Oxnard - Just as appealing as Camarillo, TO, Westlake, etc...? (Fremont: real estate, houses)

[OxnardNative]

I've looked online at Riverpark a bit - often these show up as being in El Rio when you search Realtor or Zillow. I think I read a post on here suggesting that they were using the El Rio name to distance themselves from Oxnards reputation as high crime??

I don't know why they would do that since El Rio has a worse reputation than Oxnard overall.

While the home prices and walkability are pretty attractive at Riverpark, I'm not sure if a master-planned community is right for us. I'm familiar with the neighborhoods north of Dallas in the Frisco area - fancy strip malls full of chain stores near neighborhoods that are gated off from the rest of the city and surrounded by tons of kids and traffic. Is Riverpark like this? Are there any independent restaurants or shops in the area? Is it primarily families or are there areas with less kids?

I wouldn't call The Collection a strip mall it resembles more of a downtown. Its walkable with storefront businesses on a street grid, with street parking being metered. There aren't really and independent restaurants in RiverPark. Mostly big chains and chains that may only have 10 stores open in America. The traffic isn't bad yet. There aren't a ton of kids that live in the neighborhood. I see mostly young professionals and some housewives. It's not a gated community either. Here is a couple pictures:

I've been looking at maps of Oxnard and am having trouble really narrowing down the downtown area. Could you give me a north, south, east and west streets that you would consider frame downtown? or which streets around there we should avoid? Any pockets of nice but smaller historic homes - maybe in an up and coming area? If you look at the crime map on Trulia ( Oxnard, CA crimes - Trulia.com ) its really hard to tell what areas are ok and which ones to avoid.

The borders of Downtown Oxnard are Second Street to the north, Wooley Road to the South, Oxnard Boulevard/Meta Street to the east, and C Street to the west. You should look into the Wilson neighborhood they have many small historic homes and some large ones also. That area is just west and Northwest of downtown.

[mowgli2]

Thank you so much! It looks a lot like The Woodlands Market Street in, Houston. Much, much nicer than the communities I was thinking of north of Dallas.

Also, thanks for the details on downtown. On wiki's Oxnard neighborhood map it shows Wilson is right beside La Colonia. Any safety issues there? I know things often change quickly, so an article on crime from 2010 may be completely irrelevant today.

Getting very excited about the idea of moving back to VC (leaving 100+ degree summers) and hoping the job stuff works out. Appreciate your help.

[OxnardNative]

Also, thanks for the details on downtown. On wiki's Oxnard neighborhood map it shows Wilson is right beside La Colonia. Any safety issues there? I know things often change quickly, so an article on crime from 2010 may be completely irrelevant today.

Not much of a safety issue. Staying west of C street is overall more safer that staying east of C street in the Wilson neighborhood. There is also the Carriage Square neighborhood which is just north of Wilson which may fit your criteria.

[RoaminRebel]

Originally Posted by mowgli2

Thank you so much! It looks a lot like The Woodlands Market Street in, Houston. Much, much nicer than the communities I was thinking of north of Dallas.

Also, thanks for the details on downtown. On wiki's Oxnard neighborhood map it shows Wilson is right beside La Colonia. Any safety issues there? I know things often change quickly, so an article on crime from 2010 may be completely irrelevant today.

Getting very excited about the idea of moving back to VC (leaving 100+ degree summers) and hoping the job stuff works out. Appreciate your help.

If you're really serious, you really should check out these areas before committing to anything. Simi Valley is generally safer than Oxnard. Pictures can tell a thousand lies...

[timtemtym]

Are the agricultural areas around the city protected by the county or some voter referendum? It seems odd to me how many open spaces there are around it, even some prime land close to the coast. I couldn't find anything on it in wikipedia. Is this Ventura country trying to not turn into the OC?

I really love it as I can actually find one place the offers a look into what SoCal looked like before it was completely built out.

[RoaminRebel]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

Are the agricultural areas around the city protected by the county or some voter referendum? It seems odd to me how many open spaces there are around it, even some prime land close to the coast. I couldn't find anything on it in wikipedia. Is this Ventura country trying to not turn into the OC?

I really love it as I can actually find one place the offers a look into what SoCal looked like before it was completely built out.

There are lots of strawberries out there! Lots!

[coltoncity]

I absolutely love Oxnard. I lived there in the 90s and somuch has changed but it still has the same old or historic feel to it. I too would like to move back. I was hoping to mive back with mydaughter so she could start a fam there but now it seems I have waited too long. I would need a home about 350 - 400 thousand or less. It is impossible to find that. And for a nest egg a townhouse won't really do. I don't think amyone would regret moving there. The people keep.the place down to.earth and there has always been a nice ethnic mix that was not mean. A beautiful beach, great mexican food and awesome temps.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

I absolutely love Oxnard. I lived there in the 90s and somuch has changed but it still has the same old or historic feel to it. I too would like to move back. I was hoping to mive back with mydaughter so she could start a fam there but now it seems I have waited too long. I would need a home about 350 - 400 thousand or less. It is impossible to find that. And for a nest egg a townhouse won't really do. I don't think amyone would regret moving there. The people keep.the place down to.earth and there has always been a nice ethnic mix that was not mean. A beautiful beach, great mexican food and awesome temps.

Maybe on the southside you could find a home in the $350,000 to $400,000 range. We live in the Freemont North track and it is in the $440,000 and higher range now. You may want to check some of the realtor sites to get an idea.

[coltoncity]

It would be next summer.I will take a look... :-)mr 500 $ winner!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Prices have been on the incline but have slowed down since last year. I read that the area is projected to increase another 5% within the next year. If you are looking to next summer I have no idea what prices will be like. My wife and I have no plans on ever selling. We do have plans on buying another home within the next 5 years. We will keep the home we are in though.

I did like winning the $500 I never won anything like that before. They have contests here every now and then. Currently their is a contest going on. It is all about following the rules of the contest that gets you picked. A few people have won $5,000. I think they seem to split that up now with multiple $500 winners. I have always wanted to win but never thought that I would. The secret though is writing informative posts within these threads.