New York is perhaps a very big city, where you can be in 'new york city' and still be 2 hours subway ride from lower manhattan. I'd guess the other thing is th

New York is perhaps a very big city, where you can be in 'new york city' and still be 2 hours subway ride from lower manhattan. I'd guess the other thing is that in new york you're exposed to people who are very wealthy. It distorts the perceived cost of living vs actual numbers.