Is $3000 per month a good estimate for bay area? or am I underestimating.
This is about $2000 a month higher than reasonable rent. This means, your annual cost of living increased by $24,000.
$24,000 per annum is the difference between a small town, and bay area. Am I missing something? Do you pay for apples $20 a lb instead of $2-5 a lb? Is your electricity bill $600 a month instead of $100-200 a month?
What else is expensive in Bay Area other than rent?
If you barely scrape by on $200K in bay area, are you saying you barely scrape by on $176K in a small town?