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25 Yrs. I work in the music industry, played in bands, have recorded and mixed Rap and Rock, composed... Pretty much everything music and sound.
I gave NYC a try this year for the big leagues, and its too much. I love my job but I HATE the city. I would trade my job to get out of here.
I LOVE the outdoors and I would rather have a simpler life with access to the outdoors (Mountain Biking, Skiing, Camping, etc.) and work in a smaller pond.
So that leaves me limited options... Don't like L.A., never could live in Nashville, Grew up in and already worked a lot in Atlanta (too much urban music).
So it leaves me 2 options from what I've gathered, very NICE options as a matter of fact.
Austin and Seattle.
I loved Austin when I visited there and I know its cheaper, sunnier and apparently the up and coming center for music.
Seattle has a girl I love, mountains and trees and skiing and very outdoorsy... But I know NOTHING about the music scene and its far. Did it fade after the 90's?
Anybody want to give me the lowdown on the music scenes in these two places... Not just for musicians -- But sound for video games, recording studios, I've done all these things and would love to know more about these cities oppourtunities.
Seattle has a great music scene, but Portland's is probably a bit more vibrant--I'm sure it's about on par with Nashville and Austin (though the genres are somewhat more limited to contemporary indie stuff). The commercialization of the music scenes in the PNW are much less than you'll find in NYC, LA, Nashville, or Austin. If you're in the music business up here it might be difficult for you to land something. There are a lot of independent home-grown labels though and definitely not a shortage of bands that may or may not be looking to record. In Seattle there are a few video game developers... Most people involved in the Portland music scene anyway don't do it full-time. The competition is fierce there--not exactly a small pond. I'm sure this holds true for Seattle to some extent.
From what I know, Seattle/Portland is more Indie Rock and Austin is more Alt-country/Indie folk.
Not to say there aren't exceptions, Explosions in the Sky is from Austin and I'd say they're pretty experimental indie rock.
Actually indie rock and indie folk are big in both places. I think the Austin scene is more into the experimental music than Seattle/Portland though.
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