Claudia Bohnspector wrote:
>
> Yes, some of us actually have lived in NYC - and for a lot less that
> $25,000 a year -  paying our dues to the local art establishment.  We
> lived on a bagel a day, two subway tokens, a pack of cigarettes, and a
> copy of the New York Times.  We called it "receiving an education" and
> we were having fun!
>
> But you move on (grow up?) and actually come to expect to live a
> little better than that.  You want to eat a decent meal every so
> often, you quit smoking and join a health club.  You still read the
> NY Times, but want to go and see the plays and buy the books that you
> you've been reading about all those years.  You want a real job that
> pays you what you're worth (or better: more than you're worth).  You
> are tired of killing yourself - even if you're doing it in NYC.  You
> want to have a life!
>
> So you move to L.A. (big mistake) and wonder why the hell there is no
> job in NYC that would keep you out of poverty.  I guess the "New York
> mystique" is alive and well -   you will be underpaid and exploited,
> but at least you're having a lot of "actors, musicians, and artists"
> around.
>
> Claudia Bohn Spector
> Senior Fellow
> The Getty Conservation Institute
> [log in to unmask]

I don't smoke, I belong to a gym, I eat bagels but also go out to eat at
nice restaurants.  I am friends (gasp!) with many artists and musicians
who, as bizarre at it might seem, also enjoy eating well, working out,
and living the good life.  And they are 30 years old or younger.  And a
lot less cynical about life, and a lot less concerned about doing the
requisite "mature New Yorker" activities (as defined by that bible known
as the NY Times).