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Help me move to New York from Canada by any means possible
ninzorjons
Registered User regular
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All the time I hear these stories of people in the U.S. just packing up and moving to New York to L.A., or where-have-you on nothing but a tank full of gas and a dream.
I want to be a theater actor. All I think about every day is being able to lift up my roots, and head off to a new life in the great state of New York. The problem is: I'm a Canadian.
Currently I'm living in Vancouver, B.C., a wonderful place for film & television acting, but it's just not doing the trick for me. The theater scene isn't very heavy here, and unfortunately it's the one thing I'm looking for to fill that emptiness inside me. Now, it's obvious that New York is THE place to be for theater acting... but from my naive knowledge of immigration you pretty much need to either be A) In a career that you can transfer over to in the States reliably (and basically already have lined up), or
Married to an American citizen... neither of which I am.
Info on me: I work as a bartender to make my money while I pursue my career in acting. If I needed to, I could easily save up 20+ grand in a decent amount of time by buckling down at work. I am currently represented by a talent agency for film & television and commercial work. I have no post-secondary education.
Also, before anyone tries to persuade me about the realism of "making it" or facing the competition in New York: it doesn't matter to me if I'm starving doing one-act plays in a church basement, I just want to act, and to be among an atmosphere of theater, and of artists. It's my only drive in life and I am not getting my fulfillment here in Vancouver.
So please, by any means, if there is a possibility of moving to the States, help a brother out.
I want to be a theater actor. All I think about every day is being able to lift up my roots, and head off to a new life in the great state of New York. The problem is: I'm a Canadian.
Currently I'm living in Vancouver, B.C., a wonderful place for film & television acting, but it's just not doing the trick for me. The theater scene isn't very heavy here, and unfortunately it's the one thing I'm looking for to fill that emptiness inside me. Now, it's obvious that New York is THE place to be for theater acting... but from my naive knowledge of immigration you pretty much need to either be A) In a career that you can transfer over to in the States reliably (and basically already have lined up), or
Married to an American citizen... neither of which I am.Info on me: I work as a bartender to make my money while I pursue my career in acting. If I needed to, I could easily save up 20+ grand in a decent amount of time by buckling down at work. I am currently represented by a talent agency for film & television and commercial work. I have no post-secondary education.
Also, before anyone tries to persuade me about the realism of "making it" or facing the competition in New York: it doesn't matter to me if I'm starving doing one-act plays in a church basement, I just want to act, and to be among an atmosphere of theater, and of artists. It's my only drive in life and I am not getting my fulfillment here in Vancouver.
So please, by any means, if there is a possibility of moving to the States, help a brother out.
"Be excellent to each other."
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I'm also pretty sure a work visa is obtainable as an actor, but you'd probably need something lined up beforehand. If you're a represented tv and film actor in Canada, see if they have a branch in the US or can refer you to an agency here that can claim to employ you to meet the requirements of a Work Visa.
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Yeah. Much better than Broadway and the CoL of NYC.
Even people doing one act plays need to be bathed and not emaciated.
rent pretty much starts at $1,000 a month for a studio in a non-stabby neighborhood with access to the subway.
I'm not saying don't do it, but start small and locally, build up capital and experience then make the move.
Most starving actors rent a room, not a whole studio apartment. That's not cheap, either.
Why not study theater in New York and get a student visa?
I believe that on a student visa (certain types of student visas? Not sure) you're allowed to work at jobs related to your field of study. This might be your best bet, if it's a) still the case and b) applies to theater students.
Save up some money, get yourself into a theater program, and go from there. Hopefully, by the time your program has finished, you have established a career and can transition to full-time residency (though I have no idea how that works).
Alternately, Toronto has a lot of theater going on (too much for our audience base, really). There's also the NTS in Montreal, which would at least get you on stage.
By some quick googling, I come up with http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/usa-visitor-visa.html Which may or may not be good advice, but it does link to information on the various visas available.
$20,000 may not go far in NYC, but if you supplement it with other income you could be okay.
I made the move from Toronto to New York without a job lined up about 3 years ago for personal reasons. While I'm no actor (I'm a business person), I can maybe offer some advice.
Artist visas are one of the easiest visas to get for Canadians if you are an actor, I know a few Canadians in NYC that use these and act in various capacities and do things like bar tend on the side. I have no idea how to initiate the process of getting one of these, but I'm sure Google can hook you up.
I know you said not to discourage you, but you should probably understand some realities: 1. Starving artists in NYC are a dime a dozen 2. NYC is VERY expensive, for reference I pay about $3500 a month for a nice 600sqft 1 bedroom near the theaters, which is considered a good deal. It gets cheaper, but you are going to have to give up a lot relative to whatever you are used to (try Queens and the Bronx). 3. You likely aren't going to have health care as your Canadian health care doesn't work unless you are a resident. If you become successful enough, theater actors do eventually get health care through their union I believe. 4. As other's have mentioned Toronto is a pretty awesome city with a great theater scene, and NYC and Toronto are pretty similar in my opinion when it comes down to it.
All that being said, NYC is a pretty awesome city if you can swing it, good luck.
Just some NYC apartment listings