Anecdotal and all, but FWIW everyone I know in the Bay Area does not live with a roommate, and these are well-paid software engineers. When people first move he

Anecdotal and all, but FWIW everyone I know in the Bay Area does not live with a roommate, and these are well-paid software engineers. When people first move here and/or are just getting started with their career, some of them went through periods of having roommates, but they all eventually either found a place they're happy with that is cheap enough where they don't have to have roommates, or after a couple years and a couple raises they don't need them in general. In fairness, I'm thinking of SV and surrounding areas though- not SF, which is a whole other level of housing pain. People I know who work in SV but were determined to live in SF at all costs were stuck with roommates until later in life, but as soon as they could afford to not have roommates, they got their own place. For people I know who are >= 30 and have gotten past the initial novelty of post-college life, roommates are always something you get because you have to, never because you want to.