Ventura or San Luis Obispo? (Oxnard, Lancaster: crime, place to live, safer)

[nursenerd]

I've been a nurse for 7 yrs now and thinking of relocating to CA from Houston,TX. We have a hookup in nVentura from a friend as far as housing. I'm nervous about cost of living. Is everything outrageous. Is this a safe place. I'm tired of high crime. I'm caucasian and have become the minority where we live. Our city has gone down hill since Katrina.

[enlightenme]

Originally Posted by nursenerd

I've been a nurse for 7 yrs now and thinking of relocating to CA from Houston,TX. We have a hookup in nVentura from a friend as far as housing. I'm nervous about cost of living. Is everything outrageous. Is this a safe place. I'm tired of high crime. I'm caucasian and have become the minority where we live. Our city has gone down hill since Katrina.

The cost of living will be a lot higher than Houston; however, if your housing is taken care of, then you may be okay. Housing costs kills us here followed by higher than average gas prices. I liked living in Ventura and didn't think the crime was too high. Parts of Oxnard is a different story, but you really don't need to go to Oxnard for anything if you live in Ventura. I assume your comment about being tired of feeling like a minority because of Hurricane Katrina is mainly directed at African Americans. Their population is very low in Ventura and all of the surrounding cities. Every African American person I ever met, went to school with or worked with has always been very proffesional, educated and middle-class. I think the people here are a lot different than the poverty stricken African Americans affected by the hurricane and forced into Houston. Now, you may feel like a minority due to our high Hispanic population, but I believe it shouldn't be too different than Texas in that regard either. I think LA experiences more problems with gangs, violence, different ethnicities not always getting along, etc. Ventura County is pretty much a middle-class area with decent, safe communities. Oxnard, Filmore and Santa Paula tend to have more "white flight" and are primarily Hispanic areas, but there are nice parts of those towns too. If I had to chose the best cities in Ventura County, I would say Ventura is my favorite, then Thousand Oaks, followed by Camarillo. What I like the most about Ventura is most tourists don't think about going there, so it isn't hard to park, go to the beach, get into a bar or restaurant. It is a great coastal town that for some reason people just drive past on HWY 101 on their way to Santa Barbara which is about 30 miles north.

[nursenerd]

Thanks for the advice. I live in a nice small city now outside of Houston. I only go into Houston to work. There is low crime here. Is this what Ventura would be like? Our rental house is only 1500/mo. A friend is doing us a favor. he will be in law enforcement and ofcourse I will be in nursing. I hate the thought of never owning a home. I'm wondering if we would be able to ever save for a house? How do people get approved for such large home loans. How are the taxes? I live in a 2800sq/ft home and pay 1600/mo. I live 5 minutes from the water and 15 minutes from the beach. Is this going to be too much of a culture shock?

[enlightenme]

Originally Posted by nursenerd

Thanks for the advice. I live in a nice small city now outside of Houston. I only go into Houston to work. There is low crime here. Is this what Ventura would be like? Our rental house is only 1500/mo. A friend is doing us a favor. he will be in law enforcement and ofcourse I will be in nursing. I hate the thought of never owning a home. I'm wondering if we would be able to ever save for a house? How do people get approved for such large home loans. How are the taxes? I live in a 2800sq/ft home and pay 1600/mo. I live 5 minutes from the water and 15 minutes from the beach. Is this going to be too much of a culture shock?

I think Ventura should feel safe to you. There is a rougher neigborhood in west Ventura that we refer to as "The Avenue" and it is an older area on Ventura Avenue that probably has the highest crime. However, they have recently built some nice townhomes out there and a lot of middle-class families who couldn't afford Santa Barbara or Ventura moved there and it is cleaning up a bit. The are some parts off Thompson Blvd in midtown Ventura that are also undesirable, but it is all relative. "Rougher" neighborhoods in Ventura are nothing compared to a bad area in LA. For the most part, Ventura is a great place to live. I do think you will have culture shock at the high cost of living. It is near impossible to save money for a house - the median price is at least $650K and $1600 rent will just get you an average apartment, maybe if you look hard a small house. To be honest, I don't know specifically what a 2800 sq ft house would rent for, but I imagine over $2500 a month. My 900 sq ft apartment 4 years ago was almost $1000 a month and I was told by friends that I got a deal on it. I have been trying to save for a house and reality hit that the only way for it to happen is by moving out of state. Also, I know a fair amount of people who have moved to Dallas or Phoenix with jobs the last couple of years because their businesses relocated there and it was far easier to buy a great house in those areas than trying to rent forever in Ventura. I think people have been buying houses here on creative loans like interest only and they may soon be in a situations as interest rates climb. A good rule of thumb is about 1% of your home price will be the cost of property taxes - at least that is what I have been told. I am a renter! Sales tax is around 7%. I really think you may need to think long and hard about your decision because so many people here in your situation seem to be relocating out of SoCal where their families and friends live because they are tired of paying high rent. The beaches are sure pretty though!

