Regarding the "escape velocity", it really isn't that tough IMO to save enough to retire when you're making 5-10x the median household US income, even if you're wasting $3500/month on rent. Yeah, milk and gas cost about twice what they do in the rest of the USA, but since I moved to the Bay Area I've been saving over a third of my income without even trying despite having a kid, eating out every day, and buying every gadget and gizmo I hear about

~5 years of savings can buy you a house out in the outside world so you can take a stab at building a ramen-profitable startup

~15 years' worth can probably cover regular old retirement at a level that'd be comfortable for people from https://old.reddit.com/r/FinancialIndependence