Are people in my job in NYC homeless or what?

That, my friends, is the question of the day.  DH applied for a job in NYC and if he gets it, he'll take it.  Naturally, I looked into jobs in my current field.  The cost of living is 59% higher than here.  The pay for the equivalent of my job is about 10-20% lower in NYC. How does that work exactly?

Clearly you couldn't really rent an apartment on that pay (I'd starve on that pay here).  You couln't buy a place on that pay. 

So you'd be expected to show up to work in professional attire (which you'd store under a bridge or something). Would you eat out of trash cans? Seriously, how the fuck would you live on that pay somewhere that expensive.

If DH got a high paying job and my pay could just be for savings etc., it wouldn't be too bad I guess.  I want a job where I could support us if/when needed. This shouldn't be too much to ask.