Every singer thinks about moving to New York City at some point. For some, it’s an eventuality for the next phase of their career. For others, it’s for the convenience of getting to auditions.
When I decided to move to Manhattan, I was in a comfortable teaching position with many side gigs and regional engagements. But I was spending more on plane tickets to New York to audition than I would have spent for New York City rent. And my New York friends were seeing me sleeping on their couches more often than my husband saw me at home. It was time to go.
Before you jump at the idea of the grand life in the big city, take a moment to take stock: Do you need to? Are you getting enough gigs locally? Making decent money? If so, then maybe you should rethink moving to New York.
Yes, that’s right, in the opening paragraphs of an article on how to move to New York City, I’m telling you not to move to New York City. It’s just like when people tell you that being a singer will never make you rich and the odds of success are slim to none. If you’re determined, you’ll do it anyway. So for those determined to make the move, here are some things I learned when relocating to the Big Apple.
Step 1: Take a “Basic Needs” Approach
That pyramid you learned about in that psychology class as a freshman is right: your basic needs must be met for you to be self-actualized (i.e., singing at your best). As you move, make sure that you’re fed and watered, housed, financially sound, and emotionally supported. Moving is stressful. Moving to New York City is very stressful. Auditioning in the middle of this will not represent your best work.
Step 2: Make a Plan
Plan your timeline—when to move, where to move, and with whom. Start doing research, make a budget, earmark savings for moving expenses, pare down your belongings, and ask family and friends for assistance.
Step 3: Put Your Finances in Order
There were so many people who, when I said, “I’m moving to New York,” frowned and said, “But it’s so expensive!” It is more expensive. Rent is higher. Cost of living is higher. But if you take into account some of the things you won’t have to pay for, it evens out. For example, while rent is higher, there’s no need for a car. Take away car payment, insurance, and gas costs and tack it on to your current rent elsewhere in America, and it’s just about the same. Also, food can be more expensive if you’re eating out at restaurants in midtown instead of getting sensible groceries from your local market.
Estimate what you can live on (and still have money for application fees, coachings, and lessons) and make a budget. Call your New York friends and ask them if your rent/month plan is feasible. When they’re finished laughing hysterically, up that budget again. It’s better to overestimate than underestimate. The best and most reliable information will come from your friends who already live there. They can ask about open apartments in their building and let you know about the neighborhood and general rent costs. The best salesmen for my ’hood were the friends who already lived there and loved it. More on this in Step 4.
Make a moving budget. Check out the Moving Costs sidebar on the left. Even though I made a careful list, there were still many things that I forgot—and though they were small costs, they add up quickly.
Step 4: Get a Day Job
The economic realities of being a singer are that unless supported by a working spouse or family money or lottery winnings, we will have to work outside jobs in between gigs. This is especially true of those just out of school and in the “young artist” phase of their careers. Finding that day job is difficult—singers need flexibility, the ability to get home from the day’s work and still have the energy to practice, and working conditions that don’t require extraneous use of our voices.
It is emotionally exhausting to pound the pavement for both singing and a day job, but that’s pretty standard for the first few months in NYC. Be sure to have a support system in place.
Ask friends about where they work and how they got their jobs. Apply to staffing companies throughout the city—I got interviews at seven temp agencies, and the one recommended by a colleague was the one that got me the most work (see the Resources sidebar on p. 13). Temping can pay well as well as give you the time off you need for auditions. Be sure your office skills are up to date—most companies test to make sure you really do know how to make a graph in Excel.
Many singers I know babysit, work retail, wait tables, and even do background acting on television. There are lots of options. If you are persistent, you will find the job that keeps you living indoors and fed and also pays for your voice lessons.
Step 5: Find That Perfect Shoebox
For a while, I thought I would live in a cardboard box in Central Park. Or a hut made out of my scores. This isn’t terribly practical, and the NYC police department looks down on squatting in public areas. Apartment searching in the city is a hair-pulling exercise in madness. My husband and I found the perfect apartment—the location we wanted, right price, right amenities—and someone else’s application went through 15 minutes before ours. Ah, New York City real estate.
