my sister is moving to nyc at the end of the month, and all the places she found were 2-3K/mo...she'll most likely go with this one place that's $1,250/mo with a roommate for a 2bdr apartment.
Granted she is set on living in Manhattan(Midtown) near her job, so it's a lot more expensive there.
But that's why her job pays her 15-20K more compared to what she'd get outside the city
I have friends that pay $6-700/mo for rooms in reasonable apartments in convenient locations in Brooklyn (e.g. off the Lorimer L stop, less than 10 mins from Union Square). Rents have also significantly gone down in NYC in the past two years. I had mine decreased by 12% last year and it hasn't gone up since.
And that doesn't include the walk from the station to your home, which could easily be 10 or more minutes away from the L stop.