I remember when I was moving here in New York City and I was watching videos like this. Now, I am making videos like this for people that want to move here. Like what? Hi, modelpreneurs! My name is Venance, model, model coach and the creator of ModelToModelpreneur. So for the best modeling tips and winning tips, make sure to subscribe to my channel, click that bell so that you are notified every time I post a new video.
Modelpreneurs, I am super excited to be coming here with a new video. Welcome back to my channel, you know what time it is. Into this video, I wanted to talk about moving to a big city like New York City. This video is mainly for modelpreneurs, but if you are not a model, this video is also going to help you if you are trying to move to a bigger city. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York City, which I believe is the best city to be living in, New York City. So it's like the most amazing feeling just waking up here every single day in my New York City apartment, because I used to dream about this and now I'm actually here.
So I've pretty much lived in different boroughs in the city. I used to live in Long Island City and Long Island City is maybe 10 minutes to the city. So I've had the city life. Brooklyn is about 30 to 40 minutes from the city, especially where I live. The commute to go to the city is really not that bad. Okay. So now, we are almost ready to talk about the processing and me giving you the tips and everything that I did for you to also move to a bigger city. But before we do that, I just want to say that if you are new to my channel, if you've never seen my face, go ahead and click the button down below, subscribe, click the notification bell so that you are notified every time I post a new video. I try to post once a week, so you're getting your videos once a week.
Let's get into the steps on what I did to move to the city. First of all, I used to live in DC. I always knew that I was going to move to the city. I was literally here every two weeks for four years. So I always got modeling gigs here in New York City. I had already made friends in the city. I was already familiar with the place. It was getting a little overwhelming. It even got to a point where I was here literally almost every week. And it was just a lot, the four hour drive back and forth, and I made the decision that I wanted to move. Let's talk about my budgeting. I was working hard as shit. I had started ModelToModelpreneur, which is my full-time business right now. I was starting it, so I wasn't making that much money from it.
But I was, you know what I mean? I still had a regular job. I just started working super hard, trying to make as much money as possible. And I saved up maybe about $3,000. Before I even did that, I didn't really do my research. I didn't really look into the YouTube videos and all that stuff. I was just like, "I'm trying to get the fuck out. I'm trying to leave. I don't want to be here." So I didn't really have a plan. And I'm going to talk about why you guys should plan it out, but this is my experience and what I did. Okay, okay, okay. Let's get into how to find places to move in the city and how much you're really going to need for rent. Bitch.
In general, you want to move to New York City, they're going to ask you for so much shit. So just get ready for that. They want to make sure that you're making money. They're going to ask you for paystubs. They're going to also ask you three months of bank statements. They're going to ask you for you to have about 600 to 700 credit score. They're going to ask you for your first month's rent, security deposit, last month's rent. You've also got to pay for an application fee really. It usually is not even refundable. I think I mentioned everything. So those are the main things that they were going to ask you for. To move in, you're probably going to hit about $4,000 sometimes, depending on where you're moving to. That's a lot. I did not have $4,000 to move at that time, so that was a hell no for me.
I needed to figure out how am I going to move to this city without actually spending over $4,000? Let me tell you guys what I did and what you should do as well to at least get into the city. When I was moving, my credit score was not that great. I did not have everything, so I already knew I was not going to get approved for the apartment. Hey! Okay. So before I continue this video, go ahead and comment down below and let me know what big city you're trying to move to and when. Comment, let me know, let's talk, okay? Continue, continue the video, continue, after your comment. Originally, before I had planned to move by myself, I was actually going to move with another model. But a situation happened, so I decided not to move with her anymore.
Even before that, I met a guy at a fashion show when I came to New York City and he told me that he owned a bunch of model apartments in the city. And I was like, "Okay, a model apartment." I was like, "Tell me more about it." "Get my phone number, and we can talk more about it." He gave me his phone number and we were in contact. So there's two types of model apartments. The first type of model apartment that most people know is basically if you assign to an agency, the agency has an apartment where they basically have all the models that live in the same apartment. And when you get paid, they basically take out the money that you make and pay for that apartment. A bunch of girls live in that apartment. You have bunk beds and that's basically what a model apartment is.
That is the first one. The second model apartment, I didn't even know this, so the clubs. Let's say, for example, there's a big club in New York City, the club owns a model apartment where models live. So they work at night. Everybody has to schedule. For example, let's say on Monday, Tuesday, that's when you're supposed to go to the club. So they expect you to go to the club that night, basically to just entertain, just be there, be cute, whatever. And then you get food and free drinks all night. But they expect you to go there and they pay you 100 to $200 per night. So the guy, that's the kind of apartment that he owned in the city. He had one in Brooklyn, he had one in Manhattan and he had a couple of different apartments in the city. And I can't tell you guys what the club is, but it's a really, really big club in the city that owns a model apartment.
