Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Saying that many are younger and many of those younger people buy homes. How do you figure that they can afford to buy a home on $55,000 a year?
I didn't say anything about the number of young people that purchase homes, instead I said that your suggestion that Oxnard has a lot of retirees is blatantly false.
The fact that families making $55k a year can't easily purchase a home in Oxnard is a good indication that homes in Oxnard are inflated..... Homes sales have been pretty anemic since the housing bubble collapsed so in reality not too many young families have bought homes over the last few years, instead they've moved out of the area or just rent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
Is it possible to make the payments on a $300,000 home with an income of $55,000?
No, but why would that be significant? $300,000 is just an arbitrary number. The median household income is $55k, that doesn't mean nobody makes more than that.
Yes I'm sure we could find stuff in common, like me may both like oranges. But, in general, we aren't going to find important things in common......and its not really like I need to pontificate about this matter. I have, after all, experienced thousands of working-class folks throughout my life.
Caucasians and Hispanics aren't exclusive categories, many of the ~95k Caucasians are Hispanic. And no, I wouldn't call a city that where the vast majority is white and Hispanic diverse. But as I said, it depends also what you are comparing it to...
Firstly, I didn't mention the average income for Oxnard rather I mentioned the median income. The median tells you more about the distribution than the average does. Secondly the data is from the US census, but I cited the wrong year. Its now around 55k. If you look at education it paints the same picture though, only 15% of Oxnard residents have bachelors or greater and 40% don't even have high school education.
In terms of whole foods, etc...these aren't built yet and they aren't exactly stores for the wealthy. The developments you are mentioning aren't going to impress moneyed individuals, they will just find them crass. Furthermore, as I said before these stores will pull demand from the entire Oxnard plain...in some cases (e.g., dealerships) the demand is pulled from a even wider area.
It's true, some of the Caucasians can be half Caucasian and Half Hispanic. But I believe this Census pushed people to label themselves Hispanic if they were half.
15% with a bachelor's degree is not bad for a city's ratio.
Many working class people can be great people and could have alot of common with you. I was born in the original kind-of-run down St. John's hospital and now I am going to one of the top public colleges in California and I'm from Oxnard!
Great things can come out of Oxnard and are in Oxnard.
I don't know how you can call Whole Foods not for rich people because it's a high end organic market. It's an upper middle class thing. Oxnard does have a large working class population, but there are some really nice areas like Oxnard Shores and some of the newer areas.
REI, Whole Foods, a propsed Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs Bistro, and some stores like Pottery Barn and Chico's typically cator to middle and upper middle class.
Thousand Oaks from what I've seen is mostly just upper middle class too. It has Nordstrom's, but the other stores in the mall will probably be on par with The Collection.
Supposely by next year the new mall will be complete and if the mall was going to go bankrupt the new Target would not have gone in and Whole Foods would have removed Oxnard from their proposed store list. There are lot of proposed Whole Foods markets out there by the way including one in Malibu planned, but on hold til money is ready for building.
You have to look at Oxnard different from Simi and TO.
Simi and TO are at 125,000 pop. so prob 100K of the residents are middle and upper middle class.
Where Oxnard is twice the size, so 100K can be middle and upper middle class, where the other 100k compromise the working, lower, and upper class.
Oxnard is more desirable than Ventura, Simi, and Thousand Oaks in that it is the affordable beach city as Venture is the pricey beach city. Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and Simi Valley are more planned out and have more newer developments and are more Conservative than the 3 beach communities. Plus you get some commuters to LA from Camarillo downward.
I for one don't like Los Angeles, and would not want to live too close. And Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village and Moorpark are too close for me.
So my point is that there are things to like and dislike about every community, but this thread was meant to bring the positives. I'm sorry you felt the urge to bring in the negatives. I'm glad everyone here is also being respectful and not creating a thread stating "What is there not to like about the Conejo Valley"
It's true, some of the Caucasians can be half Caucasian and Half Hispanic. But I believe this Census pushed people to label themselves Hispanic if they were half.
Umm...no, that isn't the issue, instead as I said Hispanic and white aren't exclusive categories. Hispanic isn't a race, Hispanics can be white, black, etc and the census recognizes that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city
15% with a bachelor's degree is not bad for a city's ratio.
