Nyc

[GuyaGuy]

so i've been thinking about moving there for a variety of reasons and i'm curious to hear HCFXer's opinions on the pros/cons of living in/moving to NYC.

 

1. cost everyone talks about how outrageously expensive it is, which is true if you stay 5 days in a hotel room by central park or have a 2-bdrm in manhattan. but is it REALLY that expensive for the averege joe w/ a 1-bdrm in brooklyn? isn't it just getting used to the tiny...er...cozy dwelling spaces as compared to the sprawling lawns of other cities of the US?

 

2. music every band plays there, which is nice. but is there much support between bands? is it easy to get a band together there? and where the hell do you practice if you live in an apartment building?

 

3. arrival this one's mostly for non-natives. is it difficult to settle, get adjusted, etc?

[ginnboonmiller]

1. It really is insanely expensive, but once you live there for a while, you learn how to do it. Basically, you can expect to spend 60-70% of your income on rent easily, but get really fresh, cheap groceries and stuff like that. But yes, no matter what, NYC is insanely expensive, and higher salaries only compensate partway for it.

2. After your set, your friends will clear out of the club and be replaced by friends of the next band, who probably didn't hear your set. You get used to it and after a few years you can pick up fans and stuff. But not really any kind of scenes ever really develop.

3. People that wait until they are ready to move to New York never end up moving to New York. If you're really concerned about settling in, move somewhere else. Getting a place is cutthroat business, and so is getting a good job. Once you have them, you're set, and I found that showing up in town with nothing went a long way towards motivating me to be able to stay.

[Weatherbox]

my brief experiences playing in various bands passing through NYC and talking to members of other bands we played with there led me to the conclusion that no one gives the slightest slice of damn. Also, opening bands will play 20 minutes OVER their set time, and then try to play a {censored}ing encore. WTF?!

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by ginnboonmiller 1. It really is insanely expensive, but once you live there for a while, you learn how to do it. Basically, you can expect to spend 60-70% of your income on rent easily, but get really fresh, cheap groceries and stuff like that. But yes, no matter what, NYC is insanely expensive, and higher salaries only compensate partway for it. 2. After your set, your friends will clear out of the club and be replaced by friends of the next band, who probably didn't hear your set. You get used to it and after a few years you can pick up fans and stuff. But not really any kind of scenes ever really develop. 3. People that wait until they are ready to move to New York never end up moving to New York. If you're really concerned about settling in, move somewhere else. Getting a place is cutthroat business, and so is getting a good job. Once you have them, you're set, and I found that showing up in town with nothing went a long way towards motivating me to be able to stay.

thanks for the response.
1. i'd always wondered if rent wasn't around the 60-70% range you mentioned. on the other hand, what's required in most US cities--rent + car payments + gas + maintenance + insurance--ain't cheap either!
2. that's weird cuz that's excatly what i read in a mag recently but i didn't know how accurate it was.
and it's strange, considering its size and the number of bands from there, that NYC hasn't given birth to any scene since CBGB--unless you count the neo-CBGB bands of today. then again, LA is notoriously un-sceney, considering its size and the fact that all of the labels are based there.
3. thanks for the tip. i don't have much to show up with anyway so there ya go. it'll be easy-peasy!

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by Weatherbox my brief experiences playing in various bands passing through NYC and talking to members of other bands we played with there led me to the conclusion that no one gives the slightest slice of damn. Also, opening bands will play 20 minutes OVER their set time, and then try to play a {censored}ing encore. WTF?!

 

 

 

yeah, opening bands should really play 20 minutes TOTAL--not 20 minutes OVERTIME!

[IndofunkCity]

Originally posted by ginnboonmiller 1. It really is insanely expensive, but once you live there for a while, you learn how to do it. Basically, you can expect to spend 60-70% of your income on rent easily, but get really fresh, cheap groceries and stuff like that. But yes, no matter what, NYC is insanely expensive, and higher salaries only compensate partway for it. 2. After your set, your friends will clear out of the club and be replaced by friends of the next band, who probably didn't hear your set. You get used to it and after a few years you can pick up fans and stuff. But not really any kind of scenes ever really develop. 3. People that wait until they are ready to move to New York never end up moving to New York. If you're really concerned about settling in, move somewhere else. Getting a place is cutthroat business, and so is getting a good job. Once you have them, you're set, and I found that showing up in town with nothing went a long way towards motivating me to be able to stay.

Basically, exactly what he said.

[jcn37203]

I never understood people who move to NYC to "make it".

Someone should make a map every year of the world with tiny blue lines representing every actor, painter, musician, etc who moves to NYC to make it. Just to provide people with some idea.

I understand that there are probably more opportunities there, but it seems like the opportunity/opportunity chaser ratio has got to be off the charts.

[ginnboonmiller]

Originally posted by jcn37203 I never understood people who move to NYC to "make it". Someone should make a map every year of the world with tiny blue lines representing every actor, painter, musician, etc who moves to NYC to make it. Just to provide people with some idea. I understand that there are probably more opportunities there, but it seems like the opportunity/opportunity chaser ratio has got to be off the charts.

 

 

It depends on what you mean by make it. I mean, I moved to NYC because being the most famous avant-garde musician in Pittsburgh is like having the biggest dick in kindergarten.

