To move or not to move to New York?
After traveling to New York in 2017, I thought that I would not fly again for a long time. But as of this month, that turned out not to be true.
Besides the holidays, my hiatus from this blog was because I went to New York for an investigative reporting training focusing on labor. And since it was also the week of my birthday, I decided to come early to do some sightseeing and had to stay late because of the weather.
New York was quite an experience. Toward the end of my trip, the weather was unseasonably warm, sparking concern about the impact of climate change. Those fears were temporarily eased my return to the icebox of Chicago.
New York, in a way, is a microcosm of America. It is a place of great beauty and grime. It has severe inequality and quiet kindness. Manhattan was bustling with chaotic, electric energy. You get the sense that people in Manhattan have important things to do, their faces indicating that they are overworked and underpaid. Brooklyn, which I visited on a quiet Sunday afternoon, won my heart with its charm and communal vibe, and I began to wonder what secrets were hidden within the other boroughs I never have time or money to visit.
If I had only seen Manhattan, I would have been convinced that New York City was not the place for me. The cost of living alone, from what I have heard and seen, would be too high for meager writer's existence. $200,000 buys a lot more in Detroit or Chicago than in New York, according to Curbed. During my trip, I had several conversations with writers who detailed how difficult it was not only to be paid a reasonable rate but also getting paid at all for their work, pushing them deeper into debt and distress.
On the other hand, a brief visit yielded multiple professional connections that I hope will evolve into longer-term relationships. The thing that I can't stand about journalism is how much one success is dependent upon professional relationships rather than pure pitches and talent. And the reality of the journalism industry is that most of America's national publications are headquartered within a short distance of one another.
The internet has opened up many doors for myself and countless other writers who would have otherwise been shut out of the still white-dominated media industry, making it much easier to break into new publications and perhaps catch the eye of an editor at other, more esteemed outlets. I had already wrapped up bylines in the New York Times, Vice and High Times before stepping foot in New York City. However, as I and other freelancers know all too well, it's quite easy for overworked editors to gloss over your pitch as other pitches pile up in there inboxes. Could putting a face to a name help alleviate the anonymity?
A meeting with an editor helped put my ambivalence about moving to New York in perspective. In a gleaming, modern building, I sat with her discussing pitches for the publication. She assured me that she was available to talk through story ideas and said that she appreciates freelancers, because they are on the ground, living their lives and can thus spot story ideas that are out of her view from her perch. She pointed to the Caroline Calloway hubbub as an example of how New York City's insular media world can come off as out of touch with the rest of the country. Would an everyday reader in Iowa, for example, care about an Instagram influencer?
For a long time, I've had this lingering suspicion that my Midwestern-ness would help me see the world differently than the seemingly small New York media ecosystem, a suspicion that intensified during the 2016 election cycle in which many writers on the left were surprised by the outcome. For now, my bank account and job prospects dictate that I will remain in Chicago. I can't afford my little life here, and, oddly enough, I don't feel as stressed about my future. But in the back of my mind, I will continue to wonder whether the perfect opportunity—a book deal, a full-time job with benefits, a lengthy, award-winning feature that could be optioned into a movie or a video game—is awaiting me in New York.
Freelance writers based outside of New York are you contemplating moving there? Freelance writers in New York do you ever worry about moving elsewhere? Tell me in the comments or email me at contact@thefreelancebeat.com.
