If you had no ties...where would you go?

[Tim M]

If you had no ties in the world...family, friends, networks etc...where would you go based solely on work. daily rate + amount of work + (possibly mention single chicks or hunks...trannys w/e) - living expenses...

[cmassey]

Washington, DC area...lots of corporate work, lots of news work, lots of doc work, and then you can be in NYC and Philly easily! Live outside of the District and commute in and out! There's just something about the energy there!!! Being solo I can live cheaply so the extra cash can go to fun stuff. In the summer and fall there is a lot of outdoor activities, which really appeals to me.

cleve

[RPSharman]

I wouldn't want to live anywhere there's work. Why do you think incentives were offered in those areas?

Living cheaply and working as much as I can, until I can live where I want and not have to worry about the work.

Robert

[Tim M]

haha! Cleve, probably be the smartest if I moved there right now! Right prior to elections, there is probably tons of work huh? I've been to the commission database that was sort of weird...seemed pretty extensive though. After watching Inside Job though I don't know if D.C. is for me I might want to explode occasionally. Bernanke here I come. lol

Tim

[Jeff Babb]

Where is the smallest town in the country with a film industry? That's where I'd go. Oh wait. I'm here.

[Tim M]

I wouldn't want to live anywhere there's work. Why do you think incentives were offered in those areas?

Robert, not sure I'm following you...what if part of the incentives apply to locals?

[jacefivesound]

Robert seems to be saying anywhere with a film tax incentive is an undesirable place, which is why they need an incentive. At least, that's how I read it.

I tend to disagree, at least for me. If the work left Boston, I'd stay right here anyway.

[RPSharman]

Robert, not sure I'm following you...what if part of the incentives apply to locals?

If people were attracted to the areas for other reasons, then massive incentives to attract business and employees would not be necessary.

While some people might enjoy to living in some incentive areas, in general people aren't flocking to those areas for reasons other than employment.

[RPSharman]

Robert seems to be saying anywhere with a film tax incentive is an undesirable place, which is why they need an incentive. At least, that's how I read it.

I tend to disagree, at least for me. If the work left Boston, I'd stay right here anyway.

Boston is a great city for many reasons, and one of the exceptions.

[jacefivesound]

Thanks! To clarify, Besides LA, I've only worked here (besides the occasional weekly trip to where have you) so I honestly haven't got much worldly work experience.

Now we'll see if I put my moola where my mouth is when the incentive eventually goes away, as they all will sooner or later.

[jason porter]

I love all of the Scandinavian countries as well as Germany and Austria.

If I could, I would.

[Jesse Flaitz]

Live outside of the District and commute in and out!

You couldn't pay me enough to commute into and out of DC. It puts NYC commuter traffic to shame. I spent a week in Centreville about 15 miles outside DC and every day route 29 was backed up for miles.

[old school]

I've worked all over the USA and even Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, in Canada, and Cancun and Zihuatanejo in Mexico, shot in Tahiti. Many of them were nice on a host of levels, but the one thing they all have in common is when you are there and working, it is still work. I know and love SoCal and would stay here if work were a part of the equation. Love to visit and travel the world but SoCal is my home. Viva California.

CrewC

[Tom Visser]

Indonesia, Panama, Eucuador, Morocco...

If global warming is real, then maybe Iceland and hopefully the water temps creep up a degree or two so the water temps allow civilized surfing conditions.

Coming back to reality, I do have a family though, and I love NYC. At some point, I will seriously consider moving away from Hawaii when the time is right and IF things don't pan out here. The obvious choices are either to return to NYC or maybe give LA a try, since it would be cheaper to raise my family there.

[Michael McQueen]

pretty psyched on where i am. good work, good climate and good bike trails!

[engaudio]

I lived in Kerikeri (bay of Islands) for a while to escape, travelled back to Auckland for work (a 2.5-3hr journey) for 2+ day shoots for about a year. Due to family issues I moved back, thinking of the next place now the kids are almost grown up.. Heck, I may even go back!

http://www.kerikeri.co.nz/

Grant.

[Jim Gilchrist]

haha! Cleve, probably be the smartest if I moved there right now! Right prior to elections, there is probably tons of work huh? I've been to the commission database that was sort of weird...seemed pretty extensive though. After watching Inside Job though I don't know if D.C. is for me I might want to explode occasionally. Bernanke here I come. lol

Tim

I've worked freelance in Washington, DC for about 30 years.

