Ultimately you have to live somewhere and people don’t choose to live in the cheapest place “in the country at any point in time.”

At the time we bought we found a house that gave us more space than the apartment we rented previously and where our newly arrived daughter could spend her first few years. It’s not one of the trendy neighborhoods and yet it’s close to downtown SF and the peninsula, where we work. We can afford it on one income. All those factors made it a good deal for us. I feel ok about it so far, but I’m certainly open to the possibility that there are better options.

I have not found that to be true unless you are looking for a standalone single family home. If you are looking at condos, SF has had good deals during the pandemic as that particular market segment has been hammered.