Boundaries of Ventura's 'Bad' Areas (Los Angeles, Oxnard: lender, houses, school)

[Leia76]

We're house hunting in Ventura from afar. (I was raised on Silver Strand Beach and did the typical Oxnard High, Ventura College, UCSB route, but haven't lived in VC for 30 years). A few posters have mentioned the areas to avoid in Ventura: Montalvo, the Avenue and 'unincorporated areas' of Saticoy.

Could anyone give street boundaries for these areas? It's difficult when looking at home locations to determine if a particular home falls within the mentioned areas.

Also, having been raised on the beach, I can't seem to remember how far inland you have to go before the temperature becomes somewhat warmer. (My 50-something brain cannot for the life of me remember if I found the temps during school at Oxnard High uncomfortable or not).

Thanks in advance for any assistance/advice you would care to provide.

[LadyKLO]

I'm inland Oxnard near 101 and Oxnard Blvd and the temps are nice if that helps considering where the old Oxnard High used to be.

[OpenSky]

It's not just distance but geography. We're near the Pac View mall and "warm" days like today are quite pleasant at ~77 degrees. It was 74 at the water, so hard to complain. My spouse went to a friend's place up Day Road and her thermometer read 81 at 2pm. Their house is at a higher elevation (just below Foothill) than ours (close to Loma Vista & Mills). Day Road is about as far east as I'd personally go before seriously thinking about A/C. Incidentally, many of the homes in Ondulando (view homes situated above Foothill, east of Day) have A/C because of their elevation.

Regarding the boundaries for the less desirable areas - I would stay east of Ventura Ave and north of Telephone.

Regarding your other thread on solving for a particular home price - it's definitely doable. Smaller homes come up often in the sub-$400k range, each needing a varying amount of work.

Have you considered the midtown area west of Seaward below Main? Also look at the Midtown / College areas nabes of Loma Vista, east of Five Points and west of the College.

Those two swaths are <2 miles from the water with a bit of inventory.

Good luck.

[Leia76]

Thanks so much for the input Lady KLO and OpenSky. I'm feeling much more hopeful that we can make this work.

I have an old (actually 29 years young!) retired dressage horse who's like my child who is coming with us. I think I've found a good barn for him (in Moorpark - long drive from Ventura, I know, but worth it so he can play in a pasture all day with horsey friends and not be cooped up in a barn all the time).

We're coming out in 10 days for the first look at houses and at the barn. Thanks again for your valuable input!

By the way, how long a drive do you think Ventura to Moorpark would be (using Los Angeles Ave) - 45 minutes?

[OpenSky]

Originally Posted by Leia76

Thanks so much for the input Lady KLO and OpenSky. I'm feeling much more hopeful that we can make this work.

I have an old (actually 29 years young!) retired dressage horse who's like my child who is coming with us. I think I've found a good barn for him (in Moorpark - long drive from Ventura, I know, but worth it so he can play in a pasture all day with horsey friends and not be cooped up in a barn all the time).

We're coming out in 10 days for the first look at houses and at the barn. Thanks again for your valuable input!

By the way, how long a drive do you think Ventura to Moorpark would be (using Los Angeles Ave) - 45 minutes?

Glad to hear he'll be retired to a pasture!

Here's the problem with the 118... it never expanded past 2 lanes, primarily due to NIMBYism in Somis. So it backs up frequently at 34 & 118, sometimes for 20 minutes or more. It can fly or take an extended period, just depends on the time of day.

Personally, I've found 23 -> 126 to be more consistent coming back to Ventura, even though I know it back tracks. That route takes 45 minutes consistently.

Let me know if you need a realtor referral. The gal who sold us our home (represented the seller, not us) was extremely professional and all whom we've sent her way have been quite pleased.

[DaniellaG]

I'm also trying to navigate the good/bad areas. Can someone state some good zip codes because I am challenged direction wise? I thought I read East Ventura and Midtown are good? How is 93003 zip code? Thank you

[OpenSky]

Unfortunately, you need to go by streets rather than postal codes. There isn't enough granularity in the zip codes.

[Leia76]

Thanks for the info, OpenSky. I'll probably be driving south to Moorpark around 4 p.m. and north to Ventura around 7 p.m. Maybe I'll find that one route is better for going and another for coming home. (Or like you said, knowing a route is going to take 45 minutes definitely has its merits).

On your offer of a realtor recommendation, I would really appreciate it actually. Our lender gave us the name of someone, we left a message on Sat morning and haven't heard from him yet. Since we're coming out next week, we really would like to hook up with a realtor very soon.

Thanks again!
Pam

[DaniellaG]

Originally Posted by OpenSky

Unfortunately, you need to go by streets rather than postal codes. There isn't enough granularity in the zip codes.

Thank you that is what I thought from my experience.
To the OP I don't know of a specific realtor but if you go on realtor.com and put in city or zip plus price range it will give you a feel of what is available. Good luck to you with the search

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I can tell you where I would never live.

In Ventura on the West side from Main Street north up Ventura Avenue to before Stanley. North of Stanley is nice. Also a little known very nice street in the forbidden zone is Carr street. The street is nice although the streets near there are lacking. If you are going to be off the avenue the further up the avenue you go the better. Still by the Pepsi plant is a way off the beaten track for many.

I am not too fond of the area around Johnson Drive and Ventura Blvd. If you get around Ralston your OK but the closer you are to the 101 it isn't that great. Montalvo has nice areas but you will read about its gritty side and I would say that near the 101 is where you will find that. When you get near Victoria and Ralston it is nice and their are some real nice homes even there.

Saticoy east of Wells road can be avoided. I have no personal problems with visiting but wouldn't want to live there. West of wells near lets say Darling road is not bad. I would want to be west of the Saticoy Golf course though.