In New York, living in Queens or Brooklyn isn't too bad on an engineer's salary. LIC is actually a pretty good location (although I would have preferred nearer the Barclays Center in BK for the number of trains that go there).

One of the obnoxious things about Google's NY campus is that it's on the west side of Manhattan, which means that to get a cheapish rent and a 40-60 minute commute, you have to live on the expensive edges of BK or Jersey. Doesn't really seem worth it imho.