I used to live in Brooklyn (quite far) and a colleague in Stamford. Most days it used to take him less time to get to Manhattan than me! You don't have to live in Manhattan - there are relatively cheaper places if you don't mind an hour or so in the train, including NJ/CT and Queens/Brooklyn etc.
One very good thing about NYC is the subway. It might be crowded, dirty etc but it runs almost all times. I remember during severe winter and during Sandy, very few trains were canceled and that too just a handful of days.
One very good thing about NYC is the subway. It might be crowded, dirty etc but it runs almost all times. I remember during severe winter and during Sandy, very few trains were canceled and that too just a handful of days.