So I told him, "Let's get on a phone call, let's talk about it." He explained it to me. And I was like, "Thank you. Let me think about it." I really sat down and I thought about this you all, and it didn't make sense for me to live in a room with five or 10 other girls. I was not going to do that. And you want to know why I decided not to go with that option? I feel like if it was a regular model apartment with an agency that I was signed with, I probably was going to do it. But because it was the club that owned the model apartment, I did not trust it. The apartment was beautiful by the way. They showed it to me. But I was just thinking you don't know what really goes on there. I'm a very private person. I was just like I don't know if I can really kick that, just a bunch of girls next to my stuff. I don't like that. That's the first thing.
The second thing that I thought about is they could have brought random people in that room at night, and I don't even know. There was just all these things that was going into my head and I'm like that option, that's a no for me. So if you are a model that you feel like this is the option that's going to work for you, go ahead, especially if you're assigned to an agency and they have a model apartment for you to live in the city, fuck yes. Do it. I honestly would not recommend going with a club to live in the city. Don't do it. That's my opinion. Talking to you as your model coach, don't do it. Okay. So now that I made a decision that I wasn't going to go with the model apartment, I started doing my research on YouTube.
I came upon this video, the girl mentioned a Facebook group called Gypsy Housing. So Gypsy Housing is basically they have regular realtors in there and everything, but it's where you sublease. So subleasing basically means that you're not on the lease, but you have an agreement with a person that is on the lease. So I decided that, "Okay, I'm going to sublease a room in New York City." I knew my budget was about $700, so I started messaging people. I was still in DC, I wasn't even in New York City, and the rooms would go so fast. I remember I found the perfect room for me and it was out of my budget. It was actually $500 and it was huge. I messaged the girl the same day that she posted the ad. I was like, "Oh my God, I need this room." So I messaged her. I'm like, "Please, can you hold the room for me?" She was just like, "Yeah, I'm going to hold the room for you."
Venance Chiepodeu:
I was so excited, okay? I booked my ticket to New York. I was on my way literally about to get in the bus. She texts me and says, "Hey, somebody just took the room. Sorry." I said, "Bitch, I can't. I cannot." I said, "I'm not going to give up." So what I decided to do is I got an Airbnb in New York City and I was just apartment hunting, the ones that I liked. The apartment was small and just dirty. So I went back home and I was just still searching. I didn't give up. I was just trying to find a place to live on until I found this beautiful apartment. From the picture that I saw, the room was huge. The same day, I decided to book my ticket to New York, came to New York. I saw the room. The room was small. The room was long, but it was short. I'm 5'8". When I tell you the room is 5'7", my neck was like this in the room.
Venance Chiepodeu:
I'm giving you guys the reality, the things that you guys probably might go through. The room was about $700. I decided to do it. I stayed there for about two months and then COVID happened. I decided to go back to DC. I was still paying rent in New York. So the apartment that I was living was filled with other girls and it was amazing. I really loved living with them, but I needed to move out as soon as possible because I needed more space. Let me tell you guys how much I was paying. I was paying $700. So when I moved, I had to pay for a small rent, a deposit, which is $700, and then the last month's rent, which was $700. So I paid about $2,400 to move in there. But that was basically my moving situation. I'm sure you probably will have a different type of moving situation.
Venance Chiepodeu:
Just try to make it work for you. Get a U-Haul. You can run a U-Haul and bring your stuff if you want to drive and don't bring a lot of your stuff. You can always drive as well. Just know that when you drive, you have to maybe go bring your car back if you're not going to drive in the city. I don't recommend to drive in the city. Just the trains, the trains are super easy. At first, it's going to be hard, but you've got this. It's so easy. I can't really get lost anymore in the city because I'm very used to it now. I've been living here for a year just in case I haven't mentioned that. So now, let's talk about jobs. If you're watching this, you're probably one of my modelpreneurs. If you're not one of my modelpreneurs or a model, then you're trying to figure out how you're going to make money.
Venance Chiepodeu:
So from my experience, when I moved here, I had my startup, ModelToModelpreneur, my full-time business now. And when it comes to modeling, I was getting booked before. When I was in DC, I would get booked a lot in New York. So I had money coming in that way. Modeling is so unpredictable, especially when you are a freelance model. So I was a freelance model and I wanted to move to the city to get signed to an agency, which I ended up getting signed. But at the time, I wasn't. So it was very unpredictable to make money, especially when I was moving around the pandemic. And I didn't know there was going to be the pandemic. When I moved here, I was looking for jobs. I was really scared because I'm like, "I don't know how I'm going to really make money." I was making money for my business, but it wasn't that crazy amount.
