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Video, Maps and Guide- Cities of Ventura County
Ventura County is such an amazing place that 80% of residents choose to stay here when they sell and buy their next home.
Video On Cities of Ventura County
Ventura County is such an amazing place that 80% of residents choose to stay here when they sell and buy their next home.
Video on Cities in Ventura County.
You'll find a variety of lifestyles in Ventura County cities including:
- Historic downtowns with nearby shopping and restaurants.
- Slower paced coastal and agricultural areas.
- Suburban neighborhoods and newer high-end custom homes
- Breathtaking coastline, mountains, agriculture and open spaces.
Coastal Cities- Oxnard, Ventura, Port Hueneme
Map of Coastal Cities: Oxnard, Ventura and Port Hueneme
Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura boast cooler, coastal weather and stunning beaches with seaside festivals and concerts. These areas are so much cooler in the Summer. For example, it could be around 72 on the coast and at the same time 90 degrees up as you move into the mountain areas like Ojai or Thousand Oaks.
An introductory, detached home in Ventura is around $750,000. Oxnard is around $100,000 less for a comparable home and Port Hueneme is even about $25,000 less than Oxnard.
Ventura
Map of City of Ventura
Ventura is known for its smaller beach town vibe (population just over 100,000). It also has one of the best small city downtowns in the country.
We love going to Surfers' Point with the boardwalk, Pier, restaurants, breweries and also watch the amazing kiteboarders and surfers. And there's so much more including:
- An arts district, historic downtown and a thriving outdoor pedestrian mall with independent shops, restaurants and hangouts.
- A mix of neighborhoods and a variety of architecture with Spanish style homes from the 1900's, new construction condos, 50's-2000's suburban style tract homes and custom hillside houses with panoramic mountain and ocean views.
- Easy highway access to LA, Santa Barbara, Ojai, Santa Clarita and Santa Paula with an Amtrak stop to cities north and south.
- Great hiking as well over at Harmon Canyon Preserve, Arroyo Verde Park and the Botanical Gardens.
Oxnard
Map of City of Oxnard
Oxnard with a population just over 200,000, is a tale of three cities.
A) The South West, slower paced coastal side dazzles you with 11 miles of gorgeous beaches. We love going for long walks here with our dogs and also swimming and paddle boarding at the Channel Islands Harbor. There are distinct neighborhoods with beach condos, townhomes as well as canal condos on the Channel Islands Harbor.
B) The eastern side is -on the go- including a busy and historic downtown with over 300 merchants, shops, restaurants bars and an Amtrak stop. There are beautiful homes surrounding the downtown with established trees. There are also large sections of suburban neighborhoods on the east side.
C) The north side, provides a totally different feel as well with new construction and planned communities including River Park and Wagon Wheel.
There is easy access here to Highway 101 and destination Collections Shopping Center, including a Whole Foods, Target and many brand name, chain stores.
Port Hueneme
Port Hueneme is like the cul-de-sac of Ventura County. It's located on the southern end of Oxnard (red dot on Oxnard map). Its so far removed from the highways that it's really quiet and slower paced. And that's what a lot of people who live there love about it along with their gorgeous beach park!
Port Hueneme is by far the smallest of these three cities. It's only five miles wide. The upside is that you are always close to the ocean. The naval base and international port provide a solid economic base.
There is less shopping here, but it is an easy drive over to Oxnard for more options.
Central Ventura County
Camarillo, Moorpark and Santa Paula are situated in lovely agricultural areas with mountain views in the distance. You're still only around a 20 to 30 minutes to the ocean and gorgeous beaches near Port Hueneme and Oxnard. You are also going to be closer to the cities in Eastern Ventura County as well as Los Angeles.
Camarillo
Camarillo has a slower paced, small town feel even though the population is around 70,000.
There’s so much to love about living in Camarillo:
- Fantastic views of surrounding mountains and agriculture.
- Highly rated schools district.
- Easy access to classic California beaches at Point Mugu State Park, Port Hueneme, Oxnard and Ventura.
- Since it’s right off of Highway 101, it’s convenient for commuting and trips to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles (in non rush hour).
- An historic and quaint downtown with shops and restaurants.
Also, Camarillo's Premium Outlet Mall is a destination shopping area for all of Ventura County.
Moorpark
Moorpark (population about 35,000), has breathtaking views of the hillside, agriculture and distant mountains.
Moorpark has a highly rated Community College known for its theatre program as well as training students to become zookeepers.
There is a mix in housing with suburban communities and a section with much larger lots, more agriculture and a historic downtown with older homes.
Moorpark has more affordable real estate as well than nearby Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and WestLake Village.
Santa Paula
Santa Paula is known as the citrus capital of the world and it gets hot there in the summer. But you're still only about a 20-minute drive to the beaches in nearby Ventura where it will be much cooler.
The charming, historic downtown includes many shops, restaurants and hangouts. The old clocktower gleams in the sunlight. There are gorgeous mountain views and hiking trails including one to a water fall.
In the older neighborhoods, there are often large established trees providing cooling and a break from the sun. "The Harvest" is a large planned and well thought out, new construction community on the east side of the city.
