[johnny_utah]

If you want to live in San Francisco proper without paying a terrifying amount, try looking at some neighborhoods that are not the same places where everyone wants to live (Mission, SOMA, Lower Haight, North Beach, NOPA, etc). The Inner Richmond or Sunset are good picks if you don't mind having a 20-30 minute commute. Still expensive, but not as bad as the aforementioned neighborhoods. Those can easily be $2k per person if you are signing a new lease and not moving in with someone with rent control.

If you want some substantial space for $2k or under, I would look at the East Bay exclusively.

Be prepared to be shocked either way.

[baddox]

Also note that, if you're commuting to the east part of the city (Soma, Fidi, etc.), it's worth researching commute times. To get to Powell station, the commutes are probably fairly similar from Sunset/Richmond and from Oakland/Berkeley.

[monkey_slap]

I've been doing some browsing and I'm preparing to have to pony up $2.5k-$3k, but it just seems crazy. Commuting is fine as long as I can avoid driving (bike or Caltrain). And a neighborhood with things I can walk to. I don't need to be in the center of SF, so I've been looking around the Redwood area.

[baddox]

Do you mean Redwood City? That's a 1.5 hour Caltrain commute each way if you work in downtown SF. for $2.5k per month you should be able to do a lot better, and avoid the life-sucking commute.