Just for your guys reference, when I worked in Silicon Valley either 43% or 47% of my paycheck was taken out before I got it, and I was one of the few people who didn't have a 401k or whatever.  Gasoline costs quite a bit more there than almost anywhere else in the country, as do electricity, water, etc.  Since I had no interest in owning property in that shit-hole I rented the cheapest apartment I could find, and I always switch apartments within several weeks of switching jobs.

I think my friend who bought a place down there pays something like $40,000 per year in taxes for the privilege of living in his own house.  And he gets exercise dodging the human feces and drug needles which litter the streets.