Before people pick up and move their entire lives they typically research the area. Suggesting otherwise is just a way of calling them stupid. If someone tells me they're doing X and want feedback on Y, I'm not going to automatically assume they're being stupid about X.
Sounds rude to me.
> I ask EVERYONE and they agree that $300k/yr is about the threshold where life stops getting "tough".
Sounds like you're in your own bubble. Its always good to seek out alternative views on something instead of just doubling down in your narrow set of anecdotes. If you're only asking your rich friends you're not going to have a good idea on the reality.
Only if you live right on top of the station. Since these places have relatively poor local transportation and parking demand at stations far outstrips supply, getting between your apartment and the station will add significant time.
Reminder that a normal commute is ~25 minutes. We've just gotten acclimated to extremes here.
Yeah if you're within biking distance it's pretty awesome and quick. I take a 10-15 minute drive to the station most days. I really wish they did more about the parking though; even people out in Tracy hit that BART station so parking is full, minus permit spots, by 7:30am or sooner.
Reasonable commute is relative. For example if you live as far east as the end of Pleasanton / Dublin in East Bay you can have a roughly 45 minute commute to the financial and nearby districts in SF.
Point being you can hit your most or all of your marks and not need $300k a year. In fact that's a difficult amount for the average or even above average person to make and it's not always possible to have spouses working.
Let people judge what they can and cannot afford to do. General statements like saying making under $300k is going to be tough isn't constructive and while it may be true in some instances it's certainly not true for all.