Affiliate Marketing Secrets

I aspire to be a surgeon. Im a senior in high school and i am going to attend my local community college for two years to get rid of some med school pre reqs and to become a certified surgical tech ( i understand that a surgical tech does not lead to being a surgeon i just need a way to pay my way through school and to live and this is a good way to be affiliated with healthcare prior to med school) they make about $40,000-$50,000 i will also recieve approximately $15,000 from an unnamed source. After i get certified i really want to transfer to a university in New york (NYU) and live there for two years while i get my bachelors. i currently live with my family in southern illinois and i really need a change of scenery so the city sounds great. I know that if i moved to new york i wont be able to afford a decent apartment (studio or 1 bdr) in manhattan but i might be able to in queens. what i really like about the city is the ease of transportation via subway, walking, and bus. thats why i dislike Chicago compared to nyc. In chicago there is less mass transit and more citizens driving. I dislike every aspect of chicago compared to nyc except for the cost of living and the closeness to my family.
In your opinion how does chicago compare to nyc in these categories?
Transportation
housing
housing cost
utilities
things to do
night life
schools (universities and medical schools)
The only reason i ask this is that my family feels nyc is too far away and that the cost of living is ridicoulous.