The real piece of math missing from this is the cost of the real estate. I'd take a cheap chair and desk in NYC over a $1000 chair at a $1500 desk in the suburb

The real piece of math missing from this is the cost of the real estate. I'd take a cheap chair and desk in NYC over a $1000 chair at a $1500 desk in the suburbs. The surroundings matter as much as the inside of the office. But a lot of companies move to the suburbs because rent becomes prohibitive on a large scale.