Buying in Oxnard, Looking for Bike Friendly/Walkable Area (Fremont: rent, buying a home)

[Kannsch12]

Hello all! I'm a 27 year old engineer that loves music, biking, gardening, and making things. I've been working in Oxnard for the past four years and am finally considering buying a home. I currently rent in Camarillo, which is nice, but I'm looking for something a bit more... Hmm lively and multicultural? Ideally, I would bike commute to work (I've done it from Camarillo, but the 32 mile RT kept it from being an every day thing), go to the nearest farmer's market, and visit Ventura and Ojai on the weekends

I'm currently looking at the area north of Channel Islands and west of Ventura blvd (near sea bridge), and the Fremont/Wilson/carriage square central area. My main hang up with the more central areas of Oxnard are a lack of grocery stores and bike lanes. The Seabridge area is nice, but seems kind of limited in terms of stores for everyday shopping (but the bike lanes, bus stop, gym and Von's make me happy). The Collection is nice (many of my friends bought there), but crowded, and (when I temporarily rented there) I found biking to be a bit crazy if you try to reach say, the Costco shopping area, it felt kind of isolated from the rest of Oxnard. Also, the melloroos kind of puts a damper on things. However, it is still tempting.

Are there any other areas you would suggest? Any additional input regarding the aforementioned areas?

I've been pouring over the various Oxnard development/revitalization plans that have been put forth over the years and I'm pretty optimistic for Oxnard's future, I hope I can be a part of it.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I guess it would depend where you work.

Other than Riverpark or Seabridge as you mentioned other areas to consider:

West Village just east of Oxnard Blvd and South of Gonzales near Pacifica High School. That area is probably in the high $500 to mid $600 range. All single family homes.

East of Ventura road and north of Dorris is also nice. Your probably looking at least in the $500 to $600 range.

North of Vineyard and East of Ventura road is very nice. We have a lot of friends there, lot of families. Bike paths in the area, some that are separate from the roads.

A new town house development will be opening soon. That is west of Ventura and south of Vineyard. Not sure on the prices but it is in a nice area.

If you don't mind older homes from the 60's you could check out the Freemont tract. We love it there and purchased our home there. Prices are a bit lower. You can find homes under $500 there.

[Winston Smith]

It's tough to find all of that in one location in Oxnard, regrettably. My best advice is to keep your eye on downtown. There is ambition for it along the lines that you're describing.