What's to like about Oxnard?

[GAL99]

Oh fergodsake. Oxnard is so much nicer than most places in the US I find it odd to be splitting hairs over how it stacks up to other communities that are a stone's throw away. C'mon, kids, focus on the stuff that's great and getting better, and maybe get involved in the city politix.

Or just have a nice mellow glass of wine and chill out while watching the pink sunset. Man, I never saw a pink sunset superimposed over blue sky before I moved here--it is awesome. Such a glow! Awesome too is the absence of the need to lock one's self into air conditioning or throat-drying steam heat.

And the people are really nice too. And things grow beautifully in gardens.

Back to Mozart....

Cheers!

[user_id]

Originally Posted by the city

You also have to realize the last Census incorporated an estimate on people who are not legal residents, so percentages went way more than 100%.

Umm....no. The percentages add up to 100%.

Originally Posted by the city

Looking at other cities in Ventura County, I would say Oxnard is slightly more diverse. More Asians, Filipinos, and Indians. But the other cities are not far behind with lots of Asians.

Huh? Oxnard is 7.4% Asian, where as Thousand Oaks and Simi are around 9%. But the number of Asians really doesn't tell you much about diversity.

Ventura County isn't that diverse, as a whole its mostly white and Hispanic.

Originally Posted by the city

Also, the medium income in Oxnard has gone up even with inflation. The census numbers include that. You even stated in an earlier post the medium income in Oxnard has gone up. So why are you changing your story?

Dude....its median not medium. We aren't talking about french fries.

If you look at past census reports you have to adjust for inflation, the census doesn't go back and adjust old reports for inflation. So though Oxnard's median income has gone up over the last 10 years in nominal terms it hasn't once you adjust for inflation.

Originally Posted by the city

The common negative factor of Oxnard is not the large working middle class, but the un-intended result of more crime because of it.

There are many working-class communities throughout the nation with very little crime....that isn't why Oxnard has some issues with crime.

[olypentax]

Statistics.........?, Please, Boring!!

Gal99, what a wonderful post relevant to the thread title question, Thanks!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I will agree that many with 6 and 7 figure incomes and more may not want to live in Oxnard. I have freinds that live in Calabassas and will not come out this way. The beach for them is in Malibu and some of them have places in both Calabassas and Malibu. I get that and am fine with that. Besides it makes it kind of nice to visit their homes. LOL

I will also say that we do have people making those numbers that have homes in the Oxnard area. Sure it is less than those in the Conejo Valley and in places like Calabassas and Malibu. For the 99% of us that live in the USA Oxnard is a big improvement on location and the kind of place to call home. It has things that many places just don't have. The size is good and the availability of and closeness of resources is good. Their is a diversification of employment opportunities, housing, outdoor activities, and the view isn't so bad. Maybe Oxnard is built on a flat plane of land, but it has a view of mountains to the North, and to the east. It has the ocean to its West and South. Oxnard is still within driving distance and commute times of many amenities in the greater LA area to the South East and the Santa Barbara area to the North.

You don't have to live in a gang infested area to be a part of Oxnard. Many of us have never had interaction with any gang members while living in the area and some of us have been here all or most of our life. even with that the City has done great things to curb the presence and the strength of the gangs within the city. Is there a problem? Sure. Name me a city that doesn't have a problem?

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by GAL99

Holy Moly!

I am Caucasian, live in Oxnard, have almost 2 Masters Degrees, am a published writer, and am poor as a churchmouse. I speak no Spanish, but when my mom died recently, I learned that one's language, one's education level are meaningless when you fall into the arms of Mexican people who speak little English but hold you while you cry--then insist on taking care of you through the holidays. I met one of the younger generation of one family who is on his way to grad school at UCSB. He is the first in the family to have gone to college. I could go on--but clearly the nothing-in-common issue can end up being a false issue entirely. I am now studying Spanish, and am finding more and more ways in which I am more like my Mexican friends than unlike them.

