&gt; The only thing that&#x27;s really hard to avoid spending way too much money on is housing.<p>And people shouldn&#x27;t discount that.<p>Here in suburban Dallas, I&#x27;m paying $1220 (soon to go up to $1270) per month for a 1513 sq. ft. townhouse that I have entirely to myself. And my commute isn&#x27;t bad because most of the tech companies here are also in the suburbs (the Telecom Corridor in Richardson).<p>Good luck finding anything like that in SF.<p>I&#x27;m a very private person, and I like having a lot of space to myself. The idea of having a roommate or living in a small apartment (especially in an urban environment) makes me physically ill. I&#x27;d never be able to live there.