Moving to Ventura county

[ScottyXbones]

My work is taking me to Ventura County, along the edge of LA county, somewhere near Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village. I'm not familiar with the area, are there any local calgunners who can give me advice?

What areas suck/don't suck to live in?
What are some good shooting ranges in the area for IDPA and 3 gun?
Good lgs's?
How's the process of obtaining a CCW? I'm a business owner, sometimes I handle cash
Hot spots for food and bars/social scenes

[baggss]

Welcome! Hope you like it as much as I do. Been here for 17 years so far....

Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Simi-Valley, Moorpark, Newberry Park, Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai: All nice places to live. The first 6 have the best schools in the county if you have kids, the last 3 have pretty good school districts as well, Ventura's district is particularly nice. None of them are perfect though, like everything else in life. If you are single or don't have kids, there are nice areas of Oxnard that you can live in cheaper than if you go up the hill (you'll get that term once you take US-101 into Ventura and back) to Newberry Park or beyond. Port Hueneme is ok, but I'd avoid living there if you can, unless you live along the beach or the harbor front. Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru, while nice small towns, don't have much to offer in the way of night-life or social activities. Piru is the poorest city in the county, with Fillmore a close second.

Shooting Ranges: Indoor - Island View in Ventura. Outdoor: Wes Thompson in Piru. Not sure about IDPA or 3 gun though. There's some BLM land way out past Ojai on CA 33, but it's a pain to get to, 4 wheel drive/hi-clearance needed.

Ventura County Sheriff will issue. Lawful self defense is a good enough reason. Pass the background check and the good morals clause and you're good to go. Whats good morals? Good question, but apparently I have them. Takes about 12 months (literally, mine too 11 months and 23 days) from your drop off appointment until license pickup. Be ready for a wait. Residency requirement is either 3 or 6 months, I can never remember.

Hot spots? Main St in Ventura is Nice, Ojai is pretty cool, Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village have a lot of good stuff as does Simi Valley. Oxnard and Port Hueneme are more geared towards the farm hand crowd but can be nice. Lots of beach access in Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and even down towards Malibu. The county has just shy of a million people and even where it bumps up against LA County and the Valley, it still has more of a rural feeling than it does urban. Lots of agriculture on the Oxnard plain and in the Heritage Valley. Santa Barbara is only half an hour to an hour north depending on where you and the Valley and LA are forty five min to an hour and a half south depending on where you live.

LGS's: There's a pretty complete list here: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=660475

[GM4spd]

I've been in Thousand Oaks for 21 years after moving from Maine. Ventura
Cty is a great place. The poster above has given a lot of good info. LA Avenue
in Simi Valley runs parallel to the 118 FWY and has four Gunshops if
you count Lock Stock and Barrel Investments ( where recently I won a
great S&W on Auction Arms where they do their selling). Welcome
Pete

[ScottyXbones]

Thank you for the detailed answers! I'm looking forward to the move. I'm a single guy in my 30's, so I'll need some element of nightlife haha

[GM4spd]

I'm a single guy in my 30's, so I'll need some element of nightlife haha

I'm an old guy in my 60s and I need some life to get thru the night! Pete

[DroneHater]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[baggss]

Your not that far from a lot. Remember California is Freeway accessible.
Glass Factory in Santa Barbara- Ojai Valley Gun Club (various events), Gopher Flats in San Fernando (USPSA), Oak Tree Gun Club in Santa Clarita(3 Gun), Didn't see Shooters Paradise in Oxnard get a nod above. There are bad spots in ever place- look around- and that first impression is usually right.

Yeah, I've never been fond of Shooter Paradise so I left them out. IVE generally gets better reviews from CalGunners, and they host the Ventura County chapters month shoots the last Friday of every month.

[liberty47]

Welcome!

Ventura county is one of the most desirable places to live in the country. We also pay a pretty penny for it too.

Westlake and Thousand Oaks are pretty quiet, not a ton of fancy night life, but I'm sure enough. That time in my life was many moons ago.

[machrono]

visit the new VC Defense store in T.O.

[scotty99]

IDPA is the second and fourth Saturday of every month, at the ISI range in Piru. PM me and I'll be glad to bring you up and introduce you around. I don't shoot 3-gun, but that match is monthly at the Deadwood Boys range, also in Piru.

As for nightlife, get used to driving to downtown Ventura or Santa Monica to really find anything.

The Conejo Valley is probably one of the finest places to live on the entire planet. Congrats and good luck to you.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[DDM4556]

visit the new VC Defense store in T.O.

2nd. And welcome.

[holt7153]

2nd. And welcome.

Recently did a PPT there--cool place.

[lurchnp81]

Check out Bogeys in Westlake. Can usually find some hot divocrcees looking for some young meat.

But all in all, TO/NP/WV are great places to live. Don't know how exciting it will be for a 30 something single guy. But there is stuff to do.

Boderline is a country western bar/club that is pretty popular. Sunset Terrace in the Janss Marketplace also popular. Hooters on Moorpark Rd for wings and beer. There are a few bars/clubs in Agoura that attract some pretty young ladies.

Check out the hiking trails in Wildwood....there has been some rain so the waterfall should be flowing.

Just moved my young family out of TO/NP area. Cost of living is just too high for trying to own a home on 1 income.

Gun Shops: Folks at VCDEFENSE are great. Also there is a little mom and pop shop in Westlake Village, Salvo Industries. Jack and Joan are wonderful friendly people. Prices are a little on the high side, but I never minded paying a little more for a small local business.

[lurchnp81]

Welcome! Hope you like it as much as I do. Been here for 17 years so far....

Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Simi-Valley, Moorpark, Newberry Park, Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai: All nice places to live. The first 6 have the best schools in the county if you have kids, the last 3 have pretty good school districts as well, Ventura's district is particularly nice. None of them are perfect though, like everything else in life. If you are single or don't have kids, there are nice areas of Oxnard that you can live in cheaper

Been here for 17 years and still dont know that it's Newbury Park....not Newberry?

[Write Winger]

Make sure you buy a house in Ventura County and not LA County lol