The hijinks that follow are, of course, ridiculous. Betty and Amanda buy clothes to wear once, keeping the tags on so they can still return them to the store. They go gallery-hopping in Chelsea for the free champagne. They eat at a fancy restaurant without paying, because they tell the manager that the location will be featured on Mode's website. (Yes, that one does make you question their journalistic integrity.)In a broader sense, the plotlines in "Bad Amanda" are just as ridiculous as in any other Ugly Betty episode. But the idea of two young women barely scraping by in New York wasn't ridiculous at all. It's the first time I remember watching a TV show set in New York City that didn't portray it as some kind of happy-go-lucky fantasy.As farfetched as it may be, the episode is still a far more accurate version of what it's like to struggle to make your way in the city than a lot of other small-screen portrayals. Neither of the women have parents bankrolling their lives, which is more than can be said of, say, the ladies on Girls. And despite the fact that both of them are in the fashion industry, the magazine definitely isn't paying them the kind of money Carrie Bradshaw apparently makes. Plus, the show is realistic about finances in the sense that the girls' struggle doesn't end with this episode. They get to keep the apartment, but making rent is going to be a constant hurdle.Betty says multiple times in the episode that she's working so hard to make her New York dreams a reality that she's not actually living them. For anyone working their first job in the city, that feeling is all too real. We want to live the NYC fantasy life we've dreamed about — but it's not always possible when you're struggling to scrape by in an entry-level job.Millions of people, myself included, have an incredible love affair with New York City . I'm still in awe of the skyline at night. But living in New York is also expensive and difficult — and it's definitely not always a party. Ugly Betty got it right by recognizing that fact.