No, I don't know why people always say that. I live on less then half that. I eat out, drink, do stuff on weekends and pay my school loans and bills. Thats like 7000 a month? If you can't get by with that comfortably high cost of living is not your issue...
I have an exceptional deal on my 2 bedroom in Mountain View which costs me around 2400/month. I believe the current market rate for my apartment is something like 3300.
If you're willing to live a bit further out (like Milpitas/Santa Clara), you can live somewhere for under/around 2000, which (when split with a spouse/partner/roommate) can be reasonable given the salaries in the area.
700 for a a tiny room in a house. Were talking about minimum wage style living... I could spend up to ~1900 on a apartment. Just haven't been able to find one. It's real competitive to get a place. Day to day expenses don't seem any different to me then when I lived in NY. Except wine, bottles can be as low as $4.
