I do this comparison because I live in Philly now but am thinking about NYC or elsewhere for residency. I've been to NYC many times, though I've never lived there.
Don't forget that taxes are huge in NYC. You pay state AND city income tax.
Same in Philly. PA income tax averages 5.5%, NY income tax averages 6%. Philly city tax is is 4.6% if you live in the city. If you just work in the city and commute in from the burbs, it is 3.9% on wages earned in the city. NYC's city tax rate is 3.6%. This all means to me that the taxation is pretty similar between the two.
Plus your sales tax is large.
8% in NYC vs. 6% in Philly. Non-prepared foods here are exempt tho, which is helpful. Clothing is exempt in both it seems.
There are very few large grocery stores. You'll get rooked on food by the corner bodega.
Same here unless you happen to have a car. I happen to live close to Trader Joe's, but I have to go at least 1 mile across the city to get to a real grocery store, especially one that isn't a total rip off! Like sure we have a bunch of Whole Foods and I have a pretty close South Street Square Market, but they're as bad as the corner bodegas.
Also, since there are so many little restaurants, you'll eat out alot more. It's unlikely that you'll have your own washer and dryer in your apartment so you'll end up sending your laundry out (no time to do it at home). Your only real savings is that you can easily do without a car.
Same. Very few apartments I've found have washer and drier in unit. I used to live in one that did my first year here and it was small, vented into the apartment, and cost a fortune to run. I've been paying for my laundry since then. The place with W/D in unit was a 2BR that's now going for $1600/mo. As for lots of little restaurants... Uhh... Isn't that a good thing? Philly really lacks cheap, good ethnic food outside of chinatown and a few little exceptions.
As for cabs, the cabs in Philly are as expensive as NYC. Their prices pretty much doubled over the past few years. NYC has the better subway system, so you don't need them as much. For utilities... I dunno how to compare them. Comcast is a total ripoff I can say with certainty. I pay ~$70/mo for basic TV and Internet.