Venance Chiepodeu:
I was like, "Let me find a job where I can basically save up." And I want you guys to know that I didn't move here just being blind about making money. Because I'm a creative, I know how to make money. I'm a hustler. I'm a hustler, baby. I was scared mainly because I had the impression that living in the city, I needed so much money to survive. You don't need so much money to survive. I was making the money to pay my rent, but I was just like, "Oh my God, I need more." So I started looking for a job. I didn't apply to a lot of places, regular places, if you know what I mean. My first job ever was retail, I did it for two weeks. I quit. I hated it. So I started working at a restaurant and then I quit. And then I started ModelToModelpreneur.
Venance Chiepodeu:
I also worked at a front desk, that was the last job that I had. In the city, those were the skills and the jobs that I was applying for. And with modeling, obviously, I was getting some bookings here and there. This is an amount of two months, you all. So I'm just giving you a two month experience of me living in New York City. I want you guys to know that getting a job in the city is really hard. It is not easy. Back in DC in general, they don't ask you for all this stuff. They don't call your reference. But here, they literally will call your reference, they will look for a resume, they really take it very seriously. So if you want to get a job here in the city, just make sure that your resume is popping. Get ready for that.
Venance Chiepodeu:
But for me, I did not apply for that many jobs. You want to know why? Because I wanted to work for a company like a marketing company, somebody who did what I was doing to help me build my business better. So that that's the only thing that I'll be doing other than modeling. I was praying to get a marketing job. That's what I was praying for. And I ended up getting it. I actually went on Craigslist to do this and honestly, don't recommend. I have bad stories about Craigslist. But I actually went on Craigslist and I found a company that was looking for a digital marketing post, basically what I do. At first, it was supposed to be in person. And the job was really cool. I was working on Wall Street, that's where the office was. But then COVID happened, so everything happened to be online.
Venance Chiepodeu:
So I was working from home, which I liked. I ended up quitting it and now I'm doing ModelToModelpreneur full-time. I was lucky. For you, I just want to say you really got to apply everywhere. I wasn't doing that because that's not the job that I wanted. I'm so used to being an entrepreneur. I just could not work for a regular thing. I couldn't do it. Not everybody's going to have a business and not everybody wants to have a business. But just applying and just be on top of it. But just know that it's not going to be easy wherever you're from, but it's not impossible. Nothing's impossible. In conclusion, I just want to say that my experience moving to New York City has been amazing. I wouldn't change the way I moved to the city. This is exactly how everything was supposed to happen.
Venance Chiepodeu:
So I just want you to know that you just need to get yourself in the city. That's it. You're going to evolve. You're going to grow. You're going to learn. You're going to be a better person. When I was moving here, I wasn't thinking too much like everything needs to be perfect, I need to be living in the perfect apartment. No. Please don't think that way. If you've got to struggle for a little bit, if you've got to eat rocks for a little bit, it's okay. Eat the rocks for a little bit, because just know that you're going to start eating good. Basically, what I'm trying to say is stop being such a perfectionist and waiting for the perfect time to move, because if you keep waiting for the perfect time, you're never going to leave your city.
Venance Chiepodeu:
As long as you can put your head at night to sleep, you have food in your stomach every day, and safe. This is one advice I want to give you, before you even move to the city, try to make sure that you'll have your first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit, and then three extra month's of rent, because this extra three months can give you time to find a job. Now, I'm so much better where I'm at in New York City. I model and I also run my online business, ModelToModelpreneur. If you don't know, go click the link down there. If you're a model right now, go ahead and click down there and I can teach you all about how to become your own boss. Another thing I want to say, people have this misconception that living in the city so expensive. It is not expensive because you evolve like I said.
Venance Chiepodeu:
You're going to start spending like a New York City person. I don't mean it in a bad way. Some people come here and they're like, "Oh my God, milk is so expensive here." But you need to think about it like we don't drive here. The way I think about it, it's like every single day when I was in DC, I would drive so I would pay money for gas, right? The money I will pay for gas every time, that's the money I'm now spending to go take the train. So stop letting other people block you from really doing what you want to do. Stop listening to other people if you're going to move. Don't even tell them. Don't even tell your parents. Don't even tell your sister. I mean tell your parents, but don't be talking about it like that. If you're going to do it, grow the balls and do it. Don't let people tell you how to live your life.
Venance Chiepodeu:
You're going to have better opportunities. It's going to elevate your career because you're going to be meeting the right people. You can come here and you meet the right person, literally walking out the street. Oh, I'm talking too much. Oh my God. Wow. I'm so happy I'm making this for you all. Thank you guys so much for watching my video. I hope I gave you guys enough value in this video, and I hope that you're ready to take that leap and move to that big city without being scared. And also, I wrote a book. If you want to go and check it out, the link is down below. It's only $5. So it's Start Your Modeling Career From Scratch if you are a model and you want to know how to take your modeling to the next level. So go ahead and click the link down below and grab my ebook. It's an ebook and you can also get it as a physical book, okay? Thank you so much for watching. I appreciate you and I will see you in my next video. Bye.