I've decided I want to start looking into moving after the Holidays. I've been thinking about it for a couple of years now.

Musically, the area where I am now is, at best, difficult, and, at worst, hopeless.
Hard to play under these circumstance. It dampens both your creativity and your enthusiasm.

Do any of you have any suggestions on where YOU live now or where you would like to live that I can consider? I'm all out of ideas other than North Carolina. But it doesn't have to be in the States. I wouldn't mind a foreign country even.

My only criteria is that it needs to be conducive to work (playing music) and where folks are much easier to get along with than what I have now.

I'm in the New York City area if you haven't figured it out already.

Lucky

Under a stone!

The Sarasota, FL area has just been voted #1 for retirees and Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte area(where I live) is #9.

SW Florida is cheaper and is full of friendly seniors looking for entertainment.

Bernie

Alot depends on what your target audience is. Who do you want to play to, what type of music?

I agree. Much of this depends upon the type of music you perform, whether or not you sing, and the audience you hope to target.

No matter where you move, you'll need some up front money to live on until you build the number of clients and get the paychecks rolling in. If you are already established in your current location nut not making enough to make ends meet, you may want to try expanding your current client list by doing some aggressive marketing.

Making a full time living in music is not a cushy way of life, though some folks would like to portray it as such. It requires more work than anyone can imagine in order to be successful. There are thousands of musicians in the NYC area, and it's likely that less than 1-percent actually make a decent living from music alone. Keep in mind that if you averaged $100 a day net profit from playing clubs and played every day of the week, this amounts to just $36,500 a year. I don't think you could live in that amount in NYC, or for that matter, any other major U.S. city.

One of the reasons I switched to the Nursing Home circuit is if you are set up properly, with a system that can be easily transported and quickly set up, you can perform at as many as three locations a day. And, in some locations there are enough of these facilities to make this possible. Under these circumstances, you can make good living, support your family and be home for dinner every night.

Good luck in your search,

Gary

always feeling positive and upbeat, I see...

Lucky,

My wife and I were considering moving to Ocala, Fla and almost purchased a home there in October should be plenty of opportunity to play to seniors there. It's a long story why we didn't buy this year but let's say we've postponed the decision for 18 to 24 months since we have to complete work here in the North East and have a family situation which hindered the decision.

I'm familiar with housing costs in metro NYC and North Jersey! If you head south you'll be just blown away by what $100k gets you, in fact at $80k there's some very nice homes for sale as well. I'm talking gated 55 plus communities with swimming pools, golf courses, tennis and state of the art work out centers.

Don't come to where I am in North Louisiana. You don't get to experience a lot of snow or ice. You have to mow grass 9 months out of the year. Too much spicy Cajun food (and women). Everybody takes their time doing things--you can't get anybody to HURRY. Government isn't nearly as corrupt as it used to be; it's hard to get by with much.
I have to walk 50 yards to play golf, and more than a half mile to launch my boat.
If you're going to be away from home for more than a week, it's a good idea to lock your front door.
There are no subways or elevated trains. The traffic jam is from 5:00 to 5:15. All the cops know my name, so I can't break any serious laws without embarrassing them.
We have the smallest Bowl Game in the history of football. You have to have at least a break-even season and guarantee 38 fans to qualify. Air Force is coming this year. I think it's because they can land free at the AFB.
It's hard to drive anywhere on Sunday morning, because of all the traffic from people going to and from church.
We had a terrorist threat last week, but it turned out it was just a Mormon with a backpack full of literature.
Women still dress like they did in the 70's--long hair, tight jeans and no underwear. No wait, that's a GOOD thing.
Anyway, I have all the good music jobs tied up, so go somewhere else.
DonM

Don
That's a hoot