Looking for quiet place in Ventura (Santa Rosa, Thousand Oaks: low crime, big house, employment)

[DarrylA22]

Looking to relocated to Ventura from the mid-west (can't stand the weather) and trying to find a quiet neighborhood especially for illegal fireworks. (they go on endlessly all summer long here) Is Santa Rosa Valley a good choice?

Thanks
Darryl

[skygazer1]

Originally Posted by DarrylA22

Looking to relocated to Ventura from the mid-west (can't stand the weather) and trying to find a quiet neighborhood especially for illegal fireworks. (they go on endlessly all summer long here) Is Santa Rosa Valley a good choice?

Thanks
Darryl

Why Ventura? Can you provide some more characteristics you are looking for in a place (besides illegal fireworks, LOL) ? One thing to keep in mind, "illegal fireworks" in a super dry area like California, could start the next monster wildfire, and land you in the slammer

[DarrylA22]

Hi skygazer

I had a friend who lived in TO and visited him a few times over the years and really liked the area. I'm retiring so I'm not concerned with employment opportunities, just looking for a quiet area with friendly people and low crime. I'm not really familiar with that many other areas. I also have a friends in Pacific Grove and Arroyo Grande areas but I've never been there so don't know much about them.

I know about the terrible wildfire dangers in the area but from reading the Ventura County Sheriff call log it seems many selfish people don't care. I would think a less populated area like SRV would perhaps have less of an issue, and I think the area is equestrian which I would also expect to have a problem with random explosions, or maybe I'm wrong on this?

[skygazer1]

Originally Posted by DarrylA22

Hi skygazer

I had a friend who lived in TO and visited him a few times over the years and really liked the area. I'm retiring so I'm not concerned with employment opportunities, just looking for a quiet area with friendly people and low crime. I'm not really familiar with that many other areas. I also have a friends in Pacific Grove and Arroyo Grande areas but I've never been there so don't know much about them.

I know about the terrible wildfire dangers in the area but from reading the Ventura County Sheriff call log it seems many selfish people don't care. I would think a less populated area like SRV would perhaps have less of an issue, and I think the area is equestrian which I would also expect to have a problem with random explosions, or maybe I'm wrong on this?

Camarillo and TO are nice quiet towns without too much issues with crime. But, I am not that familiar with the more remote parts of Ventura County. What caught my eye with your post was random setting off fireworks, which is a really bad idea in most parts of CA due to the drought and extreme fire risk. I know there is up to $50,000 fine and a year in jail for violations of the strict fireworks codes! Not to mention you might feel some guilt with burning down your neighborhood

[wac_432]

I read it as he is trying to get AWAY from illegal fireworks.

Originally Posted by DarrylA22

Looking to relocated to Ventura from the mid-west (can't stand the weather) and trying to find a quiet neighborhood especially for illegal fireworks. (they go on endlessly all summer long here) Is Santa Rosa Valley a good choice?

Thanks
Darryl

Need more info.

What's your budget and wishlist? Near the ocean? Temperate weather? Warm? Cool? Rich neighbors? No neighbors? Big house? Small house?

Ojai is quiet. TO is fairly quiet. There are remote parts of the county where it is very quiet. It gets very hot anywhere but directly on the coast during the summer. It is a dry heat though, and winters are nice an temperate most places. However, you can get snow if you go high enough in the mountains.

[DarrylA22]

Hi wac_432
Exactly correct. I'm looking for a nice, quiet, friendly area with good weather.

As for the ideal location;

Close to the ocean is not important and mostly not desired. (cost goes up, overcast sky goes up)

Temperate weather, Definitely!
Warm but not hot. Not many days in the 90's or at least upper 90's. Would take more on the colder side to keep the heat down. Grew up in Michigan so sub 0F is not uncommon and anything above freezing feels warm

For neighbors, friendly and considerate. Income level not as important as no snobs or slobs.

House size, 2000-3500sqft single level preferred with a little elbow room so maybe 1/2 acre or more. From what I've researched, probably in the $1-$2M.

Ojai looks very interesting. I think it does get a little hotter in summer than TO or Camarillo or SRV so not sure how I would do with that. One big reason for looking to retire elsewhere is the horrible humidity here. Many days are in the 80-90's with dew points in the 60-70's. Yech!

Appreciate any suggestions you have.
Darryl

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by DarrylA22

Hi wac_432
Exactly correct. I'm looking for a nice, quiet, friendly area with good weather.

