New Here; Questions About Moving to Chicago

[jman07]

Originally Posted by snorkel27

nah. You can go settle for a comfortable, "safe choice" life, have a nice time!!

Can't you just try skydiving or something. LOL. Going away to college and moving to Chicago not knowing hardly anyone was not a comfortable totally safe choice but they were amazing parts of my life and I had a great time with both. I chose this instead of trying to be an astronaut, president of the united states, or quarterback for the bears and it has worked out quite well so far. Let us know when you move to LA and I'll keep my eye out for on TV when you prove me wrong. I heard a saying that if you go to LA and ask your waiter/waitress what they do for a living chances are they will say trying to be an actor/actress. I bet your parents are rolling their eyes. OH, and don't forget to audition at the pink monkey like another poster pointed out. I heard they are taking in girls like you.

In all honesty though, you should definitely have a back-up plan in place. I'm sure you will have fun wherever you choose to move and turn it into a great experience. Good luck to you.

[chrawnick]

Originally Posted by orelaf

I just made the move to Chicago myself and I must tell you it's not as easy as one can imagine. The apartment hunt is strenuous and time consuming, the job market even for a college grad is tough. Your best bet, which is to live with roommates is pretty much out the window due to your dog situation. Ten thousand dollars is not enough to make the move unless you already have a job waiting for you.

One thing I don't quite understand is why you are trying to move to Chicago for a couple of years if your ultimate goal is to live in LA? It takes at least a year to build some sort of a network be it friends or the contacts that could help you land acting jobs. Even if you succeed in Chicago, ultimately you'll have to leave everything behind and start from scratch in a city that's quite different and where your knowledge of Chicago as well as the contacts are not likely to carry over. Why not just go straight to LA and avoid losing those valuable 2-3 years on building your life around a place you already know you are going to leave?

I'm sure if you can make it in Chicago, you can make it in LA. It's different, but not in the Earth-Moon kind of way. If you don't make it on your first try, don't be afraid to go back home, regroup and start over. It's much better than the alternatives that some young women and men choose in order to avoid the embarrassment (it's actually not that embarrassing) of admitting defeat. Do follow your dreams though.

Oh yes it is enough. If you're willing to work hard for what you want to do, the reward and most importantly, the SATISFACTION in the end will be worth it.

The OP can even find apartments with "ALL utilities included" which could immensely save her money and the stress of worrying about more bills. I've even seen one listing that include free heat, gas, water, electric AND wi-fi.

Working one or two retail jobs could be an option too. (Yes, retail. It may suck but when your availability is open, you will definitely get more hours and nicer paychecks, heh.)

[faintlyamused]

I don't know why some people are so Debbie Downer about this, it seems to make a lot of sense to me to try to begin your career here before moving to L.A. You also seem very mature and motivated for someone your age, so there's that.

A few of my friends have been extras since moving to Chicago in the last year (they were in Contagion and the Chicago Code television show), and within the last year, I've had two movies and two television shows filmed on my block-- so it seems to me that there are definitely opportunities for you here in film and in theater.

Obviously the hard part is the apartment search and the job hunt, both of which were stressful to me when I moved here from out of state, and I was 26 years old! It's definitely going to be difficult, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a serving job and if you need it, you could also work part time in retail.

[Vlajos]

Good point faintlyamused, the likelihood of ever making it in LA is minimal in the first place. May as get some experience before trying.

[tollfree]

Chicago also has a boring mentality, it's a city for business - not dreams.

[Chicago60614]

^ people that say stuff like that should always stop and think about their lives a bit.

[jman07]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Chicago also has a boring mentality, it's a city for business - not dreams.

Ya, but I bet LA has more broke kids in their 20's than Chicago. People that move to Chicago have a better head on their shoulders. They come here with an education and dreams of having successful careers in business etc.