the ocean is expensive - 10/3/2007

It is very expensive to live in a beach community in CA. I often think we pay a great deal for the weather we have. It is lovely and sunny very often. Weather is rarely a factor when planning an event or an outing. Yet housing costs are so inflated that it is difficult for folks unless there are two incomes or one income over $100K ...

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Venice - 3/17/2007

Cool place with lots of weird eclectic people

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A nice place to live, but way too expensive. - 10/5/2006

I've lived my whole life here (22 years) and Ventura is a great place to live if you can afford it. I feel my money could go to better things than the outrageous rent here. If you love the beach this is a great place, though it is a bit polluted. Personally I don't care for the beach or sun, and prefer the rain so I'm planning to move to Washington or somewhere similar. Ventura is close to Santa Barbara if you're into wine. Except a DECENT house to run you over $600,000. Not cheap. The weather is always good, it's rarely particularly hot or cold. We have no seasons really so don't come here expecting variety, it always looks the same. We have a nice mall, though traffic is a bit much around there, nothing compared to Hollywood though. If most of the above things interest you, you'll love Ventura.

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Too Expensive - 9/15/2006

I have to get out of here. I was born and raised in Ventura; a perfect place to live when weather and crime in concerned. I am 28 years old, wife and kid. My wife and I make good money, but the idea of buying a home in Ventura is laughable. Who wants to pay $400,000 for an old condo that needs work? The median house price is $611,500. Even if you can afford it, would you want to pay that obscene amount of money? Ridiculous. If you put $100,000 down on a median priced house, your mortgage payment is still going to be around $3,200/mo. I'll take a little less desirable weather for a lot more desirable place to call home. Ventura is not a city for families starting out, unless you want to rent a 3 bedroom house for $2,000 a month, then watch your rent increase year after year.

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Nice Compromise between LA & Santa Barbara - 7/13/2006

Ventura is a pretty nice place to live if you don't want to be in a metropolis but still want to access one easily. I first lived in Santa Barbara when I moved out west, but after 6 months I couldn't take it anymore and moved 30 miles south to Ventura. I ended up leaving for other reasons, but it's definitely worth considering you want to be in southern California. It's sunny and beautiful 90% of the time, though it does not get quite as warm as Santa Barbara and LA do during the summer. It's more temperate, which some people love. (I'm personally a fan of heat and humidity, but to each his own.) The area is gorgeous--there are beaches, mountains, and orange orchards in abundance. It's also more affordable than Santa Barbara with tons of shopping, and it's only 55 miles to Los Angeles.

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Beautiful, but expensive - 6/17/2006

Ventura is a lovely place, nice for kids, but has become very expensive like everywhere else in California.

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City is not what it use to be...so sad - 5/16/2006

As a native Venturan I have seen many changes over the past 50 years. Most recently our city leaders (who are all from out of this area) have decided to exploit this seaside town. Commercialism every where. What was once a great quaint place to live or visit, has now become a developers dream come true. These developers care nothing about the charm and ambience and historical value Ventura once had. Good bye to all the cute boutique and antique stores that made downtown Ventura a special place. The congestion from driving through town is miserable. Highway 101 is always crowded. I am posting this comment here because I am in the process of looking for a "Ventura" that is not spoiled by money hungry investment/development groups. by money hungry developers who

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Ventura, CA - 5/9/2006

Ventura is a great coastal town; 1 hour north of LA; 35 minutes south of Santa Barbara. It's small town, about 100,000 people in the community. Great schools. It's the county seat. Not enough parks for hiking/recreation is my biggest complaint.

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