1. The population of reasonably close southern suburbs (let's say the entire San Mateo County) is actually less than that of San Francisco proper by ~100k people.
2. Caltrain is linked to Muni metro at 4th/King as well as many bus lines. It isn't that hard to get in.
3. Bart goes straight into downtown and offers stations closer than Caltrain for at least a third of San Mateo County's people.
4. The southern and western parts of San Francisco are just as cheap, if not cheaper, than San Mateo county's average. (indeed if you check padmapper, you can see that there is more "cheap housing" available in SF than in San Mateo County.
5. The density of much of San Francisco, especially the outer Western and Southern areas remains low. (somewhere between San Mateo County suburban cities and Brooklyn)
"2. Caltrain is linked to Muni metro at 4th/King as well as many bus lines. It isn't that hard to get in"
I've never heard anyone defend Bay Area public transportation before. I'd say the amount of busses going from SF to silicon valley/the peninsula are evidence that going in and out of san francisco is NOT easy. I've lived in both the peninsula and SF for years and the consensus is that you're better off living in SF if you work in SF and living in the peninsula if you work in the peninsula (unless you work for a company that busses their employees). I myself drive from SF to the Peninsula. I don't recommend it. Public transportation is not an option for most people purely because of the lack of geographical coverage they offer. For instance, I can't use caltrain or bart because I don't live downtown and it takes 40-50 minutes to get to the train by bus. The fact that caltrain is situated at the most southern point of the city doesn't make it any better when a 2-3 mile muni metro line goes along the most western point of the city where few people live.
2. Caltrain is linked to Muni metro at 4th/King as well as many bus lines. It isn't that hard to get in.
3. Bart goes straight into downtown and offers stations closer than Caltrain for at least a third of San Mateo County's people.
4. The southern and western parts of San Francisco are just as cheap, if not cheaper, than San Mateo county's average. (indeed if you check padmapper, you can see that there is more "cheap housing" available in SF than in San Mateo County.
5. The density of much of San Francisco, especially the outer Western and Southern areas remains low. (somewhere between San Mateo County suburban cities and Brooklyn)