NYC is actually amongst the lowest for Cost of Living adjusted salaries out of all the major tech cities:
https://hired.com/state-of-salaries-2017
Rent isn't exactly cheap in NYC
https://hired.com/state-of-salaries-2017
Rent isn't exactly cheap in NYC
If you view your job as temporary pain and plan to relocate or retire before starting “real life,” that makes sense. If you’re trying to build a long-term sustainable and fulfilling life that includes a tech job, not so much. Nominal value in a bank account is useless; you need purchasing power.
Regardless, good cost of living calculators don’t just take the ratio of housing prices, they use a typical consumer’s basket of goods, some of which may be the same price.