What's to like about Oxnard? (Fresno, Thousand Oaks: upper-class, fit in, crime)

[user_id]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Do you also think that the people of the Conejo Valley are the people buying those cars? It is people within the city and close by that will shop at the Oxnard Mercedes Benz dealership. If the city has a high end store it is because those within the city will support that store.

No..people in the Conejo Valley are unlikely to go there but from this it doesn't follow that the dealership is being supported by Oxnard residents...you seem to be forgetting that Oxnard has two neighboring cities both of which have, on average, much wealthier residents.

Indeed, even if the dealership expected to get little business from Oxnard...Oxnard would likely be the best location since its close to both of its neighbors.

The existence of such and such store doesn't necessarily tell you much about a city...that is especially true when the store is pulling business from multiple cities.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Charles

Fantastic weather. You don't need air conditioning and you almost don't need heat.

Originally Posted by olypentax

the best weather in the USA and possibly the World. You don't need AC and could almost get along without heat.

Copycat.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

As far as I know this thread is about what is to like about Oxnard. This isn't a comparative thread of other areas. Even I got on that band wagon due to one posters constant tearing down of Oxnard. The state has plenty of great cities that people can love for what ever reason.

Very well put. People value and weigh different things. Trying to say one area is better than another also presumes that all people view the world exactly the same way, that just doesn't happen.

But I think one of the great things about this site is to also learn about different areas in a large and varied state.

Some times people think they know an area because of what they may have "heard from someone" or "seen it driving thru". There is a lot more to all areas of the state than any of us know, things locals know better.

That also means to me correcting incorrect information that sometimes people post. That way everyone learns more about what we have in California.

[olypentax]

Originally Posted by Charles

Copycat.

Sorry Charles, I knew after I posted it I had read it here earlier and should have quoted you.

You sure need heat tonight though and I would delete the reply if I could.

[LadyKLO]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

Very well put. People value and weigh different things. Trying to say one area is better than another also presumes that all people view the world exactly the same way, that just doesn't happen.

But I think one of the great things about this site is to also learn about different areas in a large and varied state.

Some times people think they know an area because of what they may have "heard from someone" or "seen it driving thru". There is a lot more to all areas of the state than any of us know, things locals know better.

That also means to me correcting incorrect information that sometimes people post. That way everyone learns more about what we have in California.

Awesome post......had to rep you for this one!

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

Don't you think some from Camarillo and other near cities would drive to a nice shopping center with WF? 3 years though and it is still not open sounds like there is some issue going on

And whatever happened to REI? They were supposed to open in the same Oxnard shopping center years ago, weren't they. Guess that deal fell through...

Used to shop at Oxnard Fry's, but their selection of high tech goodies has seemed to have gotten worse lately and turning into yet another Best Buy.

We also occasionally go to the Oxnard Costco (with the car wash) and occasionally BJ's. Seems like the shopping center in the BJ's area is going downhill also (more stores closing).

It seems like that area of Oxnard almost has a critical mass of stores to attract people out of Oxnard, but not quite.

[DaniellaG]

Like I said I know very little about Oxnard. What came to mind is that compared to some cities in Ventura County it is more affordable. This allows people who want to live in CA but can't afford other parts an option.
Then bringing in newer living and stores may attract people who can afford more. It would give the city more variety in terms of people.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

Oh man, it isn't good when you are arguing back and forth over what city has better chain stores. Strip malls, cheesy developments, chain restaurants and subdivsion housing doesn't make a city better. I suppose a Whole Foods can give you the illusion of being in a more upscale city, but once you leave and go around the corner, you can buy your oranges a lot cheaper. Go to the next light and you can also get your wife a nice bouquet of flowers too. There are a hell of a lot places far worse to live, but if I could afford it I would keep going north on the 101...

Oxnard is a patchwork of new and old, good and bad, ugly and pretty. The 101 corridor is the retail-revenue sector, where to a large degree, out of towners from as far away as Goleta shop. By the way, the big boxes and car dealerships along 101 is a place I avoid for the most part. Don't shop there, don't eat there. Too many other places in Oxnard to do that (ask a local). Parts of residential Oxnard look like anywhere USA because Oxnard -- and soooo many other cities across this land -- have allowed the production home builders to impose their mass-produced architectural style to be used instead of insisting on better architecture, so this is not just an Oxnard problem. Fortunately, there's more to Oxnard than that.

Go to neighborhoods like Wilson, or even Freemont South -- see the lovely old homes and mature trees. One of my favorite streets in all of Oxnard is Deodar between C and H. I sometimes go out of my way to be on that street just to be on that street. To the west of it, the fields of Teal Club. I love the mountain and city views from there with the airplanes landing and taking off as a nice added context.

Another area I go out of my way to traverse: Leaving Oxnard to the south, I've been known to make a "slow-lane" detour through Mar Vista, just to go by the old Japanese cemetery, which has been spruced up nicely, and then to smell the orange and lemon blossoms and be among orchards, mostly gone from other areas of Southern California. Speaking of south-east Oxnard, even I am continually surprised at the turnaround in College Park -- new stores, new look, beautiful multi-purpose park with native plant landscaping. A complete turnaround from just a few years ago. And we still haven't gotten to the harbor and beach, where I enjoy everything from the peaceful amphitheater at Seabridge to the rustic beach north of 5th Street. Double back to the wonderfully walkable downtown, where I sometimes go just to do that -- walk! But hush, hush, never mind all of that... let's not talk in so much detail about Oxnard. It might show that there's more to Oxnard after all....

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by user_id

So like I was saying...take away the beach and the weather and Oxnard isn't much different than living in one of the larger cities in the central valley. Though one is likely to find more to do in Fresno, but that is primarily due to its larger size.

So, this conversation is about Oxnard minus this or that? What kind of a conversation is that? Samness Thousand Oaks minus the mountains, curved streets, placed on a flat, fertile plane where all manner of things grow next to an ocean might be a little like, uh, Oxnard! But there would be more to do in Oxnard because of its lager size.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

Thousand Oaks minus the mountains, curved streets, placed on a flat, fertile plane where all manner of things grow next to an ocean might be a little like, uh, Oxnard!

No......they two cities are very different demographically....which is my point about Oxnard and the Central Valley. Those two areas are very similar demographically.......they just differ geographically.

So then, the question in the OP is entirely relative to one's socioeconomic perspective. You can make a long list of interesting things in Oxnard and none of it will change the fact that its primarily a lower income Hispanic community.......and as such it will be difficult for many to feel "at home" there.