Live in Ventura, Work in TO - Bad Commute? (Santa Ana: to rent, houses)

[bluedevl]

I've learned so much from reading through the other posts in this forum but wanted to see if I could get specific feedback on the commute from Ventura to TO for work.

I'm considering job offer in Thousand Oaks that would involve relocation from my current home in North Carolina. Although I grew up in Orange County, I've been in exile on the east coast for quite some time. I do know that the Google Maps distance isn't going to give me a reliable estimate of commute time/difficulty so I thought I'd tap into the collective wisdom here.

Are there are specific considerations like a bad commute that would outweigh my desire to be in a laid-back beach town? I am a late 30s guy - partnered, no kids in the plans.

[nightlysparrow]

Not bad at all, generally. A little busy through Camarillo depending on time (the state college is there), and there is the bridge squeeze coming into Ventura, but few jams. It's sometimes worse on weekends, due to shopping in Cam and people going up the coast to Santa Barbara.

You will pass through all of the county's six micro-climates (more than any other county in the U.S.) on the commute, which is interesting. There is the Conejo Grade (a 7% incline) between TO and Cam, so you should have a good car, but the view going into Cam is superior and you can see all the way to the ocean, unless there is fog or rain up there [we wish, these days!], for the grade is a microclimate in itself.

[mindless in socal]

Originally Posted by bluedevl

I've learned so much from reading through the other posts in this forum but wanted to see if I could get specific feedback on the commute from Ventura to TO for work.

I'm considering job offer in Thousand Oaks that would involve relocation from my current home in North Carolina. Although I grew up in Orange County, I've been in exile on the east coast for quite some time. I do know that the Google Maps distance isn't going to give me a reliable estimate of commute time/difficulty so I thought I'd tap into the collective wisdom here.

Are there are specific considerations like a bad commute that would outweigh my desire to be in a laid-back beach town? I am a late 30s guy - partnered, no kids in the plans.

Why not just live in TO? Ventura is Okay but that whole part of the county is a little scruffy generally, the beach is nice but Oxnard is a pit and there is spillover..the Conejo Valley is beautiful if I could live there I would. It is a perfect place, in OC I would compare it to somewhere in Inland South County like Aliso or maybe even like Yorba Linda with better weather.

[bluedevl]

Great feedback, very helpful. Living in the Conejo Valley is definitely a consideration. I'll be visiting in the next few weeks to get a better feel for the different areas. My thought now is to rent in the short term and look to buy something in the $600s.

Weather-wise, I know there can be a big difference among these areas and that's definitely a consideration. After NC summers, I'm happy to err on the side of cooler areas but I'm sure any of these areas will be pretty mild by comparison. I'm also ok with a little "scruffy" as long as it's safe and if that means a bit of a laid-back balance for my office job.

Maybe it's my OC roots but my normal default is to look as close to the coast as possible - which sounds like it may need to be adjusted a bit in this case.

[mindless in socal]

Originally Posted by bluedevl

Great feedback, very helpful. Living in the Conejo Valley is definitely a consideration. I'll be visiting in the next few weeks to get a better feel for the different areas. My thought now is to rent in the short term and look to buy something in the $600s.

Weather-wise, I know there can be a big difference among these areas and that's definitely a consideration. After NC summers, I'm happy to err on the side of cooler areas but I'm sure any of these areas will be pretty mild by comparison. I'm also ok with a little "scruffy" as long as it's safe and if that means a bit of a laid-back balance for my office job.

Maybe it's my OC roots but my normal default is to look as close to the coast as possible - which sounds like it may need to be adjusted a bit in this case.

I live in OC now.

Oxnard is Santa Ana, Ventura is Anaheim by the sea and Camarillo is Orange.

The Conejo Valley is south county, well actually it's more like the San Fernando Valley. Most people in that area are from the Valley and moved (or their parents moved) when their areas like Van Nuys went to hell.

If you're okay with tweakers and illegals than Ventura would be fine, i wouldn't live there though

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by bluedevl

Great feedback, very helpful. Living in the Conejo Valley is definitely a consideration. I'll be visiting in the next few weeks to get a better feel for the different areas. My thought now is to rent in the short term and look to buy something in the $600s.

Weather-wise, I know there can be a big difference among these areas and that's definitely a consideration. After NC summers, I'm happy to err on the side of cooler areas but I'm sure any of these areas will be pretty mild by comparison. I'm also ok with a little "scruffy" as long as it's safe and if that means a bit of a laid-back balance for my office job.

Maybe it's my OC roots but my normal default is to look as close to the coast as possible - which sounds like it may need to be adjusted a bit in this case.

Nah, stick close to the beach. The water will help hold property values up and keep the temperatures down--even if climate change fries the valleys and points inland. 600k in Ventura will get you a nice place inland from the beach a bit behind the hospital if you want a really nice neighborhood, a good sized place in midtown if you want an easy bike ride or long walk downtown, or maybe a place in the exclusive hills (walk or bike downtown or to the beach) if you really finagle it.

Ventura is not OC. It's not LA, SD, or SF. It's not even SB. The best thing the county has going for it is proximity to LA and the beach--and Ventura's walkable downtown. Otherwise it's just Simi Valley with strawberries. If you want a laid-back beach town, you're going to hate TO and anywhere up the grade where you will literally be "Keeping up with the Kardashians" (They live up there, with a LOT of shallow folks). There's good people too, but you know you've got a problem when the city forces In-n-Out to recolor their sign from red to "Bronze" (Westlake). Also, since you don't care about schools, the one good thing about being up the grade is lost on you.

Again, since no kids are in the future, I'd sniff around Oxnard Shores/Hollywood Beach area. Big beach houses and a laid-back vibe. No walkability, which is a bummer, but you can get a big place from which to beach bum it. Then again, the commute all the way up Victoria, and THEN to TO would be a bear...

Before you make your decision, spend some time walking the Downtown Ventura loop. Park in one of the free lots--like by the library. Stop at a coffee shop (Keep going past the Starbucks if you want something less corporate and more of a local gathering place), browse a couple of thrift stores and whatever suits your fancy. Turn left at the mission, walk past the fountains and head down to the water along Figuroa. Left again at the water to walk the boardwalk to the pier. Left again up California St. to get back to your car. You'll get to see all that downtown has to see--including some bums, and that should give you a good feel for Ventura.

I used to commute from Ventura proper to Warner Center in the Valley proper, and that wasn't too bad. You're mostly going against traffic.

[24hr7]

If you don't have to make that commute then don't do it. 45 minutes drive in the morning, and up to an hour and a half back home during rush hour; lost time, 60 miles a day round trip, cost of gas, wear and tear on the car. Not worth it my opinion, unless you found an incredible home at a stellar price in Ventura

[DriveNotCommute]

I used to work in TO moderately recently. A lot of my coworkers lived in Ventura or Oxnard and were alright with the drive. For them, the lifestyle was worth the commute. I would say that the commute is in an intermediate range where it is your tolerance that would determine if it's acceptable or not.

Traffic is regularly bad starting from Oxnard through TO, at least that's what I remember from checking the traffic maps and tuning in to KNX1070 during the time that I was driving in to work (not from Ventura though). However the rush "hour" times are usually reliably predictable so you might be able to figure out ways to work around them.

Living in Simi Valley or further east in the SFV was also very common among my coworkers. There's a traffic choke point at the interchange from the 101 to S-23. The weather becomes much warmer the farther east you go.