Advice on Best Areas for Commute to Oxnard

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by GNA27

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I'm curious why so many people consider the Conejo Grade to be something undesirable. What exactly is the issue? Is it a traffic problem, fuel consumption, discomfort with the downhill angle, or something else? We live in a foothill area with many winding roads, curves, and hills to climb, and we've been over the grade on the 101, so I'm a bit puzzled that it's come up several times in the discussion. Then again, we both lived in the Midwest for over 30 years before moving to California, and we've driven through horrific snow, ice, and winter conditions for many years, so maybe a steep downhill section of highway simply doesn't faze us. But if it's a persistent traffic issue or hazard of some sort, then we'd definitely like to know.

Personally I like the grade. One thing that I wish everyone would realize is that when you are driving down the grade you may not have to hit the brakes so much. Not sure why everyone does that if they have been on the grade before. If you let your car drive down the hill it may get some speed. What I like about the grade is that when you hit the bottom that it levels out and even seems to have a small incline that slows you down. It is a thing of beauty when executed correctly. What I mean is that if no one is in front of me I will let the car get up to speed on its own. I keep it in gear and allow it to do what ever it is going to do, keeping my foot off the gas. When I hit the top on the TO side I like to maybe be doing 60 or 65. When I get to the bottom I may get up to 80 or so and then I come to the bottom and the car will slow back down on its own. What I dislike is people hitting the brake. I understand if the road is full of cars and trucks and it can get like that at the end of the work day. It can get like that on a Saturday afternoon. LOL.

I guess what I am saying is people have no idea how the grade works and can work to their favor.

When going up, and you think your car can not keep up with the flow of traffic, think about that and move to the right. Do that ahead of time because you don't want to get caught on the far left lane slowing everyone down. I have a problem with people that do that. I have learned to use the right hand lane and pass everyone then move back to the left. It does not happen all the time but when it does it sure is a lot of fun. You have to watch for trucks though and make sure you can execute the move before you come to the back end of a truck.

I don't drive it every day but have no issues with it other than what I have mentioned.

[GNA27]

We made a scouting trip to our shortlist of cities over the weekend, and here are the results.

Ventura was hit-or-miss. The downtown area has a certain charm, and we had lunch there on Friday. That was pretty nice. We liked the Pierpont neighborhood, the marina, and the beaches. And the hills overlooking downtown are quite nice, although homes there are generally outside our price range for rentals or purchases. Overall, the city is definitely diverse and a mix of just about everything in terms of historical structures, industrial or commercial areas, some nice neighborhoods, and some areas that are definitely not so great. It has a very different feel compared to beach communities where we live in Orange County, and it just doesn't have the same appeal at all. Unless we get lucky and find an affordable option near the beach or up in the hills, we wouldn't consider Ventura.

We visited Riverpark and a bunch of the newer developments and communities in Oxnard. Those seem nice, but, of course, you get minimal privacy from the close proximity of every house, and it seems like it will take quite a while before the vegetation grows and matures and everything seems more like an established community. We also visited the beach areas of Oxnard including Oxnard/Mandalay Shores. It seems a bit cheaper to live in those areas than the beach neighborhoods of Ventura, and I think we would consider something if we could get a good rental right near the water. But availability is limited. It also seemed like there might not be a lot of conveniences for shopping or restaurants near those beach communities. Then again, if you're going to live by the ocean, you're trading some of those conveniences for the prime location. Beyond these areas, we didn't see much of Oxnard.

Camarillo was more promising in terms of its similarities to what we're used to in our current location. Most of it looks as if it was developed a fair bit earlier than our current community in Orange County, but there were plenty of good neighborhoods and conveniences. We especially liked some of the homes up in the hills, but most are very large and way too expensive. We also visited The Village at the Park community, which features a lot of new construction. It's a nice, clean area, but the homes are really crammed together. So something north of the 101 but below the hills and with a bit more privacy would probably make sense.

We then visited Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks. Based on some of the real estate listings we saw online, we were expecting Newbury Park to be very posh, but it wasn't all that fancy. A number of neighborhoods were really nice, but overall it was older than it was looking from afar. Maybe we were seeing some of the original areas rather than some of the newer homes. Newbury Park would definitely be in the running, though. And there are certainly some really impressive homes there. It seems to depend on which development and which part of the city.

Thousand Oaks proved to be our favorite. This was not surprising because feedback from others on this forum indicated that it might be the closest approximation to where we live now. It definitely was, and it seems like it has the ideal combination of nice homes, safe and quiet neighborhoods, and plenty of conveniences. With Westlake Village right next door and places like Camarillo, Moorpark, and Simi Valley not far away, it would seem that we would have access to most of what we'd be looking for in terms of shopping, restaurants, etc. And the beaches in Ventura or Malibu wouldn't be far away.

We would love to live right near the beach, but it appears that prices and the desirability of Ventura or Oxnard would probably preclude that for us. But we'll look for those opportunities nonetheless, and maybe we'll get lucky. Otherwise, while we're not sure if we'll be moving, I think Thousand Oaks is our first choice.

Ventura County would definitely become the center of our universe, though. With the nightmare of traffic going into LA via the 405 or the Valley, we would probably be far less likely to go into LA for entertainment or events than we are in Orange County. Getting to LAX is also a potential drawback because my wife may need to travel with some regularity, but she would just have to make the best of it and try to take a shuttle or use the PCH as a way to avoid the 405 nightmares.

However, after we've driven over the Conejo Grade a couple of times now, we just don't get the concern about it. I'm sure it's a bit tougher when it's rush hour traffic and people are changing lines or being slow and riding the brakes. But, in terms of the incline or decline, it was nothing different than some of the sections of steep hills on the toll roads in Orange County, and particularly the 241 connecting the 91 around Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills to areas near Tustin and Irvine.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out publicly and privately. This really helped us narrow things down.

[greenehaven]

Nice yall made it to the locations & posted this great summary GNA27. Yes, Ventura county is less occupied than the OC. I was a kid growing up in Laguna Beach (50s'), than graduated HS at 1000 Oaks. Original Newbury Park is around the 101 with newer developments in areas along the western edges.

Traffic to LAX can also be taken via Hwy 1 - was there a commute to Oxnard, or regional office potential? Coastal OC is a very nice place to live ... Ventura county life is much slower & easier to control.
Good Luck