It's not hard. And they're not. You're friends are paying 1K-1.5 to have a room. In the end if you have to pay as much for a room in city A as a whole apartment or mortgage in city B, you are getting paid less. To expand, both the the average and median price per a room per apartment is readily available and easily calculable. If a 2BD is 4K in city A and most people put 4 people in that apartment that doesn't mean all the sudden that it's the same deal as the same 2BD in city B that only cost $1K a month because most people don't share the space. The share cost is still a function of the actual cost, and easily computable and available in every city. Many people in Seattle split apartments and pay 500-600 per a room. They just aren't forced to because on average per cost of goods they get paid more. If anything Seattle has the calculations set up against it, as it has much much smaller city boundaries than NYC.

I understand that, but my argument is that people usually spend up to the amount they are comfortable with because they are not rational actors.

I made this argument a lot when the prius was becoming popular. Lots of people said it was overpriced, that is cost 30k and there were similarly equipped cars for 20k. But that completely missed who was buying the car. If someone is in the market to spend 30k on a car, they most likely will, as they have entered into a different price bracket.

Same thing with apartments. Sure in Seattle you could share a space and pay less, my hunch (with no data to back this up) is that you probably wont. If I can comfortably afford 1-1.5k, then that's what I'm going to spend, regardless of city (Please don't nitpick and say 'Oh I share and pay less', I'm not speaking in absolutes).

You obviously will get a more space/features/quality in Seattle for the money, but my argument against this guides is they say you will actually be making x, because I'll be paying more in rent. but that's not the case. Yes you can argue the missed cost of having more space, but that's not what they compare. My bank account is going to be the same after rent regardless of the major city I'm in.

EDIT: Spelling and Grammar

While there is def some sound logic to what you're saying I think the key piece you're missing is paying the same amount of monthly payments enables developers in Seattle to buy a home, which in the end means they are building equity by default while their counterparts in NYC could live their whole lives paying rent that keeps going up.

That gets into the debate of buying vs renting, and Im honestly not sold on all the benefits of buying. While you are building equity, it’s debatable whether you could make more just nuy putting money into an index fund. Im talking about the down payment, all the maintenace costs and associated costs of owning a home.

But I don’t need to dig into it further. I planning on getting out of NYC eventually to lower my costs and be somewhere with cheaper cost of living. It’s just harder to figure out true cost of living and the amount you earn as a developer then these guides suggest.

Please tell me where anyone is paying 1k-1.5k for an apartment in NYC. I am paying 2700/mo for 650 sqft, 45 minute commute from midtown, and I haven't seen anything better without a longer commute. Studios in my neighborhood are 1.6k+, and I am not in a happenin' place.

Should have specified, but thought it would be implied...roomates or significant other. Yes it’s not an equal comparision to other areas as you can get a whole apartment there by yourself.

If your paying 2700, find some roomates, move to bushwick/east williamsburg astoria, downtown brooklyn. And now your paying 1-1.5

I lived in Harlem 30 minutes from Midtown in a 2bdrm with a roommmate for 850, I now live in Boerum Hill (really nice neighborhood) 30 minutes from Midtown in a studio for 1800. It's really not hard to find places that aren't that expensive, you just have to be patient / willing to have a roommate or two.

North Brooklyn is slightly higher than that range, but lower than 2700/month, and should be roughly the same commute time.

You can get 650 sqft in midtown or the surrounding neighborhoods for 2700, probably in an okay doorman building even.

$1,000/month for an entire apartment? Where in NYC?

Prospect Park