Hell, the DC metro, for all its faults, is quite a bit nicer than NYC, but granted, it doesn't go as far.
Even for outer residents it is not great. My wife's family lives in Queens and it is inconvenient as all hell; there is a good reason people pay to live in Manhattan. NYC is bizarrely centered around Manhattan as its central hub, and all of the other boroughs are subservient to it; in a way they are deserts, devoid of all but the most basic businesses and services, as the arts/culture/jobs/education are in Manhattan.
To get to Manhattan takes 20 minutes by bus just to get to the L or M train, then another hour (or often more) to get to the outskirts. If you miss the bus, enjoy a 45 minute walk - the bus only comes every half hour, but is hardly regular, as it goes down the area's only main thoroughfare that is absolutely choked with cars, too many streetlights, and parking.
Maybe for some an 1:30-2:00hr commute daily is normal; at the best of times, in Spring/Fall, it's bearable but annoying. In the hot summer or cold winter, it's awful. I think, why go through all that - is the area really all that spectular? Can't you have 10x more (land,time,sanity) living in the Midwest or the South? Why even bother living in New York, if you're not going to live in Manhattan?
Even for outer residents it is not great. My wife's family lives in Queens and it is inconvenient as all hell; there is a good reason people pay to live in Manhattan. NYC is bizarrely centered around Manhattan as its central hub, and all of the other boroughs are subservient to it; in a way they are deserts, devoid of all but the most basic businesses and services, as the arts/culture/jobs/education are in Manhattan.
To get to Manhattan takes 20 minutes by bus just to get to the L or M train, then another hour (or often more) to get to the outskirts. If you miss the bus, enjoy a 45 minute walk - the bus only comes every half hour, but is hardly regular, as it goes down the area's only main thoroughfare that is absolutely choked with cars, too many streetlights, and parking.
Maybe for some an 1:30-2:00hr commute daily is normal; at the best of times, in Spring/Fall, it's bearable but annoying. In the hot summer or cold winter, it's awful. I think, why go through all that - is the area really all that spectular? Can't you have 10x more (land,time,sanity) living in the Midwest or the South? Why even bother living in New York, if you're not going to live in Manhattan?