Moving to New York from Canada....

[jordanstarr]

I will be moving to New York at the end of the summer with my girlfriend who is going to school there. I know NOTHING about NYC except that it's got 6230209238409238 things that Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) does not that I could be interested in. Any suggestions for the following:

1. a cheap darkroom rental space.
2. a good photo gallery.
3. a good shop to get film at.
4. a decent area to live (something cheap, but not too sketchy).
5. interesting things to photograph (abandoned factories covered in graffiti, trains, and things like that)
6. film photography groups/clubs/organizations.

Any starting point would be great. I can do lots of research as I have time, but I'm looking for information to get me started and pointed in different directions, 'cause right now I'm all over the place.

Thanks in advance.

...Jordan.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Steve Simon is a documentary photographer doing great stuff in the Big Apple. I think he's shooting the Paralympics right now. He's from Edmonchuk too...maybe drop him a line and ask?

 

[BenZucker]

1. Printspace, its on 19th streeet between 6th and 7th ave. they have color and black and white darkrooms for rent. as well as computer work stations. They also process color neg film for pretty cheap, check them out!!!
2.Tuns of galleries on the west side of manhattan on streets in the 20's
3.bh photo and andorama are the big ones, there are tuns and tuns of places to get photo supplies
4. lots of places in brooklyn and queens, morning side hights, harlem, look on craigslist.com
5. just look around, its a huge city you will find plenty of things of interest if you just look around....
6. I have never been, but there is the camera club of NY, they have dark rooms and studios to use as well i believe.

Hope this helps

 

[Sparky]

Okay- well I'm going to sound like a naysayer here.... but I moved from canada to nyc in 96 - it can be a bitch though - you'll have to really adapt your way of life to something entirely new. If you want your own apartment (and not sublet or share) - be prepared to shell out 10-12K to a broker...! I have canadian friends who've moved there - they all either moved away or are really unhappy.

On the UP-side you can make a HELL of a lot of money there. There's a lot of european money that floats through that town that you can access if you have the know-how. And there are lots of fantastic cultural resources, great restaurants - at least you'll save money on a car - since it's basically impossible to drive there. Easier and cheaper to take car services and taxis (or public transport). And the food you can get access to at midnight is second to none...

 

[jordanstarr]

Colin...I might just do that if he's still there.

Thanks Ben for the starting points.

Sparky...Thanks for the head's up, especially with the broker stuff. We're just looking for 9 months - 1 year, so we might be able to avoid brokers.