You missed the point. Of course Santa Monica is expensive, but the point is that it shouldn't be. In fact, until a few decades ago, it wasn't -- it's not like people just recently started liking the beach. Your argument also doesn't work because most LA tech jobs are in Santa Monica. The idea that it should be status quo to commute to your job because you can't afford to live around where you work is nonsensical. Not to mention that Santa Monica real estate (like a lot of CA real estate, including OC) is propped up by foreign investment and screws the actual locals that live in those communities -- unless, like my parents, you just happened to get lucky and get a house at the bottom of the bubble (a house which now almost doubled in price).

Professional, educated, well-off young people can't afford to buy houses in California (I've had this conversation with dozens of friends). Market forces or not, even as a part-time libertarian, it's clear to me that this isn't tenable and people are frustrated.