Not bad? Sure...its terrible. 30% of Californians have a bachelors or greater so Oxnard does significantly worse than the state as a whole.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city
Many working class people can be great people and could have alot of common with you.
I'm sure they can be great people, just great people I don't have anything in common with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city
I don't know how you can call Whole Foods not for rich people because it's a high end organic market. It's an upper middle class thing.....REI, Whole Foods, a propsed Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs Bistro, and some stores like Pottery Barn and Chico's typically cator to middle and upper middle class.
How? Its pretty simple, because its not. Whole foods isn't really targeting a particularly socioeconomic cohort, instead they are targeting a particular subculture. Though most of the people that shop their are middle-class, their prices tend to be a bit too high for working-class folks. Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs? You think that is fine dining? Those are high end junk food and well within the reach for all but the poor.
You seem to have some really funny ideas about wealthier folks....
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city
You have to look at Oxnard different from Simi and TO.
Simi and TO are at 125,000 pop. so prob 100K of the residents are middle and upper middle class.
Where Oxnard is twice the size, so 100K can be middle and upper middle class, where the other 100k compromise the working, lower, and upper class.
You can look at Oxnard just like Simi or TO, but in all cases it makes no sense to think of them as isolated cities.
Oxnard is not Thousand Oaks with just more working-class folks, for example there are only around 30k people with bachelors or greater in Oxnard where as there are around 60k people with bachelors or greater in Thousand oaks. Oxnard does have middle-class and upper-middle class members, but they make up a relatively small share of the city since even if they happen to work in Oxnard they are likely to live in surrounding communities.
Also, just to note, in terms of socioeconomic issues Simi Valley is far more like Oxnard than Thousand Oaks. The big difference between Simi and Oxnard is that Simi Valley is mostly white where as Oxnard is mostly Hispanic, both are primarily working-class though (Simi does have a larger middle-class though).
Quote:
Originally Posted by the city
Oxnard is more desirable than Ventura, Simi, and Thousand Oaks in that it is the affordable beach city as Venture is the pricey beach city.
Umm...yeah everyone is paying to more to live in the less desirable locations...that sure makes sense.
15.1% of 200,000 population is 30,200.
29.7% of 125,000 population is 61,125.
Simi Valley would be close to 37,000.
So yeah Thousand Oaks does have more people with a bachelor's degree.
Oxnard still has alot of White people. Even though some of the 95,000 ppl might be Hispanics.
And I now see the problem of where this thread is going....
Thousand Oaks medium income is $98,652 and Simi Valley is at $87,674 and Camarillo at $82,268 and Ventura at $64,831 and Moorpark at $98,083 and Oxnard at $56,618.
And the most surprising of them all.....Westlake Village AT.........$117,418!!!
So for my conclusion, this thread is about rich vs. not rich. The rich guy doesn't like the non-rich city and the not-so-rich people don't like the rich city.
But to say you don't have much in common with a not-rich person is prejudice. No matter how you look at it. It's almost communist.
No, but why would that be significant? $300,000 is just an arbitrary number. The median household income is $55k, that doesn't mean nobody makes more than that.
Homes around me sell in the $300,000 range. When they do sell many of those that are buying are younger families that have jobs. Just over a year ago my wife and I bought our home and I can tell you that each of us make more than the $55,000 mark on our own. Homes just North west of me start in the $450,000 range. In fact our area is considered a neighborhood that has homes in the $450,000 range as the medium. Just a little further from us are homes selling in the $500,000+ range.
Sure not all of Oxnard is like the North Side. Still some of Oxnard is and I can tell you that those people are making more than $55,000 per household. Still as I said earlier we also have a lot of retired people that live in the area as well. And I am thinking that many of them don't make $55,000 a year and infact many of them are living off investments, pensions, and other income sources.
I am Caucasian, live in Oxnard, have almost 2 Masters Degrees, am a published writer, and am poor as a churchmouse. I speak no Spanish, but when my mom died recently, I learned that one's language, one's education level are meaningless when you fall into the arms of Mexican people who speak little English but hold you while you cry--then insist on taking care of you through the holidays. I met one of the younger generation of one family who is on his way to grad school at UCSB. He is the first in the family to have gone to college. I could go on--but clearly the nothing-in-common issue can end up being a false issue entirely. I am now studying Spanish, and am finding more and more ways in which I am more like my Mexican friends than unlike them.
