Most companies that are successful at bringing people into New York do so through internship programs. New York is much less intimidating to a college student looking through internships, who doesn't have a problem with finding short-term sublets and roommates online, than to an adult seeking full-time work.
In my first apartment, I lived with a couple. I was closer to the girl, although I had absolutely no romantic interest in her. (I had a girlfriend at the time and was madly in love.) The couple broke up; the guy was angry at me and, drunk, he attempted to physically attack me. Bad end, because I liked both of them and wish we could've stayed in contact. I packed up and bolted pretty quickly, taking a 1:30 am cab ride to... the office.
For a month and a half, I was living at work. This was a regular office space-- not a home office. I had a sleeping bag rolled out on the floor and used the gym shower in the morning. This was an understaffed, workaholic company, and I had to spend 6-11pm in a coffee shop to get away from "home". When my then-girlfriend visited me in the city, I had to check into a hotel. Being a cheapskate, I lined up a one-star out in Queens.
After that, I found a decent roommate and moved in with him. The only quirk in the arrangement was that he and I had diametrically opposite approaches to the Quality/Quantity trade-off, so I met (or at least heard) a lot of strange people.
Fun all around. New York can be worth putting up with all this, but it can be a bit much to bear.
Last time I used one in a move, I ended up spending $2600 for an introduction. This was to one person, for an hour and a half of work at most.
The movers, of whom there were 4, charged me $320 for three hours of backbreaking, difficult labor. They did excellent work. They were thrilled when I added an extra $60.
The comparison just makes me want to vomit.
twenty thousand dollars! ha, ha... just kidding! (only not really)
My work, also provided me with a month and a half of free (temp) housing, until I found my own place (which was a real pain in SF). They also provided me with a rental car, until my car was shipped from the east coast.
Without all this help, I would have thought twice about moving in the Bay area. While 5k relocation assistance might be good enough for a young single person, it probably wont be for somebody with a family.
Great hackers don't have hard time finding jobs, so if you really want to attract the best, be willing to provide the above.
Also, I am not sure how is the situation in NYC, but I think some of the best programmers are in the SF Bay area, and few in Cambridge/Boston area.
But at the end of the day, if your idea is not apealing to people, it would be hard to attract them on money/perks basis.
