Ventura Oxnard area or the Valley (Los Angeles, Orange: high crime, college dorms, neighborhood)

[coltoncity]

So I have narrowed my areas down to two. Ventura/Oxnard area and the Valley as in Granada HIlls/Canoga Park area. I am hoping someone who knows both places will be able to give some input. I am looking for a place for the empty nester age group and a young couple starting a family. Things to do, safety, jobs and college is on the agenda for the next 4 years. I hear Ventura has quite a good scene for music and some nightlife, and I always loved Oxnard. WHere as the Valley is a short distance to LA and a decent distance to Santa Monica etc and I think has more to do. Opinions and advice would be very welcome. Please try to look over the fact that the valley is not in Ventura County

[wac_432]

I lived and worked in Canoga Park for 5 years. The whole sfv is the armpit of LA, and Canoga Park is not a pretty part of it. My white collar roommate got stabbed when he was riding his bike by Lanark Park one night, then spent 3 hours waiting for an emergency room doctor to patch up his deep wound due to there being a huge backlog of gunshot, od, and stabbing victims who were actually going to die without immediate intervention.

The ghetto bird (police chopper) hovered out our window every night.

You don't want to live in the valley if you have any other choice.

LA is still 2 hours away due to traffic, except if you're going late night clubbing, and there is literally ---kall to do in the sfv itself. We would drive to Ventura on the weekends for fun.

I can give more details, but I shouldn't need to.

[coltoncity]

My main reason for the area wspecially granada hills is I figured it would be 45 minutes to an hour drive to LA. And maybr an hour to santa monica a couple times a month. I am assuming its a lot longer during the day even if you travel outside of rush hour times? Thank you for answeri ng also this is exactly what I needed.

[the city]

Originally Posted by wac_432

I lived and worked in Canoga Park for 5 years. The whole sfv is the armpit of LA, and Canoga Park is not a pretty part of it. My white collar roommate got stabbed when he was riding his bike by Lanark Park one night, then spent 3 hours waiting for an emergency room doctor to patch up his deep wound due to there being a huge backlog of gunshot, od, and stabbing victims who were actually going to die without immediate intervention.

The ghetto bird (police chopper) hovered out our window every night.

You don't want to live in the valley if you have any other choice.

LA is still 2 hours away due to traffic, except if you're going late night clubbing, and there is literally ---kall to do in the sfv itself. We would drive to Ventura on the weekends for fun.

I can give more details, but I shouldn't need to.

My parents raised me in Oxnard until I was 8 and then moved out of the city, but I continuously visited family since then. When I graduated from high school back in 2009 I moved to the valley to go to college for a while.

Take my experience with a grain salt if you wish.

I agree that Canoga Park is the pits. That is where my dad grew up back in the 60s and his predominantly Jewish, white, and Italian neighborhood is now mostly lower economic class minorities. When I was riding my back one night in college some one tried to jump me by foot and never in my life in the high crime areas where I live now has that happened and this wasn't like midnight. Near my college dorms we had drug dealings frequently and one shooting when I first got there. There were problems with homeless trying to sneak into our dorms. The bus system wasn't very good in the valley either. The bus system and subway system was okay during working hours, but coming back late via subway or bus is a bad idea and would mean a walk back.

The valley gets hot, alot of traffic, and has some high crime areas. The nicer part of the valley is generally considered near Woodland Hills also where the Warner Center hub is. The main entertainment for the Valley is Universal Studios and also some bars and entertainment in Reseda and Northridge.

Now, Oxnard has improved alot since my family moved. Crime has gone down, the downtown has improved, the city got a new high outdoor mall, and the school district is going to build a new high school to deal with overcrowding. Rather you like Oxnard, Ventura, or Camarillo is all a preference. Each have it's different traits - pros and cons.

[coltoncity]

Thanks for your reply. I will be visiting both areas in a month. I always loved Oxnard Ventura area and I am told it has changed a lot for good. I dont know much about the Valley. Where would you suggest we visit in the area when we go there to get more of an idea of whats going on in the area now?

[the city]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

Thanks for your reply. I will be visiting both areas in a month. I always loved Oxnard Ventura area and I am told it has changed a lot for good. I dont know much about the Valley. Where would you suggest we visit in the area when we go there to get more of an idea of whats going on in the area now?

Are you talking about where to visit in the Valley? I would stop by the Warner Center if you haven't been there already. Here is the wiki page:

Warner Center, Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woodland Hills has the Fallbrook shopping center and Canoga Park has Topanga Plaza Mall and I just read they are building a new mall called the Village at Topanga Westfield.