I am not a fan of chain stores, big box stores, etc, and gravitate toward independent places. I like that downtown Oxnard is developing into a really cool place to hang out in, with more unique businesses springing up. I also love the weather, the proximity to farms and beaches, and quite frankly, the fact that Oxnard is a hop-skip-jump to a variety of other cities. I have to laugh at the notion that Ventura is a separate city--it seems to be merely an extension of Oxnard. It takes me just 10 minutes to get to the Pacific View Mall. Back in NY City, where I'm from, it could take a solid hour to drive half that far.
Anyhow, I am eternally grateful to live here, and find no big stress in being highly educated, well read, and therefore, in some people's views, a sort of socioeconomic oddity. And oh--the gardening!!!! Which reminds me...
If the city powers-that-be want to really breathe new life into Oxnard, they should look to planting voluptuous gardens in many of the parks, to make them enticing for more than sports. I miss Manhattan's Central Park--it is truly a masterpiece--and know that Oxnard has no such potential park space, but I think much could be done in that area.
Meantime, my back yard is drop-dead gorgeous, and it only took a year to get that way after having been an ant-infested wasteland for years.
I am Caucasian, live in Oxnard, have almost 2 Masters Degrees, am a published writer, and am poor as a churchmouse. I speak no Spanish, but when my mom died recently, I learned that one's language, one's education level are meaningless when you fall into the arms of Mexican people who speak little English but hold you while you cry--then insist on taking care of you through the holidays. I met one of the younger generation of one family who is on his way to grad school at UCSB. He is the first in the family to have gone to college. I could go on--but clearly the nothing-in-common issue can end up being a false issue entirely. I am now studying Spanish, and am finding more and more ways in which I am more like my Mexican friends than unlike them.
I am not a fan of chain stores, big box stores, etc, and gravitate toward independent places. I like that downtown Oxnard is developing into a really cool place to hang out in, with more unique businesses springing up. I also love the weather, the proximity to farms and beaches, and quite frankly, the fact that Oxnard is a hop-skip-jump to a variety of other cities. I have to laugh at the notion that Ventura is a separate city--it seems to be merely an extension of Oxnard. It takes me just 10 minutes to get to the Pacific View Mall. Back in NY City, where I'm from, it could take a solid hour to drive half that far.
Anyhow, I am eternally grateful to live here, and find no big stress in being highly educated, well read, and therefore, in some people's views, a sort of socioeconomic oddity. And oh--the gardening!!!! Which reminds me...
If the city powers-that-be want to really breathe new life into Oxnard, they should look to planting voluptuous gardens in many of the parks, to make them enticing for more than sports. I miss Manhattan's Central Park--it is truly a masterpiece--and know that Oxnard has no such potential park space, but I think much could be done in that area.
Meantime, my back yard is drop-dead gorgeous, and it only took a year to get that way after having been an ant-infested wasteland for years.
Harrumph.
I'm so sorry to read about the passing of your mother. I found your post to be very refreshing and enlightening. Kudos on that family who took care of you during your time of sorrow...if we ever meet, I promise I give the best hugs ever and everyone always feels better after a LadyKLO hug!
Homes around me sell in the $300,000 range. When they do sell many of those that are buying are younger families that have jobs. Just over a year ago my wife and I bought our home and I can tell you that each of us make more than the $55,000 mark on our own. Homes just North west of me start in the $450,000 range. In fact our area is considered a neighborhood that has homes in the $450,000 range as the medium. Just a little further from us are homes selling in the $500,000+ range.
Sure not all of Oxnard is like the North Side. Still some of Oxnard is and I can tell you that those people are making more than $55,000 per household. Still as I said earlier we also have a lot of retired people that live in the area as well. And I am thinking that many of them don't make $55,000 a year and infact many of them are living off investments, pensions, and other income sources.
I still don't know what point you are trying to make. The median household income in Oxnard is $55k, that doesn't mean every household makes that much. The fact that there are some neighborhoods with households with higher incomes is not surprising at all.
Also, as mentioned before, your neighborhood may have a lot of retired people but Oxnard as a whole is a young city. This will inflate the income statistics for Oxnard in comparison to other cities not depress it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
