Saying it's impossible to save is misleading and it's laughable how often this myth about the Bay Area is perpetuated on HN. Unlike a lot of places in the US, the Bay Area has all of the following:
* a meaningful degree of racial diversity (makes a big difference if you're not white)
* comprehensive public transit (yeah, yeah BART and MUNI suck, but where I've lived in the US previously, they didn't even exist)
* an abundance of job opportunities in tech
* nice weather
I'm able to save 40% of my income and I don't even work at a high-paying company like Airbnb, Google etc. I live in a new apartment with one roommate in an area that's only a 25 minute commute to my office in SF via public transit.
* a meaningful degree of racial diversity (makes a big difference if you're not white)
* comprehensive public transit (yeah, yeah BART and MUNI suck, but where I've lived in the US previously, they didn't even exist)
* an abundance of job opportunities in tech
* nice weather
I'm able to save 40% of my income and I don't even work at a high-paying company like Airbnb, Google etc. I live in a new apartment with one roommate in an area that's only a 25 minute commute to my office in SF via public transit.