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So I am a 20 year old single guy that just has a few more college classes to finish up and then I graduate. I have already gotten a job that starts in January of next year.
I am originally from Philadelphia Area, and lived in West Chester for about 2 years growing up (not consecutively). My parents live oversees in Egypt, and I spent most of my life growing up there, but as I said I have lived 2 years in West Chester, and 3 in Upper Darby which is right outside of Philadelphia. That area is where I was born and is pretty much like home to me. I am very familiar with the area, and have a pretty good idea on what life is like there.
Anyway, in the past months, I was applying for a job in West Chester, PA as it is my hometown pretty much but as soon as I got it, they told me that they have 2 offices, one in West Chester, but also another one in Ventura, CA and they gave me a choice of which location to work at. (Honestly sounds so random to me, why West Chester, PA and Ventura, CA? Two completely opposite sides of the country.) Anyway that's not really relevant, just an interesting thought. My starting salary at the West Chester location would be $45,000 a year, and while the Ventura location they are offering me a slightly higher salary of $59,000 a year. However, while I am not sure I expect Ventura is slightly more expensive to live in which is likely why the salary is a little higher there. Please correct me if I am wrong. With that saying West Chester is an upscale suburb of Philly so cost of living is kind of high there compared to many other towns in PA, although not ritzy.
So I originally was planning to stay in West Chester because its my hometown and where most of my friends are, but when the Ventura thing came up, it really stroke me and inspired me to look into that option and see. I am always an adventurous person that enjoys trying new things. I have heard many great things about Ventura, and while I have never been there, I do actually have a tiny group of friends that I made at a conference in Europe that live there, so it's not a completely random town to me. The closest I have been is Los Angeles a few times but never Ventura County. I am debating whether to stick with West Chester or to move to Ventura and try something new?
By the way, I do not have a car yet, but plan to by one very soon after I graduate, and hope to have my car before I start work, although I might have to do some commuting for the first few weeks or month without a car depending on the success I have. With that saying, I really do not want to commute, and I ether want to live right in West Chester or right in Ventura. Forget about these 12-25 mile commutes.
So what is life like in Ventura? How does it compare to West Chester, Pennsylvania? Are they similar towns or quite different. If anyone here has spent time in both, could you please give me a compare/contrast? Which town is cost of living more expensive and by how much? My budget is pretty flexible and I believe both salaries are pretty good for a starting salary right out of college. I plan to rent a small house/apartment first and then maybe after a few years, buy one.
I would spread your wings and go to Ventura. Do you really want to spend your whole life in one place? If that's your bag, go for it, but I couldn't get out of my Midwestern hometown fast enough. I moved to CA and lived the dream (15 years ago). Surfing in the morning, working all day, partying in LA at night/weekends.
The area is one of the best places to live, anywhere. You have hiking, surfing, sailing, skiing, Vegas, and LAX to fly anywhere in the country/world fairly cheap. Tons of breweries/social events/spaces. World-class nightlife an hour away in LA.
That all comes at a price.
Ventura is extremely expensive. Rents and property values are skyrocketing. You will be hard-pressed to find a studio apartment under $1200 anywhere. 6 years ago, 1300 got you a 2br1ba in a not-great part of town, 10 years ago, you could find a nice walk-to-the-beach 1br/1ba for under $900.
Your best bet is to rent a room in a house with others of a similar ages/interests. Go month-month initially and then try to make housing connections through your work.
Even though it's expensive, I would move out here in a heartbeat, in your position.
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Dear, OP,
You cover a lot. Good background info and lots for us to dig into. I'll touch on a couple of things for you.
You've been to Los Angeles. My first thought is to offer that Ventura is not Los Angeles. If anything, Ventura is the antidote to LA. Other than that, everything wac_432 wrote, but I'll add my version on the housing topic for you as well...
Ventura housing has gotten expensive for purchasing, but if you're looking to rent, expect to pay around at least $1,300 for a studio apartment, and no less than $1,500 for a 1 br. If you can swing housing cost between $1,500 and $2,000 you should be able to find a good-enough apartment. Another option is to look for a room to rent in someone's house. Often people will rent their master BR with private bath for around $1,000/mo. Might be a quick option for a while while you look around. Check the Ventura Craigslist for that. Search 15 miles from zip code 93001 to get a good sense for available rooms in Ventura and surrounding communities.
Ventura is not too big, so commuting should be reasonable for you. It's a decent city for bicycling, and the city bus service, though not great, is so-so. Look up Gold Coast Transit and VISTA Bus.
Another thing that stood out for me is that your parents currently live in Egypt. If you're a person with an international background, you will like southern CA in general. Plenty of foreign-born persons (yours truly is one of them), plus a lot of out-of-state transplants. You'll feel at home.
Last but not least (for now), I can promise you that the climate and weather of Ventura are much calmer and easer to manage than anywhere on the East Coast. When you're done working, you can head down to the beach for an afternoon de-stresser as the sun sets between the Channel Islands.
Last edited by Winston Smith; 06-28-2019 at 05:07 PM..
