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Best and most reasonable places to get would be a rent-controlled apartment, but those are downright impossible to get a lease on; once you get in on one, like hell if you are going to give it up! Manhattan's probably the most expensive, but there are some apartments in Brooklyn and Queens (and even The Bronx) that are not too ridiculous price wise and are not in some crime-infested cesspool.

Another thing to seriously consider is try to select an apartment that is near to a city bus line or a subway station, with minimal walking to/from the station to your apartment.

Automobile insurance is ridiculously expensive in Noo Yawk and parking spots and/or garages can be just as hard to come by. And since the city has a very well-developed mass transit system, it's actually more convenient to take the bus or subway than it is to drive.