[IndofunkCity]

Originally posted by ginnboonmiller It depends on what you mean by make it. I mean, I moved to NYC because being the most famous avant-garde musician in Pittsburgh is like having the biggest dick in kindergarten.

[jcn37203]

Originally posted by ginnboonmiller It depends on what you mean by make it. I mean, I moved to NYC because being the most famous avant-garde musician in Pittsburgh is like having the biggest dick in kindergarten.

 

 

You seen to be doing fine, so maybe I'm just wrong. I just watched 7 generations of theatre majors practically unanimously migrate to wait tables in NYC, rather than actually participate in theatre in other towns.

 

Were I an actor, I'd rather be a contributing member to a community theatre or troupe in another city than be a dust mite on the ass of New York's theatre world.

 

I guess I'm talking more about theatre than music. I don't really know any NYC musicians.

 

Except you.

 

And indo

 

And Twang.

 

And Rock.

 

Nevermind.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by jcn37203 I never understood people who move to NYC to "make it". Someone should make a map every year of the world with tiny blue lines representing every actor, painter, musician, etc who moves to NYC to make it. Just to provide people with some idea. I understand that there are probably more opportunities there, but it seems like the opportunity/opportunity chaser ratio has got to be off the charts.

 

 

probably.

 

on the other hand, they go there and make it in another sense. any time a large number of peple flood a city to "make" it, what they end up making is a vibrant creative atmosphere--even if it's not a scene. that's what happened in berlin. it got a buzz and so many people showed up that it was bound to happen.

 

NYC probably isn't the best place to go to make it as a musician, i'm guessing. but as for visual artists, there are only 2 cities in the US with a substantial number of galleries and museums: LA and NYC. many of the "in-between" cities have em but not to the same degree and not in any way connected to european/asian galleries/museums. smae's true for acting: there's just an enormous amount of theaters there.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by ginnboonmiller It depends on what you mean by make it. I mean, I moved to NYC because being the most famous avant-garde musician in Pittsburgh is like having the biggest dick in kindergarten.

thumbs up on the gag but i don't think it's entirely true. i'm just thinking of low, a band from deleuth which will never leave deleuth. (although, we all thought they'd never "rock out" either...) same's true of early 90s seattle--just a US city like any other. i'd say there are actually just as many bands from LA and NYC per capita than any other US city. no?

[IndofunkCity]

I always give this advice to musicians who are thinking of moving to NYC: don't do what I did and just move to NYC to "make it". (I'm still struggling myself) Instead, do what I've seen work for so many other musicians since I've moved here - start gigging in a smaller city (Boston works well, or hell, why not the city where you're from?) where you can be a big fish in a small pond, create some measure of local buzz, and your friends have nothing better to do than to come and see you, so you can build up a following. Then slowly start gigging in NYC ... one gig a month, then a couple, start meeting cats here, sub on someone's gig a few times, soon you'll have a few gigs a week here, then eventually you'll have more gigs here than in your city and viola! you can move here.

However, the reality of the situation is that if you have the attitude to "make it", you'll make it. Here or anywhere else.

I apparently don't have that attitude

[ginnboonmiller]

Originally posted by GuyaGuy thumbs up on the gag but i don't think it's entirely true. i'm just thinking of low, a band from deleuth which will never leave deleuth. (although, we all thought they'd never "rock out" either...) same's true of early 90s seattle--just a US city like any other. i'd say there are actually just as many bands from LA and NYC per capita than any other US city. no?

That's fine and dandy for rock, but I never played rock before I got to NYC. In the avant-improv scene, you're basically playing for the same 15 people at every show. In New York, that gets bumped up to about 20, and you get to play with all the other weirdos. Point is, it can be as much about being with like-minded folks as it is about rising above those same folks. Maybe even moreso.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by IndofunkCity However, the reality of the situation is that if you have the attitude to "make it", you'll make it. Here or anywhere else. I apparently don't have that attitude

attitude, contacts, the good fortune of having the right sound at the right time, etc.

of course, with some people, like me, "making it" means getting some records out on a label that itself is struggling to "make it." i just don't play anything that could be potentially commercially successful so i don't have the expectations of "hitting the big time."
in any case, my current plans of heading to NYC isn't with the idea of "making it" as a musician anyhow. although...i wouldn't kick financial success out of bed for eating crackers...

[IndofunkCity]

Originally posted by GuyaGuy attitude, contacts, the good fortune of having the right sound at the right time, etc. of course, with some people, like me, "making it" means getting some records out on a label that itself is struggling to "make it." i just don't play anything that could be potentially commercially successful so i don't have the expectations of "hitting the big time." in any case, my current plans of heading to NYC isn't with the idea of "making it" as a musician anyhow. although...i wouldn't kick financial success out of bed for eating crackers...

Making contacts, having the shrewdness to change your style to match what is happening at the time, etc, get lumped into attitude for me. Of course, as in any field, luck always enters into it

my current plans of heading to NYC isn't with the idea of "making it" as a musician anyhow.

Well then you got the right mindset. You'll have a great time here. It's definitely the best place to live if you want to LIVE, dig?