This "calculator" really makes me appreciate the higher salaries in NYC compared to other places. Yes, the cost of living is higher, but if you are willing to commute 30ish minutes a day from outside of Manhattan, you can avoid a lot of the cost.
Is it really only a 30 minute commute into Manhattan?! I live in Bristol, and at times I've had an hour commute by bus. I always assumed that Americans spent longer on commute in the larger cities.
I was always surprised the amount of premium people were willing to pay to live on Manhattan when it was so much cheaper on the other side of the river, with equal commute times.
From my house in NJ to the office is 90 minutes including a 15 minute walk to the train station. Last Monday there was a delay on the NJ train and the subway so it was 2 hours door-to-door.
That's why I work remotely 2-3 days a week.
PS. I work at stackoverflow.com
LA does it worse. commuting from the San Fernando Valley to, say, Silicon Beach, is like 60 minutes+.