There's a bunch of work but I wouldn't count on getting rich doing campaign work, unless you're a consultant marking up time buys. Just like the rest of the production world, things have changed in the political advertising world. Although I don't work in the news business and magazine show world it has gotten smaller and probably to a greater extent than any other type of work. There's a fair amount of work available doing political propaganda, trade association/union/NGO stuff and industrial pieces. The feature and episodic TV worlds have mostly decided to take a pass on the city - the Netflix series House of Cards has been doubling Baltimore for DC and the HBO series VEEP built sets in a warehouse in Columbia, MD and shot in Baltimore mostly for practical locations, doing just 2 or 3 days in DC. The expense of housing, transpo issues, permits and access along with security concerns have taken a toll. Permitting shoots can be nightmarish. Many popular locations sit at the junction of overlapping jurisdictions and there are something like 17 police departments with jurisdiction within the city. Shooting on Capitol Hill is the worst with limited access, no parking at all and some arcane rules and conventions.

Housing in the DC region is expensive, traffic is pretty awful and work can be spotty. If you want to live in the city itself you'll pay taxes just like other Americans do but have no voting representation in the Congress and your city government will be controlled in the end by members of Congress from other places. If you live in the suburbs, access by car into the city is limited from the west (Virginia) by the small number of bridges over the Potomac River and from Maryland access by car is limited by the lack of highways into the central city. Mass transit struggles to keep up - the subway system wasn't designed to be adaptable to expansion. That said, where Jesse was, Centreville, VA, is an area with few limits on development and inadequate transportation infrastructure even by Virginia standards. I had a gig out there a few years ago when it was much less developed and saw our location as I drove past. Going down the road, making a u turn and driving back took 20 minutes.

The city of Washington itself is beautiful. There are tons of free or inexpensive cultural events and museums. The Potomac River between Great Falls VA and DC is a true treasure, a wild urban river and a mecca for kayakers. The most visited park in our NPS system starts in the city and runs along the Potomac out to Cumberland MD. It's easy to get to the Chesapeake Bay and to the Shenandoah Valley. The schools in the close-in suburbs are great and many city schools are very good. But housing is expensive, DC and the close-in suburbs are a seller's market, traffic is pretty terrible and parking can be difficult.

But there is a good network of production folks here and I've gotten to see and do things (touch the capstone of the Washington Monument, visit the archive of all the objects left at the Vietnam War Memorial, fly aboard Air Force One or hold the Hope Diamond, for example) that most folks will never get to do. I've met and worked with many famous and infamous folks over the years. And we have a pretty good baseball club and hockey team for what it's worth.

Best regards,

Jim

[Dan Ostroff]

I've worked freelance in Washington, DC for about 30 years.

There's a bunch of work but I wouldn't count on getting rich doing campaign work, unless you're a consultant marking up time buys. Just like the rest of the production world, things have changed in the political advertising world. Although I don't work in the news business and magazine show world it has gotten smaller and probably to a greater extent than any other type of work. There's a fair amount of work available doing political propaganda, trade association/union/NGO stuff and industrial pieces. The feature and episodic TV worlds have mostly decided to take a pass on the city - the Netflix series House of Cards has been doubling Baltimore for DC and the HBO series VEEP built sets in a warehouse in Columbia, MD and shot in Baltimore mostly for practical locations, doing just 2 or 3 days in DC. The expense of housing, transpo issues, permits and access along with security concerns have taken a toll. Permitting shoots can be nightmarish. Many popular locations sit at the junction of overlapping jurisdictions and there are something like 17 police departments with jurisdiction within the city. Shooting on Capitol Hill is the worst with limited access, no parking at all and some arcane rules and conventions.

Housing in the DC region is expensive, traffic is pretty awful and work can be spotty. If you want to live in the city itself you'll pay taxes just like other Americans do but have no voting representation in the Congress and your city government will be controlled in the end by members of Congress from other places. If you live in the suburbs, access by car into the city is limited from the west (Virginia) by the small number of bridges over the Potomac River and from Maryland access by car is limited by the lack of highways into the central city. Mass transit struggles to keep up - the subway system wasn't designed to be adaptable to expansion. That said, where Jesse was, Centreville, VA, is an area with few limits on development and inadequate transportation infrastructure even by Virginia standards. I had a gig out there a few years ago when it was much less developed and saw our location as I drove past. Going down the road, making a u turn and driving back took 20 minutes.

The city of Washington itself is beautiful. There are tons of free or inexpensive cultural events and museums. The Potomac River between Great Falls VA and DC is a true treasure, a wild urban river and a mecca for kayakers. The most visited park in our NPS system starts in the city and runs along the Potomac out to Cumberland MD. It's easy to get to the Chesapeake Bay and to the Shenandoah Valley. The schools in the close-in suburbs are great and many city schools are very good. But housing is expensive, DC and the close-in suburbs are a seller's market, traffic is pretty terrible and parking can be difficult.

