My employer puts San Diego workers on the “national” pay scale and workers in the bay area (including SF, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, etc.) on a geographical offset.
That offset is 17% higher in pay.
My company is cheap. So 17% is the bare minimum they can get away with. Salaries are higher in the bay area… At least at tech companies. (Even admins and shipping clerks have a 17% pay differential at my company though.)
As to the shared bathroom thing. Hubster is one of 6 kids – so 8 people in his row house growing up. 1 bathroom. Do the math. He figured out the shower hot water valve thing when his youngest brother started taking 45 minute showers… 15 minutes in he’d start slowly turning the valve in the basement. Brother never caught on – just thought he’d run out of hot water. This is basic survival in a house with a lot of people.
