The flat fee alone makes the NY subway infinitely more simple than the Tube.
Anyway, I wouldn’t say New Yorkers are rude. They’re just very, very efficient. If you’re doing something worng, they’ll let you know. If you’re in their way, they’ll tell you. If you need help they’ll help, but they won’t waste time on useless chitchat. It’s refreshing, actually.
She’s moving at the end of September, so Autumn (Fall) in NY, rather than summer.
I don’t think the subway will phase her much, but we’ll find out soon.
Hoboken is a lot cheaper than NYC rents and living there has the added joy of filling out three income tax returns every year. My son-in-law works in Hoboken and has to do that.
Brooklyn is significantly cheaper than Manhattan and the subways are still good from parts of it, but take care there are some rough neighborhoods there. My daughter and son-in-law live in Park Slope which is upscale (with rents to match). If you can afford Manhattan (the rents will look like London’s) by all means try it. I would to NY in a minute if I could get reasonable health insurance (I live in Montreal).