Chicago would be one of the few cities where travel to and from the airport is 24 hours and relatively cheap.
New York and Jersey is expensive to live if you are within a few miles of major airport. A bit further out and the price drops a lot. This usually means getting a car or paying $10 each way for a train to the airport.
Two people getting by on just your wage is possible even if you only make min guarantee. One piece of advice I will give is start building your credit score ASAP.