I would spread your wings and go to Ventura. Do you really want to spend your whole life in one place? If that's your bag, go for it, but I couldn't get out of my Midwestern hometown fast enough. I moved to CA and lived the dream (15 years ago). Surfing in the morning, working all day, partying in LA at night/weekends.
The area is one of the best places to live, anywhere. You have hiking, surfing, sailing, skiing, Vegas, and LAX to fly anywhere in the country/world fairly cheap. Tons of breweries/social events/spaces. World-class nightlife an hour away in LA.
That all comes at a price.
Ventura is extremely expensive. Rents and property values are skyrocketing. You will be hard-pressed to find a studio apartment under $1200 anywhere. 6 years ago, 1300 got you a 2br1ba in a not-great part of town, 10 years ago, you could find a nice walk-to-the-beach 1br/1ba for under $900.
Your best bet is to rent a room in a house with others of a similar ages/interests. Go month-month initially and then try to make housing connections through your work.
Even though it's expensive, I would move out here in a heartbeat, in your position.
I would definitely be open to renting a small apartment or even sharing with a few roommates. And yes, maybe even renting a room in a house as well could be an option.
I do like the idea of Ventura being right by the beach as well.
You cover a lot. Good background info and lots for us to dig into. I'll touch on a couple of things for you.
You've been to Los Angeles. My first thought is to offer that Ventura is not Los Angeles. If anything, Ventura is the antidote to LA. Other than that, everything wac_432 wrote, but I'll add my version on the housing topic for you as well...
Ventura housing has gotten expensive for purchasing, but if you're looking to rent, expect to pay around at least $1,300 for a studio apartment, and no less than $1,500 for a 1 br. If you can swing housing cost between $1,500 and $2,000 you should be able to find a good-enough apartment. Another option is to look for a room to rent in someone's house. Often people will rent their master BR with private bath for around $1,000/mo. Might be a quick option for a while while you look around. Check the Ventura Craigslist for that. Search 15 miles from zip code 93001 to get a good sense for available rooms in Ventura and surrounding communities.
LOL yes, I am well aware that Ventura is not LA. I honestly would never like to live in a big city, I meant the closest in proximity that I have been to Ventura. Anyway, the town of Ventura looks similar to West Chester, PA from what I see on a map, but again that is a complete guess.
I honestly would prefer not to rent a bedroom in someone's house, but an option I am considering is maybe try and find a few roommates to share with and that would reduce the rent cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston Smith
Ventura is not too big, so commuting should be reasonable for you. It's a decent city for bicycling, and the city bus service, though not great, is so-so. Look up Gold Coast Transit and VISTA Bus.
Another thing that stood out for me is that your parents currently live in Egypt. If you're a person with an international background, you will like southern CA in general. Plenty of foreign-born persons (yours truly is one of them), plus a lot of out-of-state transplants. You'll feel at home.
Last but not least (for now), I can promise you that the climate and weather of Ventura are much calmer and easer to manage than anywhere on the East Coast. When you're done working, you can head down to the beach for an afternoon de-stresser as the sun sets between the Channel Islands.
Honestly I am not that much of an international background and did not have the best experience growing up in Egypt. But surroundings are not that big of a deal for me. Thanks for your help and I'll take all what you said into consideration.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MOPS
I would definitely be open to renting a small apartment or even sharing with a few roommates. And yes, maybe even renting a room in a house as well could be an option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MOPS
I honestly would prefer not to rent a bedroom in someone's house, but an option I am considering is maybe try and find a few roommates to share with and that would reduce the rent cost.
Certainly understand your ambivalence with renting a room in someone's house, but I wouldn't rule it out as a temporary measure. Lots of options, often with private entrance and bath.
I mention it as a consideration partly because a crucial aspect of the rental market that we haven't touched on yet is that apartment vacancies are far from plentiful. The last figure I heard is that vacancy rates are 1.25% within the city of Ventura, and 1.75% in the county as a whole. This means it could take patience to find a place you like. Vacancy rate under 5% is considered critically low inventory, according to an article I read in the VC Star a while back.
Also, word to the wise, document everything with apartment managers and property management companies when you accept a rental. Some managers are straighter than others, but in Ventura there are some underhanded (or to be charitable, let's call them "unorganized") landlords as well. Most require renter's insurance, so see about finding an agent before you apply. Keep copies of receipts and documents. In your move-in inspection, take pictures and note every little ding and scratch because my experience with Ventura is that managers work hard to nickel and dime your deposit return on move-out. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I learned the hard way.
Lastly, to qualify you for an apartment, some managers might tell you that the bar is 2x or 3x your monthly income. It's my understanding that this is illegal in California. The criteria is supposed to be a formula of your FICO score, gross income, and dept-to-income ratio, where the rent is considered part of your "dept"/monthly obligations. Again, my understanding. Someone fact-check me if I'm wrong about that.
With all that said, initially renting a room from some nice person might be the easiest and least costly for you wile you make friends for a housing-share situation. In any case, let us know what you decide and how it goes for you. Hope the info is useful.
Last edited by Winston Smith; 06-29-2019 at 01:46 PM..
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Other than that, everything wac_432 wrote, but I'll add my version on the housing topic for you as well... 