For Fun-
- In October make sure to visit their historic ghost walk. They also have an inn where you can go and have dinner and a paranormal experience. There is even a book written about all the ghost stories in Santa Paula.
- Anna’s Cider is located right in the heart of the downtown with an outdoor patio, organic cider, trivia night, live music and sometimes food trucks.
Eastern Ventura County
Video on 5 Best Cities in Ventura County as Picked by Niche.com
Now we're going to head east over the mountainous Conejo Grade to Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks, with beautiful mountains, forests and established trees. They're also busier, have more traffic and closer to LA.
Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks stands out with its beautiful oak tress and collection of older homes and neighborhoods most of which do not have an HOA.
Thousand Oaks is known for its highly rated school district and is a destination for its outdoor shopping mall and Performing Arts Center.
This picturesque city extends to gorgeous Newbury Park which nestles against the Santa Monica National Mountains. You'll find excellent biking, hiking and horse back riding (including stables) And you are still only about a 25 minute drive to Malibu and adjoining beaches.
Westlake Village
We refer to Westlake Village as the Swiss Alps of Southern California because you have these beautiful mountains and lakes and really high end custom homes.
Westake Village is some of the most expensive real estate in Ventura County. There's celebrities living here, a highly rated school district and high end restaurants and shops.
Because you are closer to Los Angeles, there's also more traffic and hustle and bustle. It really is the fastest paced city in Ventura County.
Video: Westlake Village, Would You Live Here?
Small Town Cities
These smallest cities and one community have a small town feel and are scattered from western to eastern Ventura County. They have amazing mountain and agricultural views, as well as an historic downtown with shops and restaurants.
Ojai
Ojai nestles in the mountains of Western Ventura County, sometimes glowing with pink sunrises and sunsets. This small city of about 8,000 is long known as a haven for artistic and mystical types. We really enjoy going over to Ojai for the fantastic restaurants, parks and charming downtown.
If you enjoy your veggies, you'll relish (no pun intended) their wonderful farmers twice a week with lots of organic vegetables, citrus, berries, honey, mushrooms, meats, herbs and lots more.
Ojai is only a 20-minute drive to Ventura. However, it is a lot hotter in the Summer. It could be in the 70's down at the beach and up around 90 in Ojai.
Many of the homes have thick wall adobe construction, which makes them cooler even on hotter days. Housing varies anywhere from smaller ranch style and two story homes all the way up to multi million dollar acreage property.
Fillmore
Fillmore's downtown is so reminiscent of the town in the movie Back To The Future, that groups will meet there to reenact famous scenes from that movie.
It really is enjoyable to stroll the streets of this low key, small city of around 16,000 which has been dubbed the last, best, small city in California. Movies and commercials are filmed here because it's so photogenic and historic.
Fillmore is really hot with temperatures in the Summer often being around 100 degrees. Although in the older sections there are lots of older and established trees providing welcomed shade.
The older neighborhoods are amongst the most affordable in Ventura County with introductory home prices around $550,000.
Lots of new construction, planned and gated communities are happening here with townhomes and large semi-custom homes.
Oak View
Oakview is a small community nestled in between Ojai and Ventura
There is not really a downtown area here, but there are some local shops, businesses and restaurants along Highway 33.
The amazing thing about Oakview is its access to the ocean and surrounding mountains. You're only about 15 minutes to the beach and 10 minutes to Ojai. So you could easily go surfing in the morning and hiking in the afternoon.
Oakview is spectacularly beautiful and also has more affordable real estate than Ojai.
Somis
Somis (an unincorporated community), is so lovely, and rural with panoramic views of agriculture and mountains. You'll find a long stretch of landscaping stores with the endless rows of gorgeous plants. Even if you are not buying plants, these stores are a wonderful place to -zen out- on all the beauty.
In Somis you would never hear somebody say, "well, if you need to borrow a roll of toilet paper from your neighbor, you can just stick your arm out the window and they can pass it over.:"
In other words, Somis is spread out! There is so much land and agriculture. You'll find a diversity of homes including:
- The highest amount of undeveloped land for a new home build.
- Small detached homes on larger lots.
- A large gated community with custom homes on 40 acres of land that is very equestrian friendly.
Oak Park
Oak Park is the independent free spirit of the Conejo Valley with a population around 14,000. It is the smallest unincorporated community in all of Ventura County (a little over 5 miles wide). The residents have repeatedly voted not to become its own independent city or annexed into Thousand Oaks.
There is not really much going on in Oak Park as far as nightlife or shopping. Many residents will travel to nearby Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village for those activities.
Oak Park is known for its gorgeous trees, trails, mountains, excellent school district and also an abundance of rattle snakes.
It is also really hot here in the Summer with temperatures often ranging from the 90's to 100 degrees.
So for example on a day where its around 72 degrees in Ventura, then as you travel over to Camarillo it's going to be more in the 80 degree range. And then as you get up to Thousand Oaks it's going to be into the 90s and Oak Park is going to be the hottest probably up around 95.
We hope you found this helpful! What do you think about these communities? Which is the best city for you? We'd also love to hear about any other topics you would like us to cover. Please comment below. Thanks:), Keziah and Bart