Most of the tech employees I know in SF could have shorter commutes with larger houses but choose to have smaller houses and longer commutes to live in the city rather than the suburbs. Why? Access to people in parks, cafes, bars, restaurants, events, “culture”, single people.

yeah, “can afford” doesn’t mean I should, props to them

I'm mostly just observing that long commutes for techies is driven by American cultural norms. I have some sympathy for the ones with kids, zero sympathy for the rest.