In Northridge, I would visit Rosco's fried chicken and pancakes. Of course, I can only suggest where to visit places for where college aged kids would go. I didn't have a car so I ate mostly at the dorms and stayed closer to the campus.

The Valley now has a state of the art performing arts center at CSU Northridge:

Home - Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University, Northridge

I'd also suggest taking a look at NoHo in North Hollywood:

NoHo, Arts District.com North Hollywood Restaurants in North Hollywood News, Art Galleries, Dance Classes, Theatres in North Hollywood - NoHoArtsDistrict.com

I haven't been to either of them, but that's where I'd suggest.

I can suggest more places to visit in Ventura and Oxnard. Oxnard has Mandalay Beach and Channel Islands Harbor. Ventura has the pier and boardwalk. Downtown Ventura is a pretty hip place. Oxnard's downtown is nice and has called Heritage Square. Oxnard's downtown has restaurants, coffee shops, local stores, a park, night clubs, and a movie theater. Camarillo has Old town and the outlet mall.

[nightlysparrow]

Both areas have changed for the good in the last 5-10 years. The real choice is if you want to live adjacent to the 2nd largest city in the US with all the good and not so good aspects, or in a more distant smaller city metro with all the good and not so good aspects.

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

My main reason for the area wspecially granada hills is I figured it would be 45 minutes to an hour drive to LA. And maybr an hour to santa monica a couple times a month. I am assuming its a lot longer during the day even if you travel outside of rush hour times? Thank you for answeri ng also this is exactly what I needed.

Why not just live in LA? I wouldn't split the difference between LA and Ventura by living in the awful valley.

When we moved back to CA, last year, we spent a few months near Warner Center before moving out to Ventura. It was nice before, and it's nice now, but it's very boring. Besides the mall, movies, and corporate eateries, there's nothing to do. The SFV isn't THAT dangerous, but it's not very nice.

By my estimation, there are many more empty nesters in Camarillo and Ventura than in the SFV. The whole county is better for starting a family than (most) of the SFV. We lived there due to work. Yes, there are some okay parts for a young couple pre-kids: NOHO was sorta fun with good proximity to Hollywood and LA proper.

From Ventura, you can get to Santa Monica and LAX in 90 minutes or less by taking the PCH through Malibu. It's a beautiful drive with light traffic--compared to the ugly superhighway/parking lot 101/405 route.

[the city]

Originally Posted by wac_432

Why not just live in LA? I wouldn't split the difference between LA and Ventura by living in the awful valley.

When we moved back to CA, last year, we spent a few months near Warner Center before moving out to Ventura. It was nice before, and it's nice now, but it's very boring. Besides the mall, movies, and corporate eateries, there's nothing to do. The SFV isn't THAT dangerous, but it's not very nice.

By my estimation, there are many more empty nesters in Camarillo and Ventura than in the SFV. The whole county is better for starting a family than (most) of the SFV. We lived there due to work. Yes, there are some okay parts for a young couple pre-kids: NOHO was sorta fun with good proximity to Hollywood and LA proper.

From Ventura, you can get to Santa Monica and LAX in 90 minutes or less by taking the PCH through Malibu. It's a beautiful drive with light traffic--compared to the ugly superhighway/parking lot 101/405 route.

Yeah I like this idea. And I agree North Hollywood is probably your best bet in the Valley. Did you like City Walk and Universal Studios when you lived there wac?

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by the city

Yeah I like this idea. And I agree North Hollywood is probably your best bet in the Valley. Did you like City Walk and Universal Studios when you lived there wac?

Never went. We just hung out in NOHO at places like Bar 21 and the HaHa Cafe, drove to go clubbing in LA proper, or biked to Burbank. We weren't into theme parks or malls at that time. I don't even know what City Walk is.

I liked the Orange line bikeway. I rode the length of it twice a day to get to work. Some evenings, I'd ride the whole way, then carry my bike to the red line, run up the stairs at Hollywood and Highland and ride to pick up my spouse in West Hollywood. That was quite a trek.

There used to be a weird little restaurant in NOHO that was just an open area full of trees with two big waterfalls. They had doves and rabbits running around inside. The food was fantastically terrible, but it was so bizarre you just had to go. Sadly, it turned into a hookah lounge or something.

It would have made a keen lounge with a minimum of effort, but whoever bought it screwed it up by over-thinking it.