I recommend looking west -- there are $2k 1BRs in Jersey City and Hoboken with 35-minute door-to-door commutes to most tech companies in Manhattan. Many even with central air, dishwasher, and in-unit laundry! PATH's reliability numbers are better than any subway line, and in case of issues there's bus, ferry, NJT rail as alternatives. And best of all, no NYC city income tax.
I would actually recommend to most folks the slightly less commuter friendly areas west -- namely the Fort Lee, Palisades Park area and down to Edgewater. Especially if you can bike or motorbike or pay for the ferry.
That's exactly where I would move to if I had to leave my place in midtown.
I would like to suggest that there are other parts of NYC to live, in addition to what evanelias mentions above.
Many who complain about high rents, and feeling poor, for reasons I do not entirely understand, have a stigma of living in the other boroughs other than Manhattan.
In Queens, in a well connected (express subway line) area, one can get the same 400 sqft "dump" the author cites, for less than 1000$. And commute-wise, about 30 minutes to midtown.
Having lived both in Queens and Manhattan over many years, I find this "Manhattan or broke" attitude with largely people who move from outside NYC.
I moved to Manhattan from Queens, when I was able to afford it and not when it became affordable.
However, PATH is meandering near the border of MTA's hellish confines and looks drunk enough to stumble in. Couple that with the incessant development (there are 4 towers in constructions near Paulus hook) and already stressed PATH infra and you can guess what can happen next.
On the whole, JC is better than BK for a myriad of reasons.
PATH's infrastructure is mechanically sound and improving. I would not be concerned about it following in the MTA's tracks in the signal delay/equipment failure sense.
Overcrowding is certainly an issue and while I know there are some capacity improvements in progress (CBTC signaling, more cars), I have never seen a clear timeline from the PA as to when more capacity will actually happen.
It's not tongue-in-cheek. This is a real issue in NYC, less so the further out you go in the boroughs. To break it down further:
* Dishwasher is much more common these days.
* In-unit laundry: Sometimes you'll find an in-unit washer, but no dryer. If there is an in-unit dryer, you have to ask whether it's a 110V electric or a true 220V vented. If it's the former, lower end models can take up to 4 hours to dry a small load. We had an in-unit washer, but just hung our clothes to dry and saved money instead of buying an in-unit dryer. Often times, you'll have no washer or dryer and simply take your laundry to a neighborhood coin-operated laundromat. If you're lucky, you might have coin-operated laundry facilities in the building.
* Central air is still a rarity. Most of the older housing (i.e. apartment) stock use radiator heating and window AC units.
This entire thread is specifically about the NYC metro area. My reply was about Jersey City and Hoboken, which are directly across the river from Manhattan. The apartments I'm describing are literally only 1 to 3 miles from Manhattan, hence the short commutes I also mentioned. I really don't see why my reply would be interpreted as tongue-in-cheek.
Cars can be moved around (that’s pretty much the whole point of them) so their prices tend to be pretty similar in different areas. Housing can’t move so the price can vary enormously from place to place. This shouldn’t be a surprise at all.
People with teenager-level jobs outside of NYC can afford the kinds of basic appliances that you need a fancy job to get in NYC. New Yorkers are just really numb to it.
