SAN JOSE: Eric Murphy generally makes about US$2,400 (RM9,611) per month after taxes as a security guard at Facebook, but his dream right now is not to buy a home or even rent out a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose, which averages about US$2,460 (RM9,851) monthly.
All he wants is to move out of his East San Jose garage-turned-bedroom, which he splits with a roommate for US$825 (RM3,303) a month, and into something more homelike.