Is New York City the most unnecessarily expensive city in the United States?

New York City has been the most unnecessarily expensive city in the United States for as long as I can remember. <br><br>It's expensive in almost every other way. For example, a single bus ticket is $3, a single subway ride is $3.25, a large popcorn at the movie theater is $15, and so on. <br><br>I have been to many other cities in the United States, such as Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and every other major city, and they are all either more affordable or at least somewhat more affordable than New York City. However, I have found that was not the case when defending against Hurricane Idalia. <br><br>I am from Florida and it's my first time in New York City. In preparation for this hurricane, I purchased six bottles of water, one gallon of milk, and a dozen eggs. I brought all of this back to my room and then came back to the store to pay for my groceries. When I got to the register, the cashier rang everything up quickly. When I asked to stop and tell me the total, she stopped and told me it was over $70. I couldn't believe it, as I am used to paying $15 for the same items at the grocery store.<br><br>So what makes NYC so expensive overall?