> Can't imagine how one could survive more so thrive with anything under $200k in the valley.

Is this serious or sarcasm? The bay area is expensive, but as long as you're okay living in an apartment, it's not that crazy expensive. Even 100k would be fine.

According to this, the median household income in SF is ~97k: https://www.businessinsider.de/weath-maps-cities-san-francis...