Differences in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks (Oxnard, Oak Park: for sale, city hall, rental homes)

[wac_432]

Camarillo weather is better, with more marine influence, so it's cooler and more pleasant. Camarillo has--as other's have mentioned--a more run-down/poorer vibe than TO.

If Ventura is a chilly, beach-y, bike/walk-able eclectic, high-crime, vagrant-infested happening town, and TO is a sleepy, hot-as-balls, upscale, drive-everywhere Mayberry, then Camarillo splits the difference. Safer and cleaner--also more boring and uglier--than Ventura, closer to the beach--also not as rich and family-friendly--as TO.

If I, personally, were to move from Ventura (due to the negatives listed), I'd go straight to TO and not bother with the half-measure of Camarillo. TO is boring as hell, but it is a great place to raise kids in the standard American car-and-home-centric lifestyle.

[alanadoodle]

Originally Posted by capybarabf

Camarillo is a quirky place. Very expensive relative to what you get, and the vibe is surprisingly insular and blue collar for an area so close to LA.

The schools that are touted as “good” are mediocre and run by and for the benefit of the non-working moms. The obvious bias in school procedures in favor of these families is a bit shocking and reinforces the stereotype of Camarillo being a backward place to live.

Mind you, I’m sad to say all of this because I’m from the area and wish Camarillo could shake off the lower class vibe. But it won’t happen with poorly run schools (see also the current controversy with the school board elections. After being out of compliance for nearly 20 years, they then had the nerve to ***** and moan in the media re being dragged into compliance.)

You’re much better spending a little more to buy a house in Conejo or Oak Park school districts.

Are you speaking about specific schools? We had kids in a charter there and were happy with it. Why do you think Camarillo is backwards? Genuinely curious. Can you link me to a school board article?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by alanadoodle

Are you speaking about specific schools? We had kids in a charter there and were happy with it. Why do you think Camarillo is backwards? Genuinely curious. Can you link me to a school board article?

Not sure on Camarillo's Pleasant Valley School District, but Thousand Oaks, Conejo Valley School District has been in the news recently:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...nt/2316285001/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...es/2169743001/

https://www.toacorn.com/articles/sui...-district-big/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...te/2141782001/

Here are some stories on the Pleasant Valley School District:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/ed...on/1774769002/

https://thevoicecalifornia.com/pleas...l-celebration/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/ed...lot/317471002/

[alanadoodle]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Not sure on Camarillo's Pleasant Valley School District, but Thousand Oaks, Conejo Valley School District has been in the news recently:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...nt/2316285001/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...es/2169743001/

https://www.toacorn.com/articles/sui...-district-big/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/lo...te/2141782001/

Here are some stories on the Pleasant Valley School District:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/ed...on/1774769002/

https://thevoicecalifornia.com/pleas...l-celebration/

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/ed...lot/317471002/

Thank you!

[KARW43]

I don't recommend Camarillo at all. I've been here a month and am already looking to find a way to pay to break the lease. If you have school age kids, maybe it is a decent place to live. I'm finding it socially backwards, with Internet/broadband and cell phone issues and a third world response to the pandemic, compared to northern California. I moved here due to work and my former apartment community exchanging with one at less cost in Camarillo, but it is just so unworkable, that I'm preparing and trying to find a way out. I wish I had just found another place to live. I've since spent time in Thousand Oaks and it is far superior in terms of either things to do, and being a bit closer to LA.

[alanadoodle]

Originally Posted by KARW43

I don't recommend Camarillo at all. I've been here a month and am already looking to find a way to pay to break the lease. If you have school age kids, maybe it is a decent place to live. I'm finding it socially backwards, with Internet/broadband and cell phone issues and a third world response to the pandemic, compared to northern California. I moved here due to work and my former apartment community exchanging with one at less cost in Camarillo, but it is just so unworkable, that I'm preparing and trying to find a way out. I wish I had just found another place to live. I've since spent time in Thousand Oaks and it is far superior in terms of either things to do, and being a bit closer to LA.

I disagree - but I speak from a family perspective. I never had issues with internet/cell phone. I wouldn't live in Camarillo as a single person. I also loathe LA so I don't need to be closer! I lived in Ventura before kids which was great to be close to Santa Barbara and that nightlife.

