I assumed it to be a joke, or at least referencing that a person with a "white-collar" job in NYC at times feels like they live more like the middle/lower class than the upper-class.
For instance, New York City made significant efforts to include a large number of affordable housing in many recent developments. People within a certain income range(30-100k ish) can apply for these apartments at a significantly reduced rent. This allows people who work middle-income jobs to at least live close to work. I'm not arguing the against the merits of these programs as I think income diversity is good, but this combined with the reality that many new developments included mainly luxury units or affordable units without much in-between, causes a significant rent burden for many New Yorkers making 100-200k.
Contrast that to say taking a 15% salary reduction to live in Nashville, that same person now probably lives much more like the upper-class of Nashville than the lower class.
For instance, New York City made significant efforts to include a large number of affordable housing in many recent developments. People within a certain income range(30-100k ish) can apply for these apartments at a significantly reduced rent. This allows people who work middle-income jobs to at least live close to work. I'm not arguing the against the merits of these programs as I think income diversity is good, but this combined with the reality that many new developments included mainly luxury units or affordable units without much in-between, causes a significant rent burden for many New Yorkers making 100-200k.
Contrast that to say taking a 15% salary reduction to live in Nashville, that same person now probably lives much more like the upper-class of Nashville than the lower class.