* Moved to Manhattan in 2017 for work. When covid hit full steam in March, I decided to stick it out for a while, hoping things were turn or that the reaction to the virus was overkill. Turns out covid was legitimate, and started planning my move in April / May. Moved out at the end of June to live with family in one of the outer boroughs. Living in Manhattan was awful during that time. The city is a pain to live in when circumstances were good, but was pretty much unbearable with covid. It made no sense to stay - I was paying awfully high rent to live in the city and not enjoy it.
* My landlord was a baby boomer business owner who recently brought a 2nd retirement home out of state and was planning on retiring. Covid accelerated her plans, and not in a good way. She is trying to sell her Manhattan home and use the proceeds to pay the mortgage for her new place. She originally listed her home for $1.5M, and now its listed at $1.1M and is still struggling. Her story is likely not unique.
* I work with a team of 7 people at work, 4 of whom (including me) lived in the NY - 2 in BK, 1 in Queens, 1 in Manhattan (me). All are millennials - 3 moved in with family, 1 moved out of state.
* I would say 9/10 millennials I know who could move out of NY has already either moved in with family or out of state.
To emphasize - this is my anecdotal experience. Mine could be exceptional, but I doubt it.
I love Manhattan - moving to the city was the best decision I ever made and I was certain I was going to die there. However, recent events are the most depressing I have seen in my life. I hope NYC bounces back, but I don't see that happening for a long time, and I don't think I'll be around for when it does, because I am at the point in my life where I am looking to start a family.