I can confirm that as of December-January it was possible to find a decent 900-1000 sq ft house with two bedrooms in southern SF (Visitacion Valley or Crocker/Amazon, say) or Daly City, near BART, for $3000 a month. Still more expensive than than the comparable in New York, where a two-bedroom apartment in Jersey City with a comparable commute to lower Manhattan was $2300.

I mean I'm being open here and saying I don't understand why CoL is so high in SF, since researching it from afar doesn't make it look that much pricier than what I've seen living in other cities.

And I commute in LA, it's not exactly enjoyable or cheap. But it's cheaper than living within walking distance of my office.