park)/Oak Park area but that is going to put you further from PH. There are some Archstone apartments in the heart of Thousand Oaks that are decent as well.

You shouldn't have a problem finding a nice place for $2,000. A decent 1-bedroom is going to be around $1,500, where as a decent 2~3 bedroom is going to be around $2,000.

[HSP1161]

When I drove south past TO today on my commute home, car thermometer read 91 degrees.
After descending the grade 10 minutes later, car thermometer read 71 degrees.

This week is quite warm for this time of year, but in the summer the spread is typical and can get even higher.

If you're OK with that, TO is an excellent place to live.

[rgb123]

I noticed the temp differences while driving to and from the airport in Burbank to Ventura. Texas was HOT in the summer (which...is pretty much all year) and it got old after about 2 months. It's pretty much the same thing as being in stuck inside cause of winter. 91 though isn't bad. 101....would get old after awhile.

Honestly I'm a little more concerned about dryness...how dry is it in the TO area? Spokane has turned out to be a bit too dry for me, my skin is reacting in strange ways I've never experienced, would prefer a little more humidity than say, Las Vegas or Spokane. This is one of the reasons I might like to be near the ocean, just for the seabreeze.

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by user_id

I'm not sure, there isn't much traffic on the 101 in the Conejo Valley during rush hour but I'm not sure what happens once you go over the hill to Camarillo.


All things being equal I'd prefer to live on the ocean, but all the nice ocean front cities are considerably more than cities that are next to it. Thousand Oaks isn't that far from the Ocean, its a beautiful ~15 minute drive through the Santa Monica mountains to Malibu.

There are a few so-so apartments in Thousand Oaks, but it will be obvious which ones they are from the reviews and price. Mostly they are just lower-income (and more so Hispanic) complexes.


It depends on far you want to get from PH. In terms of apartments, I'd say the nicest ones are in the Westlake Village (the Thousand oaks park)/Oak Park area but that is going to put you further from PH. There are some Archstone apartments in the heart of Thousand Oaks that are decent as well.

You shouldn't have a problem finding a nice place for $2,000. A decent 1-bedroom is going to be around $1,500, where as a decent 2~3 bedroom is going to be around $2,000.

The archestone in TO has waaay better reviews than all the others in the area with the exception of one of the Ventura ones. I was seriously considering the TO Archestone. But there is 3 of them, hard to know which is the best!

thanks for the input.

[NickelDime]

Originally Posted by user_id

Thousand Oaks isn't that far from the Ocean, its a beautiful ~15 minute drive through the Santa Monica mountains to Malibu.

This is a classic TO resident statement. "I'm 15 minutes from Malibu!"

By helicopter, maybe. Who are you trying to kid?

Unless you can explain an alternative route. GMAP

[HSP1161]

Originally Posted by rgb123

I noticed the temp differences while driving to and from the airport in Burbank to Ventura. Texas was HOT in the summer (which...is pretty much all year) and it got old after about 2 months. It's pretty much the same thing as being in stuck inside cause of winter. 91 though isn't bad. 101....would get old after awhile.

Honestly I'm a little more concerned about dryness...how dry is it in the TO area? Spokane has turned out to be a bit too dry for me, my skin is reacting in strange ways I've never experienced, would prefer a little more humidity than say, Las Vegas or Spokane. This is one of the reasons I might like to be near the ocean, just for the seabreeze.

Average high for July and August are 95 and 96 respectively. Expect 100+ degree days at least in those two months. Can't speak to humidity, but it is probably not nearly as dry as Spokane. The valleys just have relative extremes vs. the coastal areas.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by OpenSky

This week is quite warm for this time of year, but in the summer the spread is typical and can get even higher.

The weather.com info you are posting is inaccurate, of course you probably know that, but you have no interest in supplying accurate information.

Look what happens when you look up "Thousand Oaks, CA":

Average Weather for Thousand Oaks, CA - Temperature and Precipitation

Anyhow, the summer weather in Thousand Oaks is certainly higher than in Ventura, but the average highs are in the mid 80's not 90's. The information for the 91362 zip seems to be for Simi Valley.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by NickelDime

This is a classic TO resident statement. "I'm 15 minutes from Malibu!"

By helicopter, maybe. Who are you trying to kid?

Wow, didn't know I was expressing a classic TO resident sentiment. Good to know. But it is approximately 9~10 miles from the 101 to the beach through the Santa Monica Mountains, the average speed is around 40 miles per hour so around 15 minutes is accurate.

This is not to mention that the drive is worth it in itself. I never get sick of driving through those mountains.

My point being that Thousand Oaks is not very far from the beach.