I am not a fan of chain stores, big box stores, etc, and gravitate toward independent places. I like that downtown Oxnard is developing into a really cool place to hang out in, with more unique businesses springing up. I also love the weather, the proximity to farms and beaches, and quite frankly, the fact that Oxnard is a hop-skip-jump to a variety of other cities. I have to laugh at the notion that Ventura is a separate city--it seems to be merely an extension of Oxnard. It takes me just 10 minutes to get to the Pacific View Mall. Back in NY City, where I'm from, it could take a solid hour to drive half that far.

Anyhow, I am eternally grateful to live here, and find no big stress in being highly educated, well read, and therefore, in some people's views, a sort of socioeconomic oddity. And oh--the gardening!!!! Which reminds me...

If the city powers-that-be want to really breathe new life into Oxnard, they should look to planting voluptuous gardens in many of the parks, to make them enticing for more than sports. I miss Manhattan's Central Park--it is truly a masterpiece--and know that Oxnard has no such potential park space, but I think much could be done in that area.

Meantime, my back yard is drop-dead gorgeous, and it only took a year to get that way after having been an ant-infested wasteland for years.

Harrumph.

Great post. I've said it also that just because Oxnard has big-box stores doesn't mean one is stuck shopping at them. The 101 retail corridor is the side of Oxnard I almost never go to.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by GAL99

Oh fergodsake. Oxnard is so much nicer than most places in the US I find it odd to be splitting hairs over how it stacks up to other communities that are a stone's throw away. C'mon, kids, focus on the stuff that's great and getting better, and maybe get involved in the city politix.

Or just have a nice mellow glass of wine and chill out while watching the pink sunset. Man, I never saw a pink sunset superimposed over blue sky before I moved here--it is awesome. Such a glow! Awesome too is the absence of the need to lock one's self into air conditioning or throat-drying steam heat.

And the people are really nice too. And things grow beautifully in gardens.

Back to Mozart....

Cheers!

Bump another good'n. I've noted it before as well that after a while, you regard the whole area as one place, particularly Oxnard/Ventura. I've lived and worked in both cities, and really cannot tell them apart in terms of day-to-day living.

[the city]

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

Surely I'm not the only one who's beginning to think that user_id might be a tweaker.

He's not a tweaker he just sees life from his perspective in the "pure Caucasian" world.

I was in VC last Saturday. Drove through Camarillo and Ventura. We stopped in Ventura for my dad's trip, and visited friends in Port Hueneme, and went out to eat in Westlake with relatives.

Oxnard for the most part had a lot of working class areas, and that the nice area was near the beach. The beach area is nice, the northside is okay, but the rest of Oxnard didn't look so good.

Unless you can live close to the beach in Oxnard I think most people would prefer Ventura, Simi Valley, Camarillo, or Thousand Oaks.

I lived in north Oxnard and though we had no break ins, there were gang shootings not too far away and drug dealings at the nearby park. And Rio Mesa does have good test scores, but the school has alot of crime problems.

I personally feel the beach area of Oxnard is good, Ventura is good except the area after downtown, and all of Camarillo and Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are good. All though Simi Valley gets alot of traffic being so close to LA. The beach area of Oxnard had alot of gated communities, a shopping center with some hipper places to go like Coffee Bean and some trendy restaurants, and also some nice parks and of course the Channel Islands Harbor, Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard Shoes, and Mandalay Beach.

Oxnard's economy mostly revolves around farming and manufactoring, so that created the working class community. I am not sure what created the gang problem in Oxnard. Healthcare and some tech jobs create the upper middle class in Oxnard.

[HSP1161]

Originally Posted by the city

Ventura is good except the area after downtown

I assume you're referring to the Westside (also "The Avenue") - the neighborhood that straddles Ventura Avenue.

The other area "after downtown" (depending on direction) is either Pierpont or Midtown, both of which have areas that range from ordinary (mid-century stucco boxes) to highly desireable (homes that touch the sand or have spectacular views of the ocean & islands).

I should also point out that the Montalvo area of Ventura (some of which is unincorporated) is spotty and should largely be avoided.

Moderator cut: Closing this thread as it has degenerated into bickering back and forth.