Camarillo-A great place to live? (San Francisco, Oxnard: big house, safest area, cinema)

[Dean Trails]

Camarillo looks like the next stop for a family member. It looks like a pretty nice place. Any thoughts on the prospects of living there with the other Camarillions?

Do they have any good burger places?

Is the Meth and gang problems tolerable?

What do you do there for fun???

Can they drive their Big, Black Hummer there without fear of Ed Begley jr. pulling them over for over consumption?

By the way, they work at home in their jammies so commuting is not a problem.

Any nice thoughts would be appreciated!

Oh yeah, they like to golf also.

[Charles]

Lots of retired military people there.
No gangs or meth problems.
Perfect weather.
All sorts of eating places.
Golf all over the place.
Ventura County has all sorts of things to do: hiking, cycling, surfing, flying, swimming, backpacking, City-Data posting, eating, sports leagues, etc.
Camarillo is probably a little more suburban, family, soccer mom environment than a singles environment.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

What do you do there for fun???

You'll be left alone or find Camarillo acceptable on all points except the "fun" part. It's a sleepy bedroom city. Fun usually comes in the form of a trip out of town. Of course, if you find it "fun" the Outlet Center and Edwards Cinema might fit the bill... a couple of times. For me, having lunch at Panda Express and watching student pilots perform touch-and-gos at Camarillo Airport is kinda' fun. But not every day.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Let me add to Winston Smith's comments. For years Camarillo had nothing in the way of major shopping untill the addition of the Outlet center. By the way they are expanding the center with an additional 60 plus shopps I think which is a nice thought to have a bright spot in a down ecconomy. Although I prefer the location of other multi screen cinemas, the seating at the Edwards Cinema is very nice. They do have IMAX there as well. Sure is a far cry from the little 3 screen place in town. The only new car dealership in Camarillo is Steve Thomas BMW. I doubt that over consumtion is something that anyone would get pulled over for in Camarillo. many of the people that I know that live there at one time lived in Oxnard and when they got to the point that they figured they had made it in life, they moved to Camarillo. Golf is plentyfull although we could always use more courses.

I spent a lot of time in Camarillo and have a lot of friends in the city. From my point of view the city has a lot of people that are successfull or want to be successfull. Infact success is not something that is looked down on in Camarillo. It is something that is applauded and something to aspire toward. That being said the city does have a prevailing attitude that those that live there are a part of the club so to speak and all others are held at a lower level than the members of Club Camarillo. LOL.

In the past the city has had some cool concerts in the park in the summer months. They were held at Constitution Park at the corner of Carmen and Paseo Camarillo. Just bring a blanket or a lawn chair and enjoy. This is a sleepy little town. At the same time it isn't too far from other communities. The beaches in Oxnard, Ventura, Port Hueneme, and even Malibu are not too far a drive.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

From my point of view the city has a lot of people that are successfull or want to be successfull. Infact success is not something that is looked down on in Camarillo. It is something that is applauded and something to aspire toward. That being said the city does have a prevailing attitude that those that live there are a part of the club so to speak and all others are held at a lower level than the members of Club Camarillo.

Success is one thing. Conspicuous consumption is another. There are lots of ways to be successful, and if I had to choose a region of the country where the highest ethic of success is sustained it would be in the agricultural areas of the Midwest and Great Plains. But the people there do not make consumerism their religion nor money their god. While accomplishment is something to be admired, conspicuous consumption is a character flaw and should be recognized as such.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

Success is one thing. Conspicuous consumption is another. There are lots of ways to be successful, and if I had to choose a region of the country where the highest ethic of success is sustained it would be in the agricultural areas of the Midwest and Great Plains. But the people there do not make consumerism their religion nor money their god. While accomplishment is something to be admired, conspicuous consumption is a character flaw and should be recognized as such.

You are correct that success and consumption are two differant things. I don't see them as the same thing. When I see someone in a BMW, living on the hill, and sending their kids to private school all I see is what is being spent. That my friend is consumerism, consumption, and someone that is trying to look successfull. I know people in Camarillo that are extremly successfull and the lifestyle followed, meaning the consumer products came after the success. I also know others that wanted to look successful and they worked at paying off the stuff over time.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

You are correct that success and consumption are two differant things. I don't see them as the same thing. When I see someone in a BMW, living on the hill, and sending their kids to private school all I see is what is being spent. That my friend is consumerism, consumption, and someone that is trying to look successfull. I know people in Camarillo that are extremly successfull and the lifestyle followed, meaning the consumer products came after the success. I also know others that wanted to look successful and they worked at paying off the stuff over time.

