By my calculation, if this person made ~$120k year and lived in a typical $3000/month 1-bed apartment in San Francisco, they should have about $40k/yr left after taxes and housing costs are paid. Out of this $40k they'd need to pay food, transportation, discretionary, and savings. Definitely puts efficiently saving a large downpayment on a home in California out of reach, but I'm surprised OP feels at risk of becoming homeless with that much budget slack. A generous $2000/month budget for non-housing spending (food, transportation, discretionary) would still leave $16k/yr they could save. Not a lot, but a lot better than many. Large debt payments or lifestyle inflation could pretty easily skew this person more toward an experience of paycheck-to-paycheck living.

When I lived in San Francisco, it seemed like the hedonic treadmill was in full force. People came to the Bay Area stunned that they could start out making more money than their parents ever dreamed of, then a few years later they feel grumpy because they're ONLY making $300k/yr when their buddy is making $450k/yr at FAANG and driving a new Tesla. It's easy for lifestyle inflation to happen in an environment where people all around you seem to have Scrooge McDuck levels of money and all the lifestyle bloat to go along with it.

My advice is to take your tech skills and leave for greener pastures. I see absolutely no reason to pay all those extra California taxes and housing costs.