Grew up in the midwest and moved to Brooklyn from Philly. Absolutely love it here. City is truly alive with energy and the job prospects are fantastic. Your mileage will vary though depending on how much you make.
If I paid a 15% brokers fee on say an older $3500 walk up that would effectively make it $4025 for the first year so the list price is pretty misleading imo.
I have not really seen much lower than low $3000 range that isn’t a studio or really old/cramped/bad location.
I do like cooking on occasion and some of the kitchen setups for apartments even in the $4k+ range are closer to a dorm style kitchenette than workable kitchen.
Proximity to a subway station is also a big deal. You can be 20 stops from your favorite neighborhood, but if you have a 3 minute walk to the train it doesn't feel far at all.