Right you are, Soon2b. Had an old friend from L.A. visit a while back. We're both self employed. The best day to meet for each of our schedules was on a Tuesday. Spent the whole afternoon hangin' around, went to the C.I. Harbor had lunch, walked on the beach, hit some shops for a while for no particular reason. Spent the rest of the time in conversation, watching the day turn to dusk as Topa Topa went from blue to orange to black. Next day my friend called and said, "you know, that's my definition of success -- having the luxury of time to visit an old friend on an afternoon mid-week." It's all about what's important to us, right? If a Beamer and a big house on Skyline in Camarillo is important and (for some) defines success, well ok! Not my idea of success.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

Camarillo looks like the next stop for a family member. It looks like a pretty nice place. Any thoughts on the prospects of living there with the other Camarillions?

1. Do they have any good burger places?
2. Is the Meth and gang problems tolerable?
3. What do you do there for fun???
4. Can they drive their Big, Black Hummer there without fear of Ed Begley jr. pulling them over for over consumption?

Any nice thoughts would be appreciated!

5. Oh yeah, they like to golf also.

Camarillo is a great place to live! Probably one of the most moderate (not too hot/cold) climate on the planet. Tons to do if you're willing to drive to those locations. 15 minute drive is world class scenery (PCH drive, seen in many commercials), hiking, mountain biking. Road cycling all year long. Plant tropical plants in Camarillo (bananna trees, guavas, etc). Hard to address what to do unless I know what you're interested in (skiing, for example, would require some driving time). As for specific questions,

1. In-n-Out Hamburger and "The Habit". I actually prefer Habit over INO myself!
2. Camarillo is relatively one of the safest areas in Souther California. Of course, just like anywhere else, there are "good" parts and "relatively worse" parts of town. There is _a bit_ of activity, but it's OK for right now.
3. Personally, I ride either dirt or street motorcycles, RC Planes (used to anyways), travel throughout this incredibly scenic state, and mountain bike (used to do more of that).
4. No problem. We're far from San Francisco!
5. Two golf courses come to mind, Camarillo Springs (municipal) and private Spanish Hills country club. Many others within driving distance. A boss I used to have explicitly lived here for the golfing!

Yeah, there isn't a lot of stuff to do _IN_ Camarillo (bedroom community), but there's a LOT to do for a just a bit of driving. For any driving adult, this should be no problem. For a pre-driving teenager, this is a problem. No matter where you live in Ventura County, it's 99% certain you're driving to your "fun" destination no matter where you live here anyways, unless you live near the beach (as in Ventura or Oxnard shores).

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Winston Smith: Great idea on what success is realy about. Being able to control your time. Now that is what it is all about. Many of those people with the hillside homes or homes at the beach are giving up theire freedom to pay for those things. They look the part but really aren't successfull. Many make six figures, many more work 60 plus hours a week to bring those kind of numbers in. Then to top it off they spend all of it on the right car, right house, right school for the kids, and are hardly around to enjoy any of it.

jkbatca: I also prefer the Habit. My favorite location is on California Street in Ventura 2 doors down from the Bombay Bar and Grill, although I have also visited the Camarillo location, the Oxnard location and the one on Telephone Road near Mervynns in Ventura.

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by jkbatca

Camarillo is a great place to live! Probably one of the most moderate (not too hot/cold) climate on the planet. Tons to do if you're willing to drive to those locations. 15 minute drive is world class scenery (PCH drive, seen in many commercials), hiking, mountain biking. Road cycling all year long. Plant tropical plants in Camarillo (bananna trees, guavas, etc). Hard to address what to do unless I know what you're interested in (skiing, for example, would require some driving time). As for specific questions,

1. In-n-Out Hamburger and "The Habit". I actually prefer Habit over INO myself!
2. Camarillo is relatively one of the safest areas in Souther California. Of course, just like anywhere else, there are "good" parts and "relatively worse" parts of town. There is _a bit_ of activity, but it's OK for right now.
3. Personally, I ride either dirt or street motorcycles, RC Planes (used to anyways), travel throughout this incredibly scenic state, and mountain bike (used to do more of that).
4. No problem. We're far from San Francisco!
5. Two golf courses come to mind, Camarillo Springs (municipal) and private Spanish Hills country club. Many others within driving distance. A boss I used to have explicitly lived here for the golfing!

Yeah, there isn't a lot of stuff to do _IN_ Camarillo (bedroom community), but there's a LOT to do for a just a bit of driving. For any driving adult, this should be no problem. For a pre-driving teenager, this is a problem. No matter where you live in Ventura County, it's 99% certain you're driving to your "fun" destination no matter where you live here anyways, unless you live near the beach (as in Ventura or Oxnard shores).

Thanks for all the great info! It does sound like a great place that doesn't seem to get as much exposure as the other coastal towns.
Nice to know about the banana trees! My niece would love to live in a tropical garden.