You can get a studio apartment in the Greater Seattle Area for as low as $700/mo, though you should probably estimate around $1000/mo to be conservative. Additionally if you have a roommate (and maybe a bigger place, up to you how much you want to save vs. how comfortable you want to live) you cut your rent in half. Look wider than San Francisco -- if you're spending $50k/yr on rent, even in San Francisco, you're insane.