[jonnyB]

Originally Posted by Jamileena

...Ive lived in Ventura for a few years now and commute 30 miles south to North LA to work...

The hell you do! I commute from Pasadena to Camarillo (ouch!), and it's closer to 40 miles from Ventura just to the L.A. city limits sign along the 101 as you leave Calabasas going into the SFV.

Your basic point is correct: SLO is better than Ventura, but Ventura is still really good.

[littlerose]

I grew up around that part of California, and now live in the Houston area.

San Luis is pretty, but you'll want to work near there if you decide to move there.

If you are going to be working in Oxnard, though choose Ventura. It's a nearly 3 hour drive from San Luis to Oxnard. That's not really a very feasable commute.

The weather is very very very mild all along that part of California. Very different from Guld Coast humidity. It is rare for summer temperatures to get above 80 degrees. This also means that many apartments and houses do not have air contitioning, so on those rare hot days, you may want to spend some time away from home..

Be warned: Housing in Coastal CA is very expensive. A 1 bedroom apartment will cost you between $900 and $1300 per month. Our rent on a small apartment in Santa Barbara was close to our monthly house payment on the 4 bedroom house we have here in TX. Owning a home is not easy, unless you make six figures. Gas prices are about 40 cents more per gallon in CA than what we see here in Houston. Plus, you will be paying state income taxes on top of your federal income taxes.

[Des_Demona]

I don't know much about the SLO area but I live in Ventura (county) and the best cities for you would probably be Ventura (the city), Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley or Camarillo. All of those places are very nice. I live in Simi Valley and pay under $1600 for a really REALLY nice and roomy 2 bedroom condo so if you're paying $1600 now you could definitely find something inland for the same price around Simi or Camarillo. Beach areas like Ventura might be a little more but I bet you could find a one bedroom for the same. You'll want to rent first I think... owning a home is very difficult in California and you have to be very wealthy or have gotten into the real estate market a long time ago to own one. As for SLO, I've heard it's really nice up there but that's the extent of my knowledge on it. Oxnard is to be avoided completely. It's really ugly, run down and full of crime. It's always on the front cover of those Top Crime Cities books. Good luck to both of you!

[gringo istmeño]

Originally Posted by Des_Demona

Oxnard is to be avoided completely. It's really ugly, run down and full of crime. It's always on the front cover of those Top Crime Cities books. Good luck to both of you!

Would you say that rents in Oxnard are less than rents in Ventura?

[Des_Demona]

Yes I would say that rent in Oxnard is significantly less than rent in Ventura. Oxnard rentals can be had for anywhere from $800 to $1400 a month (Craigslist and rent.com references) whereas Ventura starts around $1300 for a one bedroom and can go up into the $3,000 range depending on if you want something closer to the beach. I saw an average of about $2,000 a month in Ventura and an average of about $1250 a month in Oxnard. You could rent in Simi Valley for $1600 and avoid the gritty area of Oxnard or someplace else for the same. I wouldn't pay $1250 to live in Oxnard but there are available places there for $800 which draws the poorer folks. Also just to put it in perspective in Oxnard there is a 4 bed 3 bath house renting for $2700. I would NEVER pay that to live in Oxnard. Nope.

[Californiaborn]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

The cost of living will be a lot higher than Houston; however, if your housing is taken care of, then you may be okay. Housing costs kills us here followed by higher than average gas prices. I liked living in Ventura and didn't think the crime was too high. Parts of Oxnard is a different story, but you really don't need to go to Oxnard for anything if you live in Ventura. I assume your comment about being tired of feeling like a minority because of Hurricane Katrina is mainly directed at African Americans. Their population is very low in Ventura and all of the surrounding cities. Every African American person I ever met, went to school with or worked with has always been very proffesional, educated and middle-class. I think the people here are a lot different than the poverty stricken African Americans affected by the hurricane and forced into Houston. Now, you may feel like a minority due to our high Hispanic population, but I believe it shouldn't be too different than Texas in that regard either. I think LA experiences more problems with gangs, violence, different ethnicities not always getting along, etc. Ventura County is pretty much a middle-class area with decent, safe communities. Oxnard, Filmore and Santa Paula tend to have more "white flight" and are primarily Hispanic areas, but there are nice parts of those towns too. If I had to chose the best cities in Ventura County, I would say Ventura is my favorite, then Thousand Oaks, followed by Camarillo. What I like the most about Ventura is most tourists don't think about going there, so it isn't hard to park, go to the beach, get into a bar or restaurant. It is a great coastal town that for some reason people just drive past on HWY 101 on their way to Santa Barbara which is about 30 miles north.

I know this is an old set of posts, but I have to say, as an African American, my hats are off to "Enlighten me." I 'mso f------ weary of people assuming all people from a racial group are the same. I'd say that socio-economic levels are prone to creating certain similar behaviors, not race.

As for Ventura vs SLO? I'm fond of university towns, so I'd vote for SLO. The weather's not bad either.