I suspect this is actually East Menlo Park, since the homeowners in Menlo Park proper are very unlikely to rent out a garage like this. East Menlo Park is substantially more affordable than Menlo Park, though at this point more costly than many East Bay areas.

Living in Hayward for example would make housing more affordable, but as you allude to, commute times would likely 4-5x (because bridges) and their kids' education would suffer due to school districts since they likely take advantage of the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program to attend schools in Menlo Park's school district (whereas Hayward schools are not good by any stretch of the imagination)