Stories from the 60's/70's starting out in large cities like NYC, Boston, etc?

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I recently read an article in the WaPo about how high rents are and how it affects kids looking to rent in larger cities such as NYC or Boston (article at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/07/tiktok-rising-rent-caleb-simpson/ behind paywall)

I’m curious what it might have been like back in the 60’s/70’s for people looking to make a start in some of our larger cities (back when they were said to be more affordable) and wonder if anyone has any stories to share?

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In the late 60’s and early 70’s there were still rooming houses, usually with a shared bathroom in the hall, and we used hot plates. Later, in the 70’s, I rented a really nice apartment in the North End of Boston (it was still Little Italy), with a bay window looking out over the cobblestone square where Paul Rever’s house sits, for $70-90/month. Bathroom was a single toilet in the hall and I bathed in the kitchen sink.

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Not the 60/70s but

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Mid to late 80’s, I was making as a young BLaw associate in the $70k+ range, and I shared a 2 bdrm 1 bath penthouse apt with roof terrace in Greenwich Village at $1800 a month, so about 15% of my monthly gross. A roughly equivalent 2 bdrm (w/o a roof terrace) in the Village is going to run at least $8k a month these days looking at a StreetEasy search. You would need to make $320k to get the same salary to rent ratio ($4k/15% * 12).

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Late 80s to early 90s, we rented a 2700 sf loft in Soho for $2300 a month if I remember correctly. We were not just starting out. My rent in Cambridge MA in the early 80s was considerably lower. I’m thinking $700 a month for a two-bedroom apartment on two levels but I could be completely wrong on the rent.

I think in the late 70s, three grad students and I rented a ramshackle house between Harvard Square and Central Square and I have a recollection that I paid $100 a month so likely $400 a month for the house.

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Late 70s, just outside of Cambridge MA (in a college city) rented the 2nd floor, 6 rm apt in a 2 family house on a quiet convenient side st. Excellent condition, 2 beds/one bath, @1200 sq ft. $325 a month. Now, those apts range from $3200-$3,800. We could have bought the house for 83k in 1980 (both units). Now $850k-$1M. The challenge is real.