Moving toVentura County : Any suggestion? (Los Angeles, Oxnard: sales, schools, income)

[monof2]

We live in northern Virginia and we will be moving to north of LA. We may be choosing Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks. Could you share some of your experiences regarding the following?
Commute to Los Angeles
Schools
Parks
Kids’ Activities
Library
Walking/biking trails

Thanks

[A/Ox4]

Thousand Oaks is a great place to live. There are plenty of parks around, and US Park Service has a tourist office in town. Schools are good, as is the night life. There is also the convention center. Plenty of good restaurants and things to do.

[Orange2Angeles]

Originally Posted by monof2

We live in northern Virginia and we will be moving to north of LA. We may be choosing Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks. Could you share some of your experiences regarding the following?
Commute to Los Angeles
Schools
Parks
Kids’ Activities
Library
Walking/biking trails

Thanks

I am visiting Thousand Oaks today with my family, same concerns as you posted actually. I can tell you that I work in Woodland Hills and have many coworkers who used to live in Simi Valley. Not heard anything good about Simi yet, from neighbors to weather, it seems to drive people away.

Will post what we find of Thousand Oaks after the visit.

[user_id]

I would not recommend Simi Valley. But Thousand Oaks will look good under the things you've mentioned, the one exception would be commute. If you are commuting during Rush hour the only area of LA that is a reasonable commute is the San Fernando Valley.

[DaniellaG]

Originally Posted by monof2

We live in northern Virginia and we will be moving to north of LA. We may be choosing Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks. Could you share some of your experiences regarding the following?
Commute to Los Angeles
Schools
Parks
Kids’ Activities
Library
Walking/biking trails

Thanks

I just posted a little on the questions you asked on TO on the what is the best area in Ventura if you want to look. Not that I am an expert since I am newer to the area but just some thoughts. Good luck

[Winston Smith]

Thousand Oaks is suburban and conservative. It's close to some of the area's best hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains.

[user_id]

Ventura Country as a whole is suburban and rural in character. As far conservative, that is a tricky issue. Oxnard is the most socially conservative city in Ventura County, where as Simi Valley is the most fiscally conservative. Thousand Oaks is the second least socially conservative city, where as fiscally its in the middle. The only city in Ventura County that is not conservative, in both senses, is Ventura....

[HSP1161]

Ventura voters have repeatedly turned down sales and parcel tax initiatives, most recently in 2008 when they positively went for Obama.

It has the lowest parcel and sales tax in the county and most of the city avoids the county parcel tax levied for public safety.

Sentiments aside, when it comes to their local wallets, the Ventura vote has decidedly been fiscally conservative. To a fault, in my opinion.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by OpenSky

Ventura voters have repeatedly turned down sales and parcel tax initiatives...

The same can be said for most cities in Ventura County so comparatively, within Ventura County, this doesn't say too much. Not to mention, tax rates would be a very rough indicator of how fiscally conservative a city is....how it spends its money, its deficit, etc would be far more telling. Some cities just need more tax dollars, for example are the higher taxes in Oxnard due to the city being less fiscally conservative or because it has an overall lower income cohort that is more costly to service?

[HSP1161]

Wait, you're decoupling fiscal conservatism with voter sentiment towards taxation?

That's almost as rich as your statement about McDonald's yummy drive thru food.