I think the comparison with other places makes no sense if you compare nominal prices. What I think you have to compare is (among other things) how much of your

I think the comparison with other places makes no sense if you compare nominal prices. What I think you have to compare is (among other things) how much of your salary you spend on rent. Yeah, a non-developed nation you may get a 3 room apartment for 400 USD - but your salary may be not higher than 1k USD per month. If the average salary in Manhattan would be 300k per year I think no one would care. But it is not.