Ventura is a beautiful community on the ocean off the 101 freeway. Its official name is the City of San Buenaventura. Located about 20 minutes to Santa Barbara and over an hour to Los Angeles, Ventura is in a wonderful location.
The Mission San Buenaventura was founded nearby in 1782. The mission was named for St. Bonaventura who was a saint. The town grew around the mission and incorporated in 1866.
The population is approximately 106,000.
Ventura has moderate very comfortable year-round temperatures.
Ventura schools rank highly on www.GreatSchools.org. Ventura has four college campuses, Ventura College of Law, Southern California Institute of Law, Santa Barbara Business College and Ventura College which is a 2-year junior college which opened in 1925. Public school students from kindergarten through 12th grade attend schools in the Ventura Unified School District. The district has five high schools: Ventura High in the midtown area, Buena High in east Ventura, Foothill Technology High School, Pacific High School and El Camino High School, an independent study program located on the Ventura College campus. Private schools include St. Bonaventure High School, a Catholic school, Ventura County Christian School, an evangelical Christian school, and Holy Cross School, Sacred Heart, and Our Lady of the Assumption, Roman Catholic schools for grades Pre-K–8.
There are many Ventura parks with a variety of amenities including picnic pavilions, ball fields, soccer fields and tennis courts.
Buenaventura Golf Course and Olivas Links are 2 golf courses in Ventura.
The County of Ventura is the largest employer in Ventura with about 8000 employees. Other top employers are Ventura Unified School District, Community Memorial Health System, Ventura College, Patagonia and Kaiser Permanente. The outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia is based in Ventura. The headquarters of the company are located just west of the downtown area. The eco-designer Stewart+Brown has their factory just a few blocks from the ocean. Diaper bag manufacturer Petunia Pickle Bottom is headquartered near downtown Ventura. Visionary research and resource company The Barna Group is located near downtown Ventura. Ventura is a course in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. It was called ‘Skatestreet Ventura’.
Some of the annual events in Ventura are Winter Wine Walk, 4th of July Festival, Ventura Harbor Parade of Lights, Spring Artwalk, Music Festival, SeaFest, Surf Rodeo & Street Fair, Harvest Festival, Food & Wine Event, Kinetic Sculpture Race and Holiday Street Festival.
Some favorite restaurants in Ventura are Lure Fish House, Aloha Steakhouse, Wood Ranch BBQ and Brophy Bros.
Downtown Ventura is a fun place to visit museums, galleries, wine bars, restaurants, shops and Rubicon Theatre Company.
Ventura Pier was built in 1872 at a cost of $45,000 and was the longest wooden Pier in California. There are so many beautiful beaches in Ventura: Ventura State Beach, Harbor Cove Beach, Surfer’s Point at Seaside Park, San Buenaventura State Beach, Surfers Knoll Beach, Mondos Beach, Emma Wood State Beach, Solimar Beach, Seacliff Beach, Oil Piers Beach and Treasure Cove.
The Ventura County Fairgrounds is the home of the annual Ventura County Fair, and over the years has hosted such acts as Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, Smokey Robinson, All American Rejects, Smash Mouth, and Sugar Ray, as well as the Vans Warped Tour. The Derby Club (offering Horse Racing Live via Satellite), and full service bars and restaurants.
The Ventura Film Festival puts on a yearly red carpet gala event and has hosted some of film’s top celebrities, including the full cast of the Academy Award-winning film West Side Story.
Some fun places to hang out in the evenings are Dargans Irish Pub, Cask Alehouse, Cork, Andrias Restaurant, Café Zak and Café Fiore.
Ventura homes for sale: Ventura Keys homes for sale, Todd Ranch, Stonehedge, Seaview Hills, Presidential, Pierpont, Park Row, Pacific Breeze, Key Island Pacesetter, Hobson Heights, Concord, Chestnut and Buenaventura Gardens. Ventura Homes for Sale.