I live near this area. The housing costs around here are astronomical. In Ventura, the cheapest 2 bedroom homes are around $450,000. In Carpinteria, which is just up the way towards Santa Barbara, they start around $750,000 for a serious "fixer". Rentals are also ridiculous "crazy money" high.
A lot of the people that I work with can't come in because this slide is blocking the freeway.
These folks probably are living here because they couldn't afford to live anywhere else in the area.
Carp has really gone up in price since I first made note of prices there back in the early 80s. I view it as a spill over effect of being near expensive places like Summerland and Montecito. If I were to return to the area (been away since '87) I'd go for Oxnard. That statement would have elicted surprised stares back in the 80s, but the trend is for Oxnard to become another upscale beach community over time. I would also explore Filmore (sp?) and some of the other smaller communities along 126.