You probably don't get a good appreciation for just how much certain expenses add up. If you live in manhattan, unless you live in just an absolute hell hole, you'll probably pay ~3k per month for bare minimum living conditions. My kitchen is so small that I've had to adapt new prep methods, and it makes cooking in general a pain. I can hear my neighbors all the time. My upstairs neighbors don't give a single fuck and regularly drop things on the floor which is loud enough to make you jump, and often they are up at 5AM banging stuff around, so I don't sleep well.

Other expenses in the city are high- from utilities to groceries, even transportation, it can add up. People here are very kind and helpful, but that doesn't really equal friendly. It can be hard to make friends if you're more introverted. You'll have to go out of your way to make an effort. There's a decent amount of pretentiousness here. "Where did you go to school? Oh, not harvard/stanford/etc, oh you're a nobody. O what's that, you're an entrepreneur and sold your company for millions? O wait come back, I was only kidding"

Then there's the pollution. Living in it constantly kind of makes you feel unhealthy. The constant danger of bikes and cars running you over. Gyms here are packed like rats with people. Good luck finding an empty squat rack.

All this being said, I love it here. The positives outweigh the negatives for me. Perhaps one thing I appreciate the most is that this city pushes you to become the best version of yourself you can be. Without that, it's hard to survive here. And that's something I thrive on.