Yes, I think the hacker house idea and adult roommate living situations more generally are very common in the Bay Area due to housing shortage and high costs. I

Yes, I think the hacker house idea and adult roommate living situations more generally are very common in the Bay Area due to housing shortage and high costs. It's the only place I've ever lived where it would not be surprising to find adult professionals making $100k+ living with roommates. These folks could get their own place if they really wanted, but since most people are young and unattached when they come to the Bay Area it makes sense to save money by splitting housing with others. Or, they recognize that by having roommates they can get access to trendier or more convenient areas that would otherwise be unaffordable for them. These observations are pre-pandemic, of course, as I left the Bay Area in 2018. Things could be a lot different now. For lower wage people, like the janitors, cooks, gig economy people, etc needed to serve tech elites, there's really no option except to crowd in with other people. Even if you move to the limits of a practical commute, it's still very very expensive for those not pulling engineering salaries.