You are extremely out of touch with the day to day reality of most of New York. One hour commute is really the norm, and people making 60,000 a year are on average quite comfortable here, all throughout Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. 75k is really comfortable. Rents for nice 2 bedrooms are from 1300-1800 within an hour of the city in really nice neighborhoods.
I'm well aware of what people do, but it's something I would never do unless I had absolutely no other choice. With a one hour commute, assuming 48 working weeks a year, that's 20 days of your year that are burnt just getting to and from work! My life means more to me than money.
Do not assume that money is the reason for living an hour away from work. There are many reasons, including schooling, which is even more important with special needs children. I realize you didn't intend to say that, just making it clear however. =)
On that note, don't also assume that an hour long commute means an hour wasted. As someone who makes that hour-plus long trek every day, I've learned how to fill that time. I'm a big audiobook fan, and because of the commute, I'm able to commit to reading a lot more than I would otherwise.
On top of that, in the city, commuting becomes easier with public transportation. When I was living in Montreal, I could read more than just audiobooks.
I'm not saying it's for everyone, but those days aren't necessarily burnt.
My parents made maybe 40K and we lived in the Bronx in a comfortable neighborhood when I was in high school. It took me about ~45 minutes to get to school on the subway and I saw plenty of executive-looking people on the train.
