I'd say since the pandemic not really I guess, most companies accept remote, however since 10 years or so SF really became the center of the Silicon Valley (while it was more south bay/peninsula before).

It's going to take some time until tech workers stop flocking to SF and price become less ridiculous, if ever. I don't see it dropping below other world big cities like NYC however.

Lets get more meta, does anyone ever need to live anywhere in particular /s

Well, it might not be true for the tech workers roaming HN, but there are still people who are forced to live in a big city to get a job!

No alarm intended, but does anyone need to live anyway? Once you understand that simply perceiving reality is the most wondrous thing we can do, simply being present in the universe is enough.