Having struck out on my own 2 weeks out of college for the Golden State from the east coast, I admire what they are doing. I used to consider San Francisco my own personal playground. I loved showing it off and did a pretty quirky tour for my visiting friends, but now that I live in the Midwest and only get to see it as a visitor it has lost much of my affection- seeing a guy taking a dump in a doorway on my way to the convention center has a way of changing my travel brochure memories.
As for the couple, they seem to have upgraded their daily lives while remaining pretty frugal and he continued his employment within his employer and industry- I would consider this period in their young lives more of an adventure than an escape. Good for them.