Atlanta or Miami (Nashville: mortgage, income, quality of life)

[NJ2FL]

Hi everyone,

I currently live in Northern NJ and am looking to relocate. I'm in the process of starting my singing career and was originally looking to relocate to Miami, Florida as NY is just waaaay too expensive for me to commute or live in. A friend of mine told me to look into Georgia, as many artists have better luck there than Miami. I know it's a long shot, but would anyone know about this? Anybody have advice or knowledge about this industry in Atlanta?? Please help.

[moving123]

Please advise type of music..Lots of country singers from the Atlanta area.

[NJ2FL]

Originally Posted by moving123

Please advise type of music..Lots of country singers from the Atlanta area.

Oh, sorry should have mentioned that! Mostly pop, I lean toward love ballads. Think joss stone, shania twain, beyonce, mariah carey! Hope that says it all!

[michael near Athens]

Miami is not a cheap place to live anymore, You better check it out and you better speak spanish as well as sing it

[nibseysgirl]

Originally Posted by NJ2FL

Hi everyone,

I currently live in Northern NJ and am looking to relocate. I'm in the process of starting my singing career and was originally looking to relocate to Miami, Florida as NY is just waaaay too expensive for me to commute or live in. A friend of mine told me to look into Georgia, as many artists have better luck there than Miami. I know it's a long shot, but would anyone know about this? Anybody have advice or knowledge about this industry in Atlanta?? Please help.

As a fellow northern relocated to SWFL I can tell you a few things about Fl. Although it looks beautiful and has some nice people overall it is not at all what you might think..The weather is nice but I have never ventured to nor do I ever intend to Miami. I live in Naples and have been treated like a second class citizen because I am an atypical woman with a normal income vs inflated beyond comprehension. Pl in FL (SWFL in general terms) are more about power money and prestige. If you dont make in access of 100K a year I would not suggest living in Fl at all especially SWFL. Its very expensive either to own (taxes are appx 5K a year(this year anyways ) and homeowners is just as significant..and food prices(especially compared to up north are out of the relm of reasonable)...I hve lived here for over three years and I am looking to relocate to GA in the next two months with my family. I have visited and I fell in love and I can actually afford to live there wtihout having two jobs just to pay the mortgage let alone eat...
As far as your singing..if you live in FL you better speak Spanish...It is a huge populated area for hispanic speaking immigrants both from Cuba and Mexico....A nice state to visit and yes even to live in if only every day folks could afford it...Everyone is leaving Fl cause it is just to damn expensive to live here...Sad but true...Hope this helps...Lisa

[compelled to reply]

If you move to Fla, stay out of Miami or SW FL, and move to Broward or Palm Beach County. More of a middle class/normal people in Broward and PBC. Better come with a lot of cash though. Atlanta provides much more opportunity for a lot less. I think South Florida is more of the kind of place where you move when you already HAVE a sustainable income, and Atlanta is an awesome place to start out. For someone to say Atlanta offers a higher quality of life than Broward/a lot of Palm Beach County in So. Fla would be fooling themselves, but what Atlanta does have that unfortunately, Florida does not have, is opportunity and affordability, and your personal quality of life has potential to be much higher in Atlanta if you make under 75k a year.

[LoveMiami]

well in miami is not so bad as many people here speak.
u can never compare oranges to apples. i live in nyc and here you have everything. from riches to poorest people on the world. i can not say to you it is rich or poor. it is both.
but you have to find is that for you or not

[raymikematt]

I wouldnt say comparing Atlanta to Miami is like comparing apples to oranges, (if those are the two you were talking about). They are quite similar in lots of ways. Metro population is about the same...Atlanta is a little bigger now I think. Atlanta is a diverse city with lots of cultures...not just Spanish speaking like Miami. Atlanta has a huge Asian population and yes, there are areas of Atlanta that it would be very hard to go into if you didnt speak Spanish or Korean or etc... Both cities are up and coming progressive cities but it is true that it is alot more expensive to live in Miami, (Miami is very narrow and squeezed tightly between the Everglades and the Atlantic ocean while Atlanta sprawls in every direction with MUCH more land to build upon.)
While I love Miami and try to get down for a vacation whenever I can, I do find it highly over-rated. Atlanta traffic is a nightmare though, (much worse than South Florida) and the smog is getting out of control!

[atlantagreg30127]

NYC: Top area for singers and you'll have the most choices for opportunities, but you will also have lots of competition. Just like in L.A. where everyone seems to be a "slash-actor" (waiter/actor, cabbie/actor, street cleaner/actor, etc), in NYC they're "slash/singers". My sister tried it. Didn't make it, but knew people who did get breaks. The thing is, if you're REALLY good - you stand a chance there. The thing is though if you've EVER watched the talent shows on TV.. there are A LOT of people who think they're really good - but who aren't.

Atlanta: A few country singers have made it but unfortunately it seems to be dominated by Rap/HipHop these days with little variety for anything else (especially general pop). It would be NICE to see more variety in the scene here regarding labels - maybe it'll happen one day to help eliminate the "thug" image we've developed here somewhat. So in other words, while there would be opportunities here, they're not as strong as other markets.

Miami: Everyone else has said it - you speaka espanol? Not sure that'd be it either, and yes, it costs $$ to live there these days. I was doing some research on the place for some friends who considered moving there and the comments I got were not very favorable in terms of quality of life - must less creative job opportunities.


alternative...


Seattle: While it's had the rep for alternative/rocker type stuff, there is still a strong music scene for other stuff too in Seattle and also to a lesser degree, Portland, Oregon. Talent scouts still roam around there a lot, too.

Nashville: Remember that country music has changed a lot in recent years. While the old-style "twangy" country music still exists, there are variations of it that border on rock/pop mixed with country as well. If this covers part of your style, Nashville might be the place. If not, hey, you can always get a gig in Branson, Missouri.

[NJ2FL]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

NYC: Top area for singers and you'll have the most choices for opportunities, but you will also have lots of competition. Just like in L.A. where everyone seems to be a "slash-actor" (waiter/actor, cabbie/actor, street cleaner/actor, etc), in NYC they're "slash/singers". My sister tried it. Didn't make it, but knew people who did get breaks. The thing is, if you're REALLY good - you stand a chance there. The thing is though if you've EVER watched the talent shows on TV.. there are A LOT of people who think they're really good - but who aren't.

Atlanta: A few country singers have made it but unfortunately it seems to be dominated by Rap/HipHop these days with little variety for anything else (especially general pop). It would be NICE to see more variety in the scene here regarding labels - maybe it'll happen one day to help eliminate the "thug" image we've developed here somewhat. So in other words, while there would be opportunities here, they're not as strong as other markets.

Miami: Everyone else has said it - you speaka espanol? Not sure that'd be it either, and yes, it costs $$ to live there these days. I was doing some research on the place for some friends who considered moving there and the comments I got were not very favorable in terms of quality of life - must less creative job opportunities.


alternative...


Seattle: While it's had the rep for alternative/rocker type stuff, there is still a strong music scene for other stuff too in Seattle and also to a lesser degree, Portland, Oregon. Talent scouts still roam around there a lot, too.

Nashville: Remember that country music has changed a lot in recent years. While the old-style "twangy" country music still exists, there are variations of it that border on rock/pop mixed with country as well. If this covers part of your style, Nashville might be the place. If not, hey, you can always get a gig in Branson, Missouri.

Ok, i do speak enough spanish to get by and understand a lot. In your opinion then, is there more going on in Miami then Georgia?? Is this industry growing in Miami?? Thanks