pray tell how you managed to do that

Not too complicated an equation— one can find a basic room in a share for $1k a month uptown or in Chinatown, plus $110/month for a Metrocard or $10/month for Citibike, plus a reasonable amount of money for food like $300/month (cook a big pot of something a couple days a week, pack lunch from that, and have a few meals out for a $10/day diet).

That's about half of $35k for basic expenses while living in Manhattan, which leaves plenty of room for taxes/savings/going out/travel/etc. And there are a lot of great free events in NYC, too.

Almost exactly this. Cheapo room in a two bedroom up near the 125 A stop, monthly metro card, not eating out too much and once a week stocking up on staples from Trader Joe's. Left plenty of overhead for hitting up bars with friends on the weekends, travel for the holidays, etc. I wasn't living lavish by any means, but I also wasn't struggling to make rent.

Magic. See his username.