San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara or Ventura

[the city]

Originally Posted by Steve Bagu

Your post makes no sense. Girlfriend is from TO then she knows all about the areas from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo. TO is in between Simi Valley and Ventura. Oxnard has the Colonia (barrio) of the city. Ventura has the Avenue (old part of the city) some small gang activity. I lived in VTA 17 yrs and thought the city was okay, not trendy but okay. Best part, NO SMOG. Good part, you can drive 101 FWY So. to LA or up north to the bay area. Beautiful coastline. Welcome to Calif. Stefhen

Ventura has no smog problem cause it's so coastal. And yes, you identified where the gangs are. But before u move to Ventura-Oxnard area, do your research on the crime and ask other people in the area how they feel about the gangs. I lived in Oxnard for 10 years, and I still talk to people who live in that area. And they say they don't like Oxnard because of the gangs.

Thousand Oaks-Simi Valley area is very good. Thousand Oaks is one of the safest cities in California, actually.

There are more gangs in Oxnard than than the Colonias. I don't remember the others right now, I know at the schools one gang wear cowboys and others were raiders. Then there was the el rio gangs, and im not sure if there were any in camarillo or port hueneme.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by the city

But before u move to Ventura-Oxnard area, do your research on the crime and ask other people in the area how they feel about the gangs.

Good advice. Oxnard-Ventura is an area of 300,000 population. Any urbanized area of that size will have its share of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Originally Posted by the city

I lived in Oxnard for 10 years, and I still talk to people who live in that area. And they say they don't like Oxnard because of the gangs.

News Flash: people in Sugar Town don't like gangs! Kind of a glass-half-empty point of view. The glass-half-full p.o.v. says that what people in Oxnard DO like is the city's proactive measures to crack down on gangs -- 2 percent of the population. Other things people like is the revitalized downtown, weekly Arts Council films, the 5th Street Jazz Festival, Thursdays' farmers market, the awesome new happenings in the CI harbor and many other things.

Originally Posted by the city

Thousand Oaks-Simi Valley area is very good.

Murders since Jan 1, 2008 in Simi Valley (pop. 120,000) = Oxnard (pop. 200,000): three. Reality trumps perception, again.

[RLCMA]

Santa Barbara would be my top choice. I'm originally from MA but also lived in Ocala, FL and now I'm living in San Luis Obispo because of my job. I've spent time in both SLO and SB and SB is a great place. SLO is a college town but it's nice. There are some trendy bars and restaurants. SB is also a college town but much larger and more for young professionals. I don't know much about Ventura but I hear it's decent. It's only about 20 miles south of SB.

[simonjay]

There was a time when I was faced with the same delema, although not related to school or career moves.N 2001 I found myself soul searching and opted for a new life on the west coast.I drove around between SF and LA n a rental car for 3 weeks before deciding, and it came down between the towns of SB, SLO and Ventura...for me, there's just something lovable about the central coast...
Santa Barbera, though beautiful n sooo many ways is a bit uptight and un-livably expensive for the non-specific professional, and for that reason I crossed it out. San Louis Obispo is a very quaint little town, super charming with a quiet beauty and a friendly way about it. in SLO there were just enough of the things u need to make it comfortable living, but not enough to offer varitey for a former city girl like myself...for this reason I headed south and accidentally discovered Ventura. For me it was the California dream. Laid back and quirky, small but not seriously monotionus, I felt that ventura had all of the things I was looking for. My first day at the beach yeilded a surfing pastor preaching n a wet suit to his congrigation, shortly before they hit the surf...I once saw a whole bedroom set transplanted to the beach complete with sleeping people...and a fountain spiked with dish liquid that sent bubbles across the town for days... Ventura is best suited for open minded and laid back people who don't need a city scene to have a good time. if street fair's, small shoppes, galleries and thrift stores r ur thing, then Ventura is a good pick. If not, drive around for a few weeks. CA is diverse and has something for everyone...

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by simonjay

Santa Barbera, though beautiful n sooo many ways is a bit uptight...

Santa Barbarans can be a bit "provincial" too. The know about Santa Barbara and don't much care to expand their horizons.... Not all, of course, but in my experience this is the case a lot more in SB than in communities north and south.

[mmouwse]

Where you settle really comes down to personal preferences. And employment opportunities in your field. It sounds to me as if SB and SLO have good potential in your field. CalPoly is a GREAT college with a great Biology department and a newly established (within the past few years) Marine Biology Department complete with lab on the old oil pier in between Avila Beach and Port San Luis. Lots of enviornmental concerns, agencies, and studies here. Hope you are connecting with CalPoly in your field to ferrett out the possibilities here in your field. The Marine Bio Dept. would have their fingers on the pulse of the network, so to speak.
And the SB area with UCSB would certianly be a great possiblitiy for you too. Marine Bio and environmentalism is big there.