Even though it is more expensive, I recommend going through a broker. It saves you headaches, keeps you safe from scams, and helps you find an apartment quickly. Just be sure to make clear your price range and timeline—one broker ignored these parameters and wasted time showing apartments wildly out of my price range with move-in dates well past my absolute deadline.
While it is possible to find an apartment on Craigslist, it’s also full of scams. As someone new to the city, it’s best to play it safe. It is also becoming more difficult to find an apartment without a broker in New York City thanks to the complicated real estate laws governing housing. Those complicated laws help you as a tenant, though—properties are required by law to publicly list whether they’ve had a bed bug infestation, and residents can post how their building dealt with the problem (see Resources sidebar on p. 13).
Ask as many questions as possible about the apartment, building, landlord, and neighborhood. Be extra careful to look for things like amount of light the apartment gets, airflow, water pressure, and noise from both surrounding apartments and outside. You may want to ask the realtor to show you the same apartment at different times of day to better gauge this.
Subletting
Subletting is a great idea if you’re moving alone. It gives you time to test out neighborhoods and keeps costs down (no need to buy furniture if you’re in a furnished apartment). There are many performers who sublet their apartments or their room in their apartment while they are out of the city for a gig—these can be weeks, months, and even the remainder of a lease.
Sharing the Shoebox
For me, it was easy: I married this guy, and he’s stuck with me as a roommate. If you’re not moving with a spouse, significant other, current roommate, or music school best friend, you need to think about finding a roommate. It’s not terribly feasible (especially at the young artist level) to afford an apartment alone.
Step 6: Pack Up Your Life (and Store or Sell Most of It)
New York apartments are small. Many are in walkups, and even those with elevators have small elevators. Often, people bring furniture to New York that ends up on a sidewalk because they can’t fit it through the door. Leave the furniture behind. We sold most of ours before moving, and the few sentimental pieces we left with parents. If it didn’t fold, we didn’t bring it. There is an IKEA and dozens of thrift stores where you can get inexpensive furniture that is conducive to living in small spaces.
Note: Do not take that couch or mattress you find on the sidewalk. And be very careful with furniture postings on Craigslist. Most bed bug infestations start because someone moved into an apartment and brought in infested furniture. Carefully inspect used furniture and ask about how they clean it before it is sold—if they’re evasive or defensive, beware.
It’s not just furniture. When considering what to bring, now is the time to clean out your closet and otherwise sort through everything you own. And forget about the washer/dryer; there are few apartments with hookups. The less you bring, the more room you’ll have.
Step 7: Learn to Get Around
Navigating New York City is intimidating . . . for a short period of time. There are great Apps that help with directions: MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) had a contest for Apps, and the winners make finding your way in public transit easier (mta.info/apps).
You will at some point get on the wrong train. It happens to everyone, even people who’ve lived in NYC for years. You’re tired, you’re in a new neighborhood . . . it happens. It’s all right to have a public cry, and more importantly to ask for directions—New Yorkers are very helpful in that regard.
Step 8: Be Mindful of Health and Wellness
One of my coaches in the city told me that I would get sick more in my first year in New York than any other time in my life. He wasn’t kidding. Public transit and higher population density means there are more germs. Be vigilant about hand washing, but still know that you will get sick more. On the bright side, after that first year, most New Yorkers find that they have strengthened immune systems and they rarely get sick.
New York may be the city that never sleeps, but that does not mean that you should never sleep. Once your calendar starts to fill with work, auditions, rehearsals, and performances, it’s easy to skimp on sleep. It’s especially difficult when you first get to New York and are overwhelmed with opportunity.
Being a New Yorker
One day, walking down the street, you’ll realize you can’t remember the last time you thought, “I live here now!” excitedly. You’ll be on your way somewhere, and a worried-looking tourist will ask you for directions—and you’ll be able to give them. You’ll not even notice someone on the subway in a full Batman costume dancing to 80s pop. Well, you’ll notice, but you won’t give it much attention. Congratulations, you are now a New Yorker!