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by KARW43

I don't recommend Camarillo at all. I've been here a month and am already looking to find a way to pay to break the lease. If you have school age kids, maybe it is a decent place to live. I'm finding it socially backwards, with Internet/broadband and cell phone issues and a third world response to the pandemic, compared to northern California. I moved here due to work and my former apartment community exchanging with one at less cost in Camarillo, but it is just so unworkable, that I'm preparing and trying to find a way out. I wish I had just found another place to live. I've since spent time in Thousand Oaks and it is far superior in terms of either things to do, and being a bit closer to LA.

Even with kids, we usually skip Camarillo and go to TO, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Ventura, or SB to do stuff. Camarillo is about as boring as it gets. Their street fairs and festivals are the only exception, and even those are lackluster.

I guess PH might have even less to do, but at least they have that massive beach. And they literally "drained the swamp" that had formed in the middle of it, so it's pretty nice now.

[anoncontributor]

To sum up, I find Camarillo really weird. It is very expensive considering what you get for the money. It is your basic military and agricultural town that's tried to bring in some other industries like tech but hasn't been very successful in doing so. I lived there a couple of years for a temporary work assignment.

Some people were very nice and friendly, but there is a large, nasty "you ain't from around here" element. (Unless you are military-- the military folks are revered.) Many people have lived there multiple generations, which sounds nice until you realize there really isn't much opportunity.

The rate of education beyond high school is not terribly high. The majority of jobs are blue-collar. The people trend religious and very politically conservative. While a huge swath of California shares these traits, if you moved to California from somewhere else, it's probably not what you envisioned. I can get conservative and religious elsewhere in the US where I can pay much less for a house.

The standard family unit is a dad, a stay-at-home mom, and 4 children. If you are a woman and you work or if you have fewer kids, you will get the side eye.

The schools do the best they can with what they have to work with. They aren't great, though some individual teachers are wonderful.

There's a lot of ghetto behavior that goes on with the parents at the schools. Lots of gossip and attempts to ostracize kids...and this is done by the PARENTS. I was a bit shocked by the low class behavior of the parents.

A couple of times school officials couldn't answer basic questions and became quite hostile if you asked follow up questions. One school principal actually lied to us about a few things. These weren't even big issues-- he seemed to lie just because he was annoyed that we asked a question. Many people associated with the schools had this angry, self-satisfied, how-dare-you[-question-us attitude.

This was puzzling because we didn't have this problem when my kids attended school in a district that actually was an elite school district (in another state). I get the feeling Camarillo PVSD thinks that loudly proclaiming how "amazing" and "incredible" (you'll hear those words a lot) the schools are is exactly the same thing as actually working to make the schools great.

The elementary schools can't function without volunteer helpers. Volunteers are great, but when your school by design RELIES on unpaid workers, that's a big problem. And these volunteers are usually moms. So, kids get the idea that it's ok to expect women to work for free. And it is an expectation.

Our family is not religious and my kids were "witnessed to" by fellow students on an almost daily basis. Again, you will see this is other communities, but usually not ones where you have to pay $850,000 for a starter house.

Other posters have mentioned the infrastructure issues. I'll add the grocery stores to this list. Again, they do their best, but they are always understocked and understaffed. If you go in looking for 10 necessities, you might find 2 of them on any given day.

Also, Camarillo has unbelievably crazy amounts of crime...and really gnarly types of crime. At any given time, there are crazies roaming around the parks and seemingly safe neighborhoods. Camarillo only has 60,000 people! I've lived in large cities where I felt much safer than I did in Camarillo. There are lots of break ins and violent crime. Again, really out of line with the size of the city. I don't know what accounts for it. It's not uncommon for people to steal things out of your yard in the middle of the day.

To sum up, I would really discourage anyone from living in Camarillo. If it were more affordable, I would probably feel differently. But if you are going to live in an expensive area, it should be a nice expensive area. As mentioned, I have a job that takes me on long but temporary assignments, so I've lived all over the US in large and small cities. Camarillo stands out to me as a place to avoid.

I think another poster mentioned this, but for not a lot more money you have far better quality of life just by living in Newbury Park, which is only a few miles away. Much better schools, amenities, and overall environment.

[boroc7]

House prices look like they’ve increased dramatically during the pandemic. How realistic is it to find a long term rental home in the TO, Oak Park, Newbury area? Family of four, two young kids in school.

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by boroc7

House prices look like they’ve increased dramatically during the pandemic. How realistic is it to find a long term rental home in the TO, Oak Park, Newbury area? Family of four, two young kids in school.

Rents are fairy stable. My coworker just bought a townhouse for under 500K. Single family detached home prices are through the roof. The problem is that many "cheap" townhomes come with a hefty monthly HOA fee.