But there is a good network of production folks here and I've gotten to see and do things (touch the capstone of the Washington Monument, visit the archive of all the objects left at the Vietnam War Memorial, fly aboard Air Force One or hold the Hope Diamond, for example) that most folks will never get to do. I've met and worked with many famous and infamous folks over the years. And we have a pretty good baseball club and hockey team for what it's worth.

Best regards,

Jim

Jim certainly has it right. I'm no where near 30 years at this and still trying to get on my feet but can +1 the traffic and living costs. I have 2 children so we decided to live about 50 miles from DC in MD for more affordable (if that is possible) living, more land, schools that we liked, and closer to family. But we definitely pay the price to commute. To beat the traffic, have to leave pre-5:30am and usually give 2-3 hour buffer (for what amounts to an hour drive with no traffic) just in case there is an accident that ties things up even more. Living closer to DC and being Metro accessible would help but the cost of living is definitely up there.

Used to live out in the MW for a couple years, miss the slower lifestyle and minimal traffic out there that's for sure.

[VASI]

Come to Greece and Thessaloniki to celebrate the debt. haha

I'm looking for Washington, Minnesota and Auckland.

I don't need to become rich from this job.

I need to pay the bills with no worries and live, life easy.

[OmahaAudio]

You couldn't pay me enough to commute into and out of DC. It puts NYC commuter traffic to shame. I spent a week in Centreville about 15 miles outside DC and every day route 29 was backed up for miles.

1) Avoid Centerville like the plague (ditto Manasshole)

2) Live near a Metro station

[Joshua Anderson]

Come to Greece and Thessaloniki to celebrate the debt. haha

I'm looking for Washington, Minnesota and Auckland.

I don't need to become rich from this job.

I need to pay the bills with no worries and live, life easy.

I grew up in Minnesota...I hope you know what you're wishing for when winter rolls along.

In the summer, though, it is really beautiful. Thousands of lakes, lots of green. Minneapolis, where I grew up, has an amazing arts scene with local musicians, the Guthrie Theater, the Walker Arts Center, and more.

The winter is really pretty too...as long as you dress for it. Neighbors and strangers really do help each other push cars and shovel out.

[VASI]

I grew up in Minnesota...I hope you know what you're wishing for when winter rolls along.

In the summer, though, it is really beautiful. Thousands of lakes, lots of green. Minneapolis, where I grew up, has an amazing arts scene with local musicians, the Guthrie Theater, the Walker Arts Center, and more.

The winter is really pretty too...as long as you dress for it. Neighbors and strangers really do help each other push cars and shovel out.

Thank you Joshua for information!

I'm looking for a nice and "quiet" place.

"Quiet" place I mean with no extreme lifestyle but walks in parks, short travels in forests etc..

[Chris McCallum]

I was actually free and easy with no ties when I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia and it has been the best move ever!

https://www.google.com/search?q=currumbin+beach

[johnpaul215]

If people were attracted to the areas for other reasons, then massive incentives to attract business and employees would not be necessary. While some people might enjoy to living in some incentive areas, in general people aren't flocking to those areas for reasons other than employment.

Do you mean film incentives, or the "please come live here" incentives like Alaska?

The same could be said by the people that only move to California, or NY, because there is so much of the industry there, but don't really like it. Whatever the reason, there is work there.

The incentives are created by the state and cover the whole state. In PA, the cities have their own personalities, and the land in between is a world of it's own. The diversity of the state has been an appeal to films. Everything from cities to farms to little old coal towns that don't look like they changed much in 40+ years.

[johnpaul215]

If you had no ties in the world...family, friends, networks etc...where would you go based solely on work. daily rate + amount of work + (possibly mention single chicks or hunks...trannys w/e) - living expenses...

It probably depends on what kind of work you want to do. There is work in most every city if you do corporate work. If you want to do film, then there are hot spots. If you do reality TV, there are a LOT of production companies NOT based in NYC or LA. I just worked with one based in Orlando Florida and I was told most of their shoots are not in Florida. They fly all over the place. More importantly, many reality shows are filmed all over the country, and around the world. In Philly I have obviously worked with local PA/NJ/DE people as well as plenty of crew members from NY, CA, WA, Texas, Massachusetts, and a bunch of other states as well as people from the UK. If you are established with a reality company, you can live anywhere.

My UK buddies live in the country. They don't do jobs that are a few days, they generally do 3+ month contracts in some other part of the world, so it doesn't matter where they live. They work their butts off for the contract, then head home and enjoy life.