The situation in the San Francisco Bay Area is similar. While there are still low-income communities in and near the urban centers (e.g., East Oakland, Richmond, Bay View/Hunter’s Point in San Francisco), there are many low-income and middle-class people who endure 4-6 hour round-trip commutes via car from places like Stockton, Modesto, Los Banos, and Salinas. I find my 45-minute commute from San Ramon to Fremont difficult (sadly I can’t afford to move to Fremont on my current salary without downgrading my apartment); I can’t imagine having to drive five days a week from Stockton to Fremont, but thousands of commuters do this.

Hello! Stocktonian here! I currently commute from Stockton on the ACE train instead of driving. Many students, tech workers, and other kinds of workers also commute on it.

I would definitely find my commute unbearable if I had to drive every day instead.

While there are lots of commuters from Stockton to the Bay, I think it's better attributed to Tracy and Mountain House and Lathrop+Manteca a bit less, since those are more like bedroom communities.

There is a rail line that goes from Sacramento into the South Bay (ACE Rail) which is what you'd probably try to use if you could. Still takes 2.5hr one-way (which doesn't include last-mile parts), but at least you don't drive.

I used to take it going from Pleasanton to Santa Clara, and I remember there was lots of revelry on the way back home.

Out of curiosity I checked some of those locations and it turns out I used to have a commute of roughly the same length as you have now. Bearable, but on the very edge of tolerance.

Meanwhile travelling on a daily basis from places like Stockton or Modesto is, to me, just extreme. I knew a doctor who travelled this far three times a week and he was already perpetually exhausted.

Sometimes I can't help but think that all those RTO policies were enacted only so that we would keep renting all those overpriced, cramped apartments.