Much of it is unique to an urban city: the existence of a subway, the need to use one because there is no parking, the apartment (including kitchen) being small, the cost of food, the use of elevators, the people in tents.
Much of the rest is in your statement of what to imagine: using a restaurant, not being in traffic.
Yes, I think we can agree that there are trade offs, as with everything in life. In a world of scarce resources, we all place different value in different things. I’m not lambasting your choices just as I’d expect you not to deride mine.
But on your last throw-in dig, that’s disingenuous. Poverty is not unique to large cities. I’ve lived in rural towns as small as 7,000 and poverty there is just as visible and acute.
Much of the rest is in your statement of what to imagine: using a restaurant, not being in traffic.