Going from coast-to-coast is like walking into a time machine.
But 99% of the time you can get from A->B in NY without much stress. You hardly ever need a car. You have almost literally the best of anything in the world within that hour-or-less subway ride.
You may not be able to afford all the best-of-everything, but the best X is there as an option if you decide you'd prefer X instead of rent (or paying medical bills). Almost always you can turn sweat into $ to buy X without anybody saying no. Nobody forces you to live in NY, and nobody forces you to buy X. But it's there if you want it.
(Of course you can argue that X is too expensive or that the sweat-to-$ ratio is wildly unbalanced but that doesn't change the facts.)
> You have almost literally the best of anything in the world within that hour-or-less subway ride.
Bullshit, You can take a 10 minute Bike/Light rail ride in portland and get to straight up farm-land or forest. In an hour you can get to the coast, desert, or mountains. In San Diego you can bike to the beach from anywhere in 10-20 minutes (that arent crowded and over trashed).
(And come on. The Subways don't "barely work." They work. I took the subway to work virtually every day with few problems. They're just dirty and don't keep an extremely precise schedule.)
Of course, one's experience will also vary by neighborhood, income level, etc.