Did you mean Modesto? If then, well, it’s 100 miles away from San Francisco

You know, now it’s more famous for Scott Peterson case.

Anyway, the cost of living there is not that high.

The median house price is still at around 200K.

I would like to recommend you to buy one if possible.

Regarding your second question, I could be wrong but I never heard that rental payment could be tax deductible.

Hope it helps. Good luck.