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Moving to NYC
- Thread starter jayridge
- Start date
You must have one heck of a job or you got money. An apartment in NYC costs as much as a mortgage payment for a home in the 'burbs'! Music wise.....it's all over NYC but hit the village for all the small clubs and venues.
- Dec 13, 1999
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- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
Seriously, a little background. Do you have a trust fund, independent means of income, looking for job, have a couple of hundred thousand saved up, have a couple of hundred saved up? Do you know anybody here? You can't find a studio for much under $1200 a month and that's in the boroughs or in upstate Manhattan (Inwood), 1 bedrooms are going for $1600 to $1800 in Queens. Getting around is pretty easy, subway goes pretty much everywhere all the time. But if you're looking for fall out my front door everything at my feet, that's gonna be more than 2K a month for less than 500 square feet...
- Oct 7, 2000
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My suggestion - find a nice place anywhere with reasonable rent, and buy a car (if you don't already have one). That gives easy access to any gig.
And FWIW, there are lots of gigs in Staten Island and NJ. People in NYC without cars cut themselves off from all that. Its also a lot easier to become a big fish in the smaller pond of SI than it is in any of the other boroughs. I earn my living playing music in NJ for the past 2 and half years. I've played much more in NYC and never before came even close to doing that.
And FWIW, there are lots of gigs in Staten Island and NJ. People in NYC without cars cut themselves off from all that. Its also a lot easier to become a big fish in the smaller pond of SI than it is in any of the other boroughs. I earn my living playing music in NJ for the past 2 and half years. I've played much more in NYC and never before came even close to doing that.
I beg to differ...
Solid advice telling someone looking to move to NYC, assuming for the first time, to also deal with the hassle of owning a car in NYC
“The best part of waking up...(is running five blocks to move your car to avoid getting a parking ticket on alternate side parking days then finding someone smashed your window because they thought those were real Ray Bans on the dash but it turned out they were just knock offs from downtown but at least someone else keyed your car) in your cuuuup!”All joking aside, more info! NYC is an incredible place to live and work, come prepared. And we need more info!
I live in New York City but not in Manhattan. Is the OP moving to Manhattan? A car is gonna need a very expensive place to live there.
Unless you are a zillionaire, Manhattan is out, unless you're talking about maybe Inwood, in which case you'll still be riding the A train for a loooong time to get anywhere else. My friends live in Jackson Heights in Queens, where the rents are, if not reasonable, at least possible. Although it too is getting gentrified.
Music happens all over the city; a lot of it below 14th Street in Manhattan, but a lot now in Brooklyn, too. I don't know how your taste in music runs, but NYC is still the top destination for jazz: the Vanguard, Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Smoke, 55 Bar, etc., etc.
PS: A car? In Manhattan? Fuggedaboudit!
Music happens all over the city; a lot of it below 14th Street in Manhattan, but a lot now in Brooklyn, too. I don't know how your taste in music runs, but NYC is still the top destination for jazz: the Vanguard, Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Smoke, 55 Bar, etc., etc.
PS: A car? In Manhattan? Fuggedaboudit!
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back in the day (80's-90's) the village and lower east side were the places to be..But music happens everywhere in the city, mostly midtown and lower Manhattan, but as described above brooklyn, queens are the new hip spots..a car in the city is useless and expensive as well as everything else. If you dont need a car, or know someone rich enough to have on in the city you can use....well then nyc will be a great place for music....hang around the village, bleeker st. west 4th st....there's still a few great spots there
- Sep 4, 2010
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NY Metro (and let's count in Long Island, New Jersey and Staten Island for argument's sake) is a tapestry of tiny scenes (literally hundreds/thousands of them, sometimes with a guru-like inspirational figure at the center of it) that is going to take a while to figure out. For example, there is no such thing as "the" NY jazz scene, there's jazz singer's scenes, jazz standard blowout session scenes, downtown scenes, (which in itself carves up in various avant improv scenes, 60s based free jazz and whatnot). Scenes also tend to be divided along neighborhood aka ethnic lines; I just moved to East Flatbush in Brooklyn for example and now am finding out about all the local Caribbean music scenes going on there. There's tons of Singer-songwriting stuff performed all over the city, there's metal, reggae; you name it, it's all there in numerous sub scenes. One thing I haven't found yet is a blues scene of any magnitude; I've seen and heard blues played on a very local street/ community garden level in African-American parts of Brooklyn, played by older men, and that's about it. Anybody knows any blues scenes in NY, I'd love to hear it.....
I'd say the one overarching element is that in the city (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens) everybody tends to play original music, (barring typical restaurant/tourist trap musical fare or wedding/bar mitzvah work) and in my - admittedly more limited - experience in Staten Island, Long Island and New Jersey, it becomes more coverband territory.
So I think we do need a little extra background as to what the OP is after, style/music wise.
I'd say the one overarching element is that in the city (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens) everybody tends to play original music, (barring typical restaurant/tourist trap musical fare or wedding/bar mitzvah work) and in my - admittedly more limited - experience in Staten Island, Long Island and New Jersey, it becomes more coverband territory.
So I think we do need a little extra background as to what the OP is after, style/music wise.
Bed-Sty is probably your cheapest option (
(But probably not the safest).
Brooklyn has a lot of life. That’s where the cool kids live.
My suggestion: screw living in NYC. Look in NJ with easy public transportation access, or car (but you'd be foolish to not take the public transportation; bus, train).
Your rent will be almost HALF for almost twice as much. I'm not saying this is typical, but I have a 4 bedroom thats around 15 minutes via bus to NYC for 1900 a month, and its NOICE!
Your rent will be almost HALF for almost twice as much. I'm not saying this is typical, but I have a 4 bedroom thats around 15 minutes via bus to NYC for 1900 a month, and its NOICE!
Hi. Here is more information. I currently live in VA just outside of DC. Its just the wife and myself. We both play (guitar, bass - of course, banjo, mandolin, violin) and like any style of music with good players. This move is for my day job, and sadly I realize an apartment 1/4 the size of my current place will cost more. That is why I am hoping to find somewhere we can walk/subway to hear great music. A little joy to offset the sadness.
I have never lived there, but have researched a lot. I think for most working-class people, the only viable option is to rent a room. Best of luck to you. There's nothing like the vibe of New York!
