Other than housing costs, SD is cheaper than Phoenix in many ways. If you’re NOT looking for rentals and just to live somewhere, is it really totally impossible to find a 1000-1200 sf condo for under $400k (I’ve seen a few in acceptable areas myself)?

People in SD can’t save anything because they CHOOSE to live the “lifestyle” in 3000 sq ft, rather than enjoying their surroundings and realizing that square footage ain’t everything.