Originally Posted by Hubcapped

Yo yo, Ventura county dude. Camarillo Oxnard Ventura. I live up in Ventura. 20 minutes to c street(best break until rincon.) Channel Islands harbor has sailing co-ops, sailing schools, huge fishery, etc. lovely weather, 15 knots out of the west with 1-2 foot surf in the summer makes for great 20 foot racing. Sespe mountain range is right above ventura for oak chaparral backpacking, mountain biking, paragliding, etc. if you want to do an alpine trip, kings canyon, sequoia national park, and ansel Adam’s wilderness/Yosemite are about 5 hours away.

Work:
To lax- hour 20 most days most hours. You can use a couple of routes (pch) to beat the 405/101 bull****, it adds another 15. My worst drive is landing Friday night around 4, it takes me 2.5 hours to clear LA.
To ont- 2 hours…no real traffic
To sna- 2 hours, can be 3 hours if you hit traffic south of lax.

I love it. Tons of cool people from all over, a lot of things to do, and you can surf in the morning and play tennis in the afternoon everyday all year. People have such an odd conception about California, I don’t have anyone in my chilly telling me what to do, no one on my property, I just pay high income tax. I’ve lived in Texas and Utah, and I can not discern any real difference

Originally Posted by DrSmacFum

Yup Ventura is a gem in CA. Close to the beach and affordable (CA standards). If you're young and want a "nightlife" its not the best, but for everything else, its great.

Originally Posted by CX500T

We were out there for a dirtbike race in October and we seriously looked for a place we could afford on my Captain salary. Wife is a Realtor, so while there is income, it's hard to budget from, especially when we are moving to a place she's never lived.

To say the housing market was ugly for what we needed put it mildly.

1500 sqft, 3bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage or equivalent workshop/bike storage place. Non postage stamp sized yard but no need for huge. Large older German Shepherd who prefers to be outside and misses Wyoming and upstate NY.

Our other requirements:
Not the hood. I lived in Flint for longer than any place until I got out of the Navy. Been there, done that.
Can sit short call at home. Bag packed, ready to go, but legit at home.

Had a real hard time finding anything in anything resembling a reasonable price range/all in payment once property taxes are figured in.

I figure the difference in state taxes (CA higher income than VA, but not paying $5k a year in personal property tax on vehicles either) would be wiped out by the ease of living in base and the occasional premium trip I could pull without heroics if I did.

Originally Posted by fcoolaiddrinker

Prices are starting to correct a bit. There was no building for two years and now there’s construction everywhere it’s just not done yet. Point being prices should come down a bit further. Due to prop 13 if you ever do pull the trigger buy the biggest pos in the nicest neighborhood you can afford then fix it up.

Originally Posted by DaGreenBanana

Looking to move to the area and looking for recommendations of good neighborhoods (safe, great schools, recreation, etc.) to raise two young children. Open to anywhere from SD to LA, but want to be as close to the beach as possible. Would like to be near good parks and trails, and we also like to hike and ski for what it’s worth. Need a house with a fenced yard for dogs. Order of priorities for us are 1) safety, 2) community/schools, 3) cost, 4) recreation, 5) commute

Thanks.

Originally Posted by DaGreenBanana

Are wildfires or landslides an issue in Ventura County?

Originally Posted by Hubcapped

Yes but In 30-50 years. The average burn cycle of chaparral is about 50 years I think. The Thomas fire burned almost all of it a couple years ago.

The mudlside happened because montecito has an underlying layer of clay a couple feet down. The fire came through and cooked the clay. Couple days later a huge thunderstorm dumped a butt ton of water into one canyon. The water couldn’t get through the clay and just basically stayed topical. Landslide ensued.

fire: yes but it’s burned recently so many years
Mudslides: not really with some basic planning and SA

Originally Posted by DaGreenBanana

Are wildfires or landslides an issue in Ventura County?