“There are tons of very nice houses in Sacramento for under $1500.”
Sacramento? Might as well be Bakersfield or Fort Dodge Iowa
If you have business in SF its two hours to downtown, Amtrak Capital Corridor + BART from Richmond. I do it the other way a couple of days a month.
If its for business this is I think worth the commute, at a savings of @$2000/month for similar standard of living.