absolutely, you are so right. NY'ers are so spoiled and are used to overspending. "I like to take my girlfriend out to eat.. taxi here and there.." Please.. learn how to budget and spend wisely. Eat at home. Take the subway.
This strikes me as similar to the common explanation of why Whole Foods "appears" so expensive when apples-apples comparisons can show prices there to be similar to those of Safeway; yes, the apples cost the same, but Whole Foods gives way more prominence to the super-expensive rare varietal organic local apples that cost 3x as much.
Net result: whatever the absolute price comparisons say, it takes more mental effort to shop cost effectively at Whole Foods.
