The last thing I heard about Amtrak involved a deadly derailment. RIP OP.
He's not dead.
You think that's bad - take a gander at the housing market in NYC and the surrounding suburbs. It's outrageous.
Yep. $1400 will get you a medium-sized studio apartment in Astoria, which will place you 20-50 minutes from your Manhattan destination, plus, you'll need another $120/mo just for the unlimited MetroCard.
$1400 will probably get you a closet in most other areas of Manhattan that might be close to where you work. The only places I ever saw that were under $1400/mo in Manhattan were rooms in multi-bedroom apartments in the East Village and studios in Washington Heights and Inwood.
Doesn't NY state tax the wages of non-residents? I hope you can get some kind of a tax break on those transportation costs.
I believe they do, but you should get a corresponding credit on your own state's return. But speaking of taxes, living outside of the city does save the OP from NYC income tax.