The Best City To Live In If You're An Artist

Ask any artist about their ideal city to live and work in, and you'll get many answers. Some look for affordable real estate, studios, or workspaces, while others seek a lively collective of fellow creators and great exhibition venues. Other creatives prefer inspiration of all kinds, from architecture to natural features like wooded areas, beaches, mountains, and panoramic vistas. While one city cannot be everything to every individual, and desires vary according to field and practice, many artists choose urban areas as a perfect place to live, create art, and share it with others.

Regarding urban living, Los Angeles is often cited as an excellent place for artists (via Advisorsmith), particularly those in the entertainment field. Known as the epicenter of film and television, LA is home to countless screenwriters, set designers, actors, fashion designers, and other creative professionals. In addition, the sprawling area of Los Angeles encompasses not only the studios of Hollywood but the beachfront communities of Venice and Santa Monica, often a sanctuary for visual artists with bustling gallery scenes. Other top LA neighborhoods, like Silverlake, are filled with creatives and rich cultural scenes. 

The LA art scene

Suppose you are an artist in the entertainment industry or adjacent to Hollywood, like design, marketing, and promotion. In that case, one might ask why you would live anywhere else. According to Advisorsmith, the average salary for creative professionals in LA is $86,509, far higher than in many other cities. While real estate and rents are pricier in southern California than in other areas of the country, the liveliness of the entertainment scene and higher income associated with it ensure living as an artist in Los Angeles is more feasible than in many cities with less bustling art and entertainment industries. 

Are you a creator in other mediums, like painting, illustration, photography, or writing? LA is hard to beat, with over 40,000 arts and culture establishments to offer exposure, assistance, and community. Musicians benefit from a lively music scene that encompasses genres from hip-hop to Latin-infused jazz to rock-n-roll, hosting large venues like the Hollywood Bowl and the Los Angeles Music Center down to small neighborhood clubs and bars where something is happening every night of the week. According to Galerie, LA visual artists are hosted by some of the best independent galleries in the US.

A unique cultural blend

Los Angeles is one of the country's most varied and beautiful areas, sporting ample sunshine, beautiful weather, and panoramic landscapes for every taste, from bustling or laid-back ocean communities to celebrity mountain vistas looking out over rolling landscapes. In addition to stunning visuals, artists and creatives in LA are immersed in a rich and diverse culture that manifests in countless performances, street art, and artist communities.

According to Lux Magazine, this unique cultural blend is an excellent medium for creative vision to incubate and innovate, with generous cultural capital and financial support to help artists spend their lives making the art they desire. Whatever your medium, Los Angeles is a city of voices and stories told through the medium of the screen and canvas, page and piano. With other cities like New York and Chicago at the top of the yearly list of big cities for artists, as well as smaller cities like Fargo and Bridgeport rounding out the top of their lists (via Advisorsmith), Los Angeles is definitely a city bursting with possibilities for creatives.