Quiz: Are you ready to move to NYC?

1. You just graduated and you’ve got $1,500 in your savings account. What’s your plan of attack?

a) Start packing and move to Manhattan! Who cares if you don’t have a place to live? You’ll make more money once you book a few dance gigs.

b) Stay with your ’rents for a few months while you save money and spend a few weekends going on apartment visits. Moving to NYC will be much more plausible when you have a bigger handful of cash.

c) Camp out with a NYC-based friend and hit the pavement daily to scope out apartments and jobs. She won’t mind if you stay on her couch indefinitely.

2. In college, you and your best friend lived on opposite sides of campus. To get to her dorm, you’d:

a) Hop on your bike.

b) Drive.

c) Slip on some sneakers and walk.

3. You’re making dinner at your apartment when you see a mouse scurry across the floor. You:

a) Continue to stir your pasta and call your super to let him know you’ve got a pest problem.

b) Let out a Carrie Bradshaw-–style shriek, jump onto the counter and resolve to look for a new apartment ASAP.

c) Freak out and lock yourself in your room for a few minutes. You know mice are a part of NYC living, but you didn’t think you’d actually have one!

4. You’re standing on the corner of 59th St. and Broadway when a stranger asks to borrow your cell phone. You:

a) Hand it over. The guy needs to make a call!

b) Pretend you didn’t hear him and walk in the other direction.

c) Ask if it’s an emergency, then think better of it and point him in the direction of a pay phone.

5. You’ve gone on six auditions and booked exactly zero jobs. How ya feelin’?

a) Like you need a break. You’ll spend a few weeks going to classes in lieu of auditions.

b) Still motivated! You never expected to land the first—or 10th—audition. Persistence will pay off.

c) Defeated. Maybe NYC isn’t the place for you.

6. You’re at STEPS taking your first jazz class. You:

a) Snag a spot in the front row and give 100 percent. You may not be the best dancer there, but you’ve got confidence.

b) Get freaked out halfway through class and leave.

c) Switch to a lower level class—for now. You might be in a room with dancers half your age, but at least you’ll feel better about yourself.

7. Rehearsal ran until 11:30 pm and you’re heading home, but you’re not familiar with the neighborhood. You:

a) Plug in your headphones and find the subway alone. What could possibly happen to you?

b) Find a dance buddy who’s headed in the same direction and travel together. There’s safety in numbers.

c) Shell out a few dollars for a cab ride. Making sure you make it to your front door safely is your main concern.

8. Time to crash after a long day of rehearsals and classes. What do you need for a good night’s sleep?

a) Absolute peace and quiet. Distractions of any kind hinder your shut-eye time.

b) Noise, flashing lights and loud roommates are an annoyance, but you understand that they’re all part of NYC living. Instead, you lock your door to get some semblance of privacy.

c) You don’t care if you live next door to party central; you just need to be lying down.

9. How do crowded spaces—think hitting the mall two days before Christmas—make you feel?

a) Stressed out and suffocated. You need your personal space all the time.

b) A little uncomfortable. You don’t like it when people get in your way, but sometimes it’s inevitable.  

c) Energized. You love being surrounded by interesting people!

10. Auditioning for dance gigs isn’t going to pay the (really high) rent. What are you willing to do other than dance?

a) Waitress, hostess, be a coatcheck girl—you’ll take whatever part-time, paying gig you can get as long as you still have time to dance.

b) Wait until your cash stash gets really low before worrying. You’ll be able to find a side job if you’re really in trouble.

c) Nothing. You moved to NYC to get a dance job and you’ll keep at it until you run out of money.

Key:

1. a) 1 point, b) 3 points, c) 2 points

2. a) 2 points, b) 1 point, c) 3 points

3. a) 3 points, b) 1 point, c) 2 points

4. a) 1 point, b) 3 points, c) 2 points

5. a) 2 points, b) 3 points, c) 1 point

6. a) 3 points, b) 1 points, c) 2 point

7. a) 1 point, b) 2 points, c) 3 points

8. a) 1 point, b) 2 points, c) 3 points

9. a) 1 point, b) 2 points, c) 3 points

10. a) 3 points, b) 2 points, c) 1 point

If you scored 23–30 points,
it looks like you’re city-ready! You understand NYC living—lots of walking, a high cost of living and the reality of rejection—and you’re ready to take it head-on.

If you scored 17–22 points,
you’re still a bit naïve about what moving to NYC is really like. Our advice: Save money and go online to do some investigating. In a few years, you’ll be ready to call NYC your home.

If you scored 10–16 points,
the Big Apple may not be the place for you, at least not yet. If you’ve grown up in the suburbs, getting accustomed to life in the city is a huge adjustment. Remember, you can still live outside NYC and venture in when you want to take a class or catch a performance.