New in Ventura County,,,HELP please lol. NEED some advice on places to live. (Oxnard: apartments) - City-Data Forum

todg76 · 08-01-2012, 12:32 AM

Hello All,
I have just currently relocated to the Ventura County area and stationed at Port Hueneme, I am going crazy on trying to figure out what would be the best place to live. I am a young, single 35 y/o (west coast/beachy mentality lol) and am looking to rent for the next couple years or possibly buy within that time frame. For right now just looking for somewhere to hang my hat and call home for a little while. I pretty much have it narrowed to either Ventura, camarillo, and i suppose oxnard. I have heard many negative things about oxnard but a few not so bad things here and there. but i really dont know where to look in ventura. I have drove around camarillo a little and it seems very nice...but im not sure if ventura would be a better fit for me or even port hueneme/oxnard. I really have no clue about any of theses areas and i would greatly appreciate any input and advice anyone has to offer. I will be finishing a lot of school out here but will still be my social butterfly-self wanting to get out and meet new people and make new acquaintances/friends....so yes i do like to go to a bar or few on the weekends, even a happy hour here and there during the week. just not sure if ventura will be too "young" for me. Again, clueless about these areas. Camarillo had a cool downtown/old town but only a couple of watering holes. But camarillo is also about 15 miles closer to LA/hollywood which i plan to visit often, but i dont know if i should let those few miles play a huge part on where to live. One of my co-workers said not to live here in hueneme or oxnard bc of the kind of car i drive and it might be vandalized often or even stolen??????? so im not sure whether to take that to heart or not. Anyways, ANY help is much appreciated! Thanks so much in advance.

KayleneO · 08-16-2012, 10:26 AM

I don't know how much Ventura has changed since I was there. Mid town isn't bad for a 30 something single with a west coast/beachy mentality who is more urbane and adventurous than most that comment here. No disrespect, but y'all seem to prefer the quiet/family oriented/retired kinda life.

Lot's of night life down town and around, although I found they rolled up the pavements a wee too early in Ventura. Check it out for yourself.

Some neat apartments in the hills over E Main. I almost rented a condo/townhouse style that overlooked the broad walk near the beach.

http://www.beachfronterapts.com/

oh-eve · 08-17-2012, 03:25 PM

Welcome to Ventura County,

I live right in front of the Pt. Hueneme base. I feel safe here and so do the other military people who live in the neighborhood. Yes, white people are the minority here, but that doesn't mean it is bad. I am known as "the white tall lady with the big dog" and never had any problems

You are right, cars often get burglarized, but mostly for the following reasons: people leave the keys in the car, leave valuables in the car, car not locked. If you have a nice car I would get a place with a garage anyway, you don't wanna have it bake in the sun all year round. I would never park my baby on the street.

I have a friend who lives in Thousand Oaks, the apparently "supersafe" city. He got his bike stolen out of his garage during the day. So, spending 3x the rent to be able to live there doesn't really pay off.

I recently woke up at 2 AM because my neighbor rang my doorbell. He told me I forgot to close the garage door ... it was wide open ....car/bikes/motorcycle and the keys plus access to the house ... nobody broke in ... wow.

Camarillo is nice and quiet - too quiet. Super boring.
Ventura is nice and I don't think it is "too young" for you.

Pt. Hueneme/Oxnard is not bad, just not as vibrant as Ventura. I rather live right in front of the base where I shop on a regluar basis and can afford a house with yard and garage as compared to Ventura where I would have to live in an apartment. Ventura has alot of homeless people and honestly, I don't like having their misery rubbed into my face on every corner.

Yes, LA/Hollywood is a little further from Oxnard, but oh well. Driving on the PCH to LA is much nicer anyway. And less traffic. And I can tell everybody that I just live 20 minutes from Brad Pitt's beach house

When you are ready to buy, I know a good realtor. But I would reccommend to be in the area for at least 6 months before you buy so you can figure out where you wanna live.

If you ride a motorcycly, you'll love the area.

If you have more questions, send me a private message.