Small town living near Los Angeles area?? Or is it just Hollywood.. (Riverside: shopping mall, agricultural)

[george777M]

I was always wondering about what surroundings of Los Angeles area are like. I mean LA county as well as Ventura, San Bernardino, maybe Riverside.
I know the city of LA well, but never got a chance to travel out of city limits to see how life is there.

Is it a real "country" just like you would find in many states like Oklahoma, Texas etc... or is it like Texas Hill Country? Ozarks? Or what would it be most similar to..
I mean if there are some cowboys, middle class and poor whites, these average Americans that you find in most other states in towns of this size, if you know what I mean. Conservative, rural people ..... Does it have that small town feeling?

Or is it just an extension of Greater Los Angeles area that is full of retirees or people commuting to LA for work?

Places I am specifically talking about: From Oak View - Ojai through Santa Paula - Fillmore - Piru then over to Green Valley (this one especially) - Agua Dulce - Acton - Leona Valley - Lake Hughes then maybe Quartz Hill? How is Lake Los Angeles?? - then farther east to Wrighwood and other small towns around in the mountains - Phelan? And last area here is the mountains from Crestline all the way to Big Bear. Then also places in the desert like Landers, Pioneertown.

I would really appreciate description and comparison of all these areas and whether it is what I am looking for or it's completely different or I should look more to the southeast of LA area into Riverside County or even further from LA area?

What I am curious about is whether one can live a country life just like in most other states' rural areas yet have a city of LA relatively short drive away.

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by george777M

I was always wondering about what surroundings of Los Angeles area are like. I mean LA county as well as Ventura, San Bernardino, maybe Riverside.
I know the city of LA well, but never got a chance to travel out of city limits to see how life is there.

Is it a real "country" just like you would find in many states like Oklahoma, Texas etc... or is it like Texas Hill Country? Ozarks? Or what would it be most similar to..
I mean if there are some cowboys, middle class and poor whites, these average Americans that you find in most other states in towns of this size, if you know what I mean. Conservative, rural people ..... Does it have that small town feeling?

Or is it just an extension of Greater Los Angeles area that is full of retirees or people commuting to LA for work?

Places I am specifically talking about: From Oak View - Ojai through Santa Paula - Fillmore - Piru then over to Green Valley (this one especially) - Agua Dulce - Acton - Leona Valley - Lake Hughes then maybe Quartz Hill? How is Lake Los Angeles?? - then farther east to Wrighwood and other small towns around in the mountains - Phelan? And last area here is the mountains from Crestline all the way to Big Bear. Then also places in the desert like Landers, Pioneertown.

I would really appreciate description and comparison of all these areas and whether it is what I am looking for or it's completely different or I should look more to the southeast of LA area into Riverside County or even further from LA area?

What I am curious about is whether one can live a country life just like in most other states' rural areas yet have a city of LA relatively short drive away.

It takes at least a good two hours to get to the sticks, at least when going east.

[genjy]

The Fillmore area is as rural as it gets around here without going too far into the mountains and the deserts.

Norco near Chino caters to people who own horses. Big lots with plenty of riding trails.

[nightlysparrow]

Ventura County: Only 24% is built-up. "The county’s total land area is 1.2 million acres. Using the Department of Conservation data, 26 percent of the county is agricultural land. (About half the county’s land area consists of Los Padres National Forest, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and other protected public lands.)
According to the state, Ventura County has 105,461 acres of urban and built-up land. So, for every acre of shopping mall, city street and housing tract, there’s approximately an acre of celery, strawberries, lemons, peppers, flowers and other crops."

(This says 2008, but it is current. Don't know why they never changed the heading.)Farm Bureau of Ventura County. The 2008 Ventura County Crop Report. What crops are growing now in Ventura County. Where crops grow in Ventura County. FAQ's about Ventura County farming.

But it's not "country" at all in the ways you mean. No "small town feeling." Oak View, Meiners Oaks, Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula all have some rural areas with "less prosperous" people, mainly farmworkers or retirees. Most farms are relatively small. Others are sold as "ranchettes," I kid you not.

Super liberal Ojai has a lot of wealthy people and the less prosperous are being pushed out due to escalating property values. The county is politically purple, with red and blue persuasions. Cowboy types, no, there's no livestock trade. There are a lot of commuters that work in Ventura, Santa Barbara or LA.

[Robsteel17]

There really aren't any "small towns" left anywhere near LA. The ones that were around have been swallowed up by unabated suburbanization. You've got to get several hours away before you find anything "small town".

[george777M]

Thanks for your info about towns in Ventura. Anybody wanna take each area that I mentioned in original post in more detail?

[Cream1]

Shadow Hills. Also, Sunland and Tujunga to a lesser extent.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Outer edges of Santa Clarita have a bit of cowboy spirit left.

[Drake744]

edit: missed something in the OP

[HyperionGap]

Originally Posted by Howiester

Shadow Hills. Also, Sunland and Tujunga to a lesser extent.

If you want to stay within the actual LA area these are the only places that might have what you're looking for. Otherwise, as others have mentioned you will have to go much further out.