The SF Bay Area is expensive, and there are a lot of software engineers here, but the problem is not that software engineers can’t afford rent or house purchases.The problem is that teachers, nurses, policemen, plumbers, gas station workers, bus drivers, and everyone else who is needed to actually make society function, can’t afford rent or house purchases.When a software developer on the typical Silicon Valley pay scale says “housing is expensive,” that’s true in the sense that “yeah, you can’t BOTH drive a Tesla, AND save for a house down payment, at the same time!” (And, yes, you need two incomes for a “good” house • just like in most other Western urban areas!)When a school teacher in Silicon Valley says that “housing is expensive,” it means that, after 15 years, with a Master’s Degree, they still have to commute 90 minutes each way just to afford a single-bedroom apartment, with no money left for savings.The richer companies, like Google and Facebook and Netflix, pay very well for well qualified engineers, Not only do you get a salary, but you get stock grants that are almost as good as cash, once you start vesting after a year or two. This is much better than specifically helping with a house or whatnot, because you get to choose whether you want nicer living quarters, a better car, or more money left for when you retire.This is actually causing significant problems for small-to-medium-size companies, including start-ups that are past the “so small that stock options are potentially significant” stage • it’s nigh impossible to compete with FANG salaries once stock compensation is included. In some ways, the success of these companies is eating the future success of the Silicon Valley area!