As for the ideal location;

Close to the ocean is not important and mostly not desired. (cost goes up, overcast sky goes up)

Temperate weather, Definitely!
Warm but not hot. Not many days in the 90's or at least upper 90's. Would take more on the colder side to keep the heat down. Grew up in Michigan so sub 0F is not uncommon and anything above freezing feels warm

For neighbors, friendly and considerate. Income level not as important as no snobs or slobs.

House size, 2000-3500sqft single level preferred with a little elbow room so maybe 1/2 acre or more. From what I've researched, probably in the $1-$2M.

Ojai looks very interesting. I think it does get a little hotter in summer than TO or Camarillo or SRV so not sure how I would do with that. One big reason for looking to retire elsewhere is the horrible humidity here. Many days are in the 80-90's with dew points in the 60-70's. Yech!

Appreciate any suggestions you have.
Darryl

Thousand Oaks or anywhere up the Conejo Grade gets into the 100's regularly during the summer. Almost nowhere within 1000 feet of sea level gets below 40 degrees F at any time.

Santa Paula, Filmore, more inland parts of Camarillo seem like they would fit the bill for you. Oak view, Casitas, and towns in the canyon leading to Ojai, but closer to the coast might work too.

Most everywhere is friendly. Settled areas are denser than most of the Midwest (where I grew up), so you will end up bumping into more people in towns and just being out and about, but most people have a sunny happy attitude, drivers excepted.

All the heat is nearly always a dry heat, which makes a huge difference. Rather than sweating buckets, like you would on an 83-degree day in the midwest, you'll be like "oh, it's warm" at 105 degrees, and the biggest hassle is not burning yourself on a seat belt buckle that's been in the sun.

Anywhere dry and spread out will have less fireworks, except Filmore--I think. Beach towns are generally nosier and busier with out-of-towners during the summer months. There are a LOT LESS fireworks going off here than in the midwest. I flew into and out of your area around the last 4th of July, and--yeah--from the plane I could see it was a constant barrage of explosions over every city and town. Even our party towns really don't see much illegal fireworks outside of a couple of days around the 4th. I took my kids to the top of the hill to look over the town on the night of Saturday the 2nd, and we only saw a couple.

Your budget sounds pretty high, so you should be all set. My place is on a half-acre and is walking distance to the beach. Outside the current bubble, it's not worth a million. The only wrinkle might be finding a place that big. Most of the areas that are more inland were built up as blue-collar farm towns, so the houses are in the sub-2000 sqft range. Further, the great weather encourages people to go out and enjoy the outdoors, public spaces, beaches, trails, and town centers, so 3000+sqft places are really rare. Home theaters, man caves with wet bar, and extra rooms like those are not very popular, since most people would prefer to go to a real theater, bar, or social gathering place outside the home.

One thing to note is that it is VERY dry in all of Ventura County. It always has been and it probably always will be. If you want grass or greenery (except for maybe 3 spring months out of the year) you might want to consider central coast counties further north. They are cooler and have more rain.

CA is a great place to retire (or do anything) if you have money. You won't need to snowbird, the progressive tax structure is favorable for seniors with lower incomes, and lots of wealthy older people have moved in recently, so you'll find a lot of like-minded individuals. Whatever you're into--from yoga to the shooting range--nobody's going to bat an eye at a senior doing it. Health care is good with lots of high-quality doctors wanting to live here. The constitutionally-fixed limit on property tax increases is also great. Finally, a recent proposition (that I disagree with, but hey that's our true democracy for you) made it possible for anyone over 55 to move anywhere in the state and keep their tax rate. So if you buy a house at $1M and then move, five years later, to a place that's $1.5M, you keep paying the same property tax. This is a better deal the longer you have lived in a place, obviously.

[DarrylA22]

Thanks for all the great info wac. I think the next step is to find some time to go start checking the areas out. I know right now everything is at a premium and will probably come down, but it will be good to know where to specifically look.

[smpliving]

You can’t go wrong with Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park. I grew up in Thousand Oaks and later lived in Ventura and Newbury Park but moved to the Midwest in 1994. My brother stayed in California and lives in Camarillo. While Camarillo is a bit cooler he would like to move back to TO or Newbury Park. It’s just a nicer, cleaner, well thought-out community from the very beginning … 1964 when the city was incorporated with a master plan development.

Santa Rosa Valley is beautiful (I remember when it was all orange/lemon groves and the main road was two rough lanes). That community is hard to beat if you want more of a “country” feel. I personally just like TO/NP and having everything you need right there.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by DarrylA22

Looking to relocated to Ventura from the mid-west (can't stand the weather) and trying to find a quiet neighborhood especially for illegal fireworks. (they go on endlessly all summer long here) Is Santa Rosa Valley a good choice?

Thanks
Darryl

Quiet area in Ventura County, try Somis. Small, rural, out of the way.