The passage of time is a heartbreaking scene; Turning the golden years of our lives into lost dreams
So I opted to back out of pretty much my second place realistic dream apartment scenario. My guarantor opted not to guarantee, and I'm in the unfortunate position of having no back up for that. The issue lay in the common misconception that musicianship is not a viable career choice. All outsiders (and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense) see are the gigging and song selling aspects of it, which don't account for a large chunk of what really is a multistream income. The music lessons, transcriptions, copyist work, session work, sideman work, even busking. There are more options, too, these are just some of the big ones. On their own they may make it a pretty thin living, but successful musicians don't rely on just one of these avenues. Unfortunately, most folks don't consider a fluid freelancing career to be a stable one. Who do you answer to? What are your regular hours? What is your hourly rate? Do you get pay raises? What exit is your office building off of? None of these questions has one answer, sometimes they don't even have an answer. That scares a lot of people. To outsiders, they look at these kinds of things as uncertainties. To a musician, they're more like variables. Not "will I work today?", but "what will I work on today?"
It's that unquantifiable quality to full time music careers that leave outsiders or the uneducated apprehensive about it, I think. They may know about surface aspects to certain parts of it, but they don't really understand what it means.
Now, I don't normally let this aspect be an issue to me. However, there is a problem with this misunderstanding: outsiders control most of the world. Outsiders are generally the ones who lease out apartments. Outsiders are generally the ones who act as guarantors. Sometimes they're even your potential flatmates. You're lucky if you get one out of the three of them to understand this, but you still need the other two regardless.
I doubt I'd be able to find a "real job" (one that would give the powers-that-be confidence) before the move-in date on May 15th, at least one that would give me hours flexible enough to follow through with my career path. I do have enough money to pay rent and extras for at the very least 3 months and security. While I feel, if given as much hard work as I can and as much networking that I can make, it would be ample time to get a foot in and start paying bills. Skirt a bit close on the bank account, sure, but not destitute. That's generally how it's been done for every successful working musician.
I'm in the unfortunate scenario of now having to figure something else out. It's been suggested that I stay in New Hampshire and commute to perform in New York, but that's not going to work. It's about $100 and a good 12 some odd hours travel time to go to New York and back, and that's if I only get bus tickets. I think I spent at the very least about $125 during my most recent trip, just to spend about 2-3 hours in the city. I need something that will actually work for me. Most of the work I would have gotten had I gone there would have been from other musicians, hooking me up and offering me jobs that they wouldn't or couldn't take. There's not really much like that direct networking and work in low population areas like New Hampshire.
Commuting to Boston for performances will be one thing. I still spend about $30-40 a trip, but at a comparable 2-3 hour round trip travel estimate. It's going to be more expensive to live in New Hampshire by the fall at latest (surprising huh?) due to the necessity of a car for maintaining work throughout the fall and winter seasons.
Emotional cost? Pretty high to be honest. I'm 24, still living in my parent's home, practically a caretaker for it since he doesn't even live here anymore. I was hoping to be gone by now. This opportunity comes up to leave, and now I can't take it because he doesn't believe in my ability to help me take it is what it really comes down to. Yes, I understand his and his wife's fears, but it's doubtful they understand this specific frustration. If you don't believe in the abilities of someone you care about, don't lie to them that you do. There'll be a time you'll need to back that up with action, and sometimes the very principle of your hypocritical actions are enough to cause irreversible damage.
There's that, and I hate letting folks like Rachel down (the person I was looking to move in with). I was really looking forward to an extremely affordable place in a good neighborhood about a block away from a train, 30 minutes from Times Square, affordable shops and grocers in the area, and rooming with as kindred a spirit as I'll get without actually believing in kindred spirits. I won't say that an opportunity like that won't ever arise again, but I'm not gonna count on it.
Be honest to each other from the outset, folks. The honesty doesn't have to be "brutal" (i.e: a method of tearing down someone under the guise of a formality/favor), but don't lie. Causes problems.
I hope she finds a replacement in time for move-in.
It's that unquantifiable quality to full time music careers that leave outsiders or the uneducated apprehensive about it, I think. They may know about surface aspects to certain parts of it, but they don't really understand what it means.
Now, I don't normally let this aspect be an issue to me. However, there is a problem with this misunderstanding: outsiders control most of the world. Outsiders are generally the ones who lease out apartments. Outsiders are generally the ones who act as guarantors. Sometimes they're even your potential flatmates. You're lucky if you get one out of the three of them to understand this, but you still need the other two regardless.
I doubt I'd be able to find a "real job" (one that would give the powers-that-be confidence) before the move-in date on May 15th, at least one that would give me hours flexible enough to follow through with my career path. I do have enough money to pay rent and extras for at the very least 3 months and security. While I feel, if given as much hard work as I can and as much networking that I can make, it would be ample time to get a foot in and start paying bills. Skirt a bit close on the bank account, sure, but not destitute. That's generally how it's been done for every successful working musician.
I'm in the unfortunate scenario of now having to figure something else out. It's been suggested that I stay in New Hampshire and commute to perform in New York, but that's not going to work. It's about $100 and a good 12 some odd hours travel time to go to New York and back, and that's if I only get bus tickets. I think I spent at the very least about $125 during my most recent trip, just to spend about 2-3 hours in the city. I need something that will actually work for me. Most of the work I would have gotten had I gone there would have been from other musicians, hooking me up and offering me jobs that they wouldn't or couldn't take. There's not really much like that direct networking and work in low population areas like New Hampshire.
Commuting to Boston for performances will be one thing. I still spend about $30-40 a trip, but at a comparable 2-3 hour round trip travel estimate. It's going to be more expensive to live in New Hampshire by the fall at latest (surprising huh?) due to the necessity of a car for maintaining work throughout the fall and winter seasons.
Emotional cost? Pretty high to be honest. I'm 24, still living in my parent's home, practically a caretaker for it since he doesn't even live here anymore. I was hoping to be gone by now. This opportunity comes up to leave, and now I can't take it because he doesn't believe in my ability to help me take it is what it really comes down to. Yes, I understand his and his wife's fears, but it's doubtful they understand this specific frustration. If you don't believe in the abilities of someone you care about, don't lie to them that you do. There'll be a time you'll need to back that up with action, and sometimes the very principle of your hypocritical actions are enough to cause irreversible damage.
There's that, and I hate letting folks like Rachel down (the person I was looking to move in with). I was really looking forward to an extremely affordable place in a good neighborhood about a block away from a train, 30 minutes from Times Square, affordable shops and grocers in the area, and rooming with as kindred a spirit as I'll get without actually believing in kindred spirits. I won't say that an opportunity like that won't ever arise again, but I'm not gonna count on it.
Be honest to each other from the outset, folks. The honesty doesn't have to be "brutal" (i.e: a method of tearing down someone under the guise of a formality/favor), but don't lie. Causes problems.
I hope she finds a replacement in time for move-in.