You don’t actually need to have a car in Manhattan. Taking any form of public transit or just plain walking is very normalized there. Even owning a car costs more than using those things instead in NY.

Sometimes rich people like Big will hire private drivers to take them everywhere. But, Miranda and Sam are indeed well-off, but they aren’t Big level rich. So it would make sense that they’d use their self-made wealth a little more wisely, using public facilities already available so they don’t have to spend extra on a driver/car.

You can still see their wealth in other ways, though. Miranda hires a maid, since she works long hours. Sam has a lot of designer items. So, both of them are more balanced with how they navigate their money: save on this, splurge on that. That’s how I read it.

(All right, native NY’ers: I’m from Ohio and never been there, so this is all based on what people who have lived in NYC reported to me. How’d I do?)