Yes?

Most of the air in NYC is reasonably clean, and there are lots of quiet streets and less packed pavements. And you can always pay for special double insulated windows, or for a higher floor. My PM 2.5 readings in my Manhattan apartment are usually under 5, and better if I open my windows.

And it’s hard to beat the health benefits of waking every day vs driving like you do in almost every other American city.

walking isn't anywhere near as exertive as cycling/running.

i like walking & cycle pretty much everywhere i can. i've never found walking amongst/against throngs of people to be relaxing or enjoyable - quite the opposite so i'm sure the stress of walking in NYC negates much of the health benefits of walking in general.

Commuting to work via something other than a car is attainable nearly anywhere though. I've been doing it for a decade in central Georgia/Raleigh/Durham/Seattle/Denver. The other side of the coin is that if you do need to drive in (for whatever reason...carrying something large, need to do errands...) it's actually possible.

Queens and Brooklyn away from the waterfront are basically suburbs except that in a 30-40 minute subway commute for $130/month you get a city with 26642 eateries (8/23/2018 based on the health department ), hundreds if not thousands of points of interest and the kind of melting pot that simply does not exist anywhere else in the US.

A rhetorical question used to disguise your distaste for specific attributes of NYC, how clever. Consider, however, that those things are not important to the parent commenter, at least not as important as other attributes.

> A rhetorical question used to disguise your distaste for specific attributes of NYC

A rhetorical question

> of NYC

of any crowded city.

> Consider, however, that those things are not important to the parent commenter, at least not as important as other attributes.

I hope the irony of you making this statement isn't lost.

> how clever.

Bite your tongue and be civil.

Can the money you save make up for reduced opportunities to hobnob with millionaires and weaving yourself into a network of the upperclass and therefore increasing your chances of hitting it big (or fantasizing about it)?

Sure it can, ass-kissing the wealthy isn't everyone's hobby

I know, my comment was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek response of what I think draws many to tier 1 cities.

I see, apologies for misunderstanding your rhetoric

> or fantasizing about it

2 bucks on a lotto ticket achieves the same result for me.

Yeah, move to the Upper East Side.