Seem to remember hearing that you could get a place in, like, San Diego for not an arm and a leg. One of San Fran's problems is that its population is far outstripping the rate of new apartment construction. Reason being that San Fran makes use of a number of historical preservation laws that way restrict building code. So only a few new apts going up every year, and boatloads of eager twentysomethings trying to get their hands on them. So for rentals, not just a problem of gentrification, then, but also growth disparities. When it comes to buying, though, pretty sure that's mainly Silicon Valley gentrification. Got a couple friends there who gave up trying to live anywhere closer than Oakland because people were paying over asking price for 1.5 mil houses (which, no, doesn't actually get you much), and doing it with cash. Not much better in Oakland these days, from what I hear...