Carbon Footprint and the Subway

One of the pluses of being a starving artist in New York City using public transportation. It reduces your carbon footprint. You can calculate your carbon footprint at www.carbonfootprint.com and find out ways to save money and reduce waste on their website. It's fun to see upfront how much of a carbon footprint you make. Mine is 5.45 tonnes a year, which is a little less than half the U.S. Average. It then lists ways you can offset your carbon emissions by linking you to Clean Energy funds, tree-restoration projects etc. So give it a shot, and perhaps you'll see that you're making more of an impact than you might think.

www.carbonfootprint.com

A good day to start

So for all of you starving artists that still want to make it in new york, good luck. i will keep updating this so that we can get some good ideas going. First things first, a list of things to pack.
the top ten things to bring when moving to the city are as follows:

1.Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, contacts, shampoo, glasses, medicine, electric shaver etc.)
Pack these in a handy little case as if you were taking a vacation. Bring whatever you have at home and then get the rest at a dollar store.)
2.Bedding (Pillows, pillowcases, sheets)
Have mom wash them first!
3.Towel (a must! Don’t find yourself in a new place without a towel. They are hard to find if you don’t know which stores to go to.)
4.Laptop computer
This is a lifesaver for boredom--bring DVD's and so forth with it. Only your favorites when first moving.
5.Inflatable bed
I slept on an inflatable bed for 3 months when i first moved down to the city. It was the best investment i made--only 40 dollars at a Goodwill. Check your local Goodwill because Target gives them all of the merch they can't sell.
6.Watch or alarm clock
I skipped this one and just used my cell phone
Some form of entertainment (dvds for computer, books, ipod, etc.)
7.Posters (to feel at home)
There is nothing as lonely as living in a room with white walls. If you have a printer you can make due just by using it.
8.Expendable cash
And lots of it. Get to know your surrounding area by going out to bars and checking out the local merchants.
9.A week’s worth of clothing
10.Dry food.
Only bring a couple cans of tuna, some ramen noodles, some soup and other nonperishables. Any time I move I become a shut in for about a week before I start checking out the surrounding area. I don't know why this is.
Altogether, this shouldn't be to much of a load. Many of the items can be picked up in Brooklyn or Queens, so take only what you really know you want right away at your new place. This ensures that you won't feel like an outsider with nothing to show for yourself.
optional things to bring if you have room--Dishware, silverware, a small tv, videogame console, speakers, etc. These are secondary items that you might want to bring if you are taking a car.
The starving artist is always looking for a good "free" ride. It just so happened that when i moved to the city last july, my friend was going to see bob dylan the night before. I told him that i would buy his ticket if he drove me all the way into new york city. He agreed and i got a "free ride" into the city, complete with the above list of items. Plus, i got to go see Bob Dylan!!! Call it what you will, but it all worked out in the end.
Next topic--
Affordable areas to live in Brooklyn and Queens.

a starving artist's guide to not actually starving in new york city.

this blog is the beginnings of something big for me. it started as an idea to help out fellow artists and people who want to put their lives on the line in order to become full time artists. Now, it's up to you to decide if you have what it takes to become a writer, artist, musician or photographer full-time, but what this blog is designed to do is to get some tricks of the trade in getting around the capitalist system that is designed to keep people from creating their own art. i've beenPublish Post accumulating the tricks i've used for over a year in struggling to become a writer in new york city. hopefully future artists reading this will use this knowledge to avoid some of the pitfalls of living as an artist. If anyone has any advice that they would like to share, by all means please post it. a list of topics is soon to follow.