Midwest Crisis: Mars in Brooklyn
“Honestly, it was mostly the diversity and public transportation.”
Mars moved from Omaha to Brooklyn, NY in March 2021. They were remotely interning at an ad agency in Brooklyn from Omaha and got a summer fellowship offer at a different agency. While it was remote, they figured they might as well start immersing themself into the agency world in the city. They were also struggling with their mental health during the pandemic and really, really needed a change.
Hannah: What made you want to move out of Nebraska to NYC?
Mars: Honestly, it was mostly the diversity and public transportation. I can’t drive, which made everything from getting to work to getting groceries difficult. And, I was getting really sick of being one of a handful of people of color in the room at industry award shows and events. Things like LGBTQIA+ support and reproductive health issues were also a big factor. When the pandemic happened, there was also a rise in hate crimes against Asians, so needless to say I was really ill at ease when out and about at the time.
Hannah: When it comes to politics in your area, where is energy spent?
Mars: New York is a very Democratic city so I don’t feel a lot of the existential threat I used to feel in Omaha. But there’s always things to push back against. Our Mayor Eric Adams seems determined to gut funding for essential public goods like libraries and cleaning for parks, in favor of overfunding the police and harassing the unhoused. My company does pro-bono work for a nonprofit fighting for affordable housing and policies that protect and help the unhoused. I’m also always down for a protest, I’ve currently been doing a lot of calling on local politicians to demand a ceasefire in Palestine, like many human rights orgs and nonprofits I love, like Doctors without Borders.
Hannah: Recently, you made an incredible guide about moving to NYC. I was a bit surprised to notice that one of the jobs you had included on the spreadsheet screenshot actually was not in NYC. When you were deciding to move, were you considering multiple cities? If so, how did you narrow down your decision to NYC?
Mars: I was definitely considering jobs all over, Chicago, Minneapolis, some in Kansas City, and a lot in DC since the person I was dating at the time was pursuing politics pretty seriously. But the job market for creatives is definitely better in New York. I love those other cities as well, they all have fairly decent public transportation, are fairly inclusive, and have a cultural scene I like. But I also figured, I’m in my 20s, it’s a good idea to do the New York City thing while I’m young enough not to mind a small apartment and three roommates.
Hannah: What do you do for work/education where you live now?
Mars: I’m currently an art director at an ad agency in Manhattan. I do mostly health and wellness work, in everything from tv commercials to radio, TikToks, websites and print work. Back in Omaha, I was doing a lot of freelance brand identity and design work, communications and design for a museum, and occasionally some photography.
Hannah: Would you have that opportunity in Nebraska?
Mars: There’s a lot of great agencies and design companies in Nebraska, I know some really talented creatives at quite a few of them. I would have been lucky to work for a few of them. The pandemic wiped out a lot of opportunities in such a small market, though. I knew I’d have a much easier time finding a job in New York. I’m also lucky that my work pays for classes at some of the best art schools in the city.
Hannah: I think for outsiders, New York City can seem kind of overwhelming. I loved that you included in your guide that it’s pretty normal to cry in public, and tips specifically for how to be autistic in NYC. I don’t want to ask you to repeat information that’s in that guide - but in terms of pressures at work, how much faster paced does work feel in NYC, and how did you adjust to that while adjusting to the move?
Mars: Agency life in New York is definitely a different beast. I’ve had to learn really fast on really big projects. The numbers get really crazy when you’re working for the kind of global clients New York agencies tend to have. It’s fun though. I think I’m young enough to enjoy the thrill of fast deadlines and late nights on projects and pitches (although enough sleep deprivation and caffeine overdosing later, I’m as grumpy as anyone). The kinds of work and resources you have access to though, is incredible. I just turned 26 and I’m already getting a national tv spot made. I’ve gotten to design multiple websites and art direct campaigns for multi-billion dollar companies.
Hannah: Is [work] the main way you meet people?
Mars: I’ve met great people through work and my classes, but I’ve met friends through all sorts of avenues! The city is great for connecting people through art, music, volunteering events, socials and the like.
Hannah: How has it been for you to build a community or support system?
Mars: I moved pretty much by myself but a lot of my college friends moved soon after. It was definitely hard to move. I left behind a boyfriend, we dated long-distance before it became too hard for me. I had been estranged from my family since high school basically.
I didn’t really know anyone who lived in the city but I figured I could meet people if I tried hard enough. I like to volunteer in my community, there’s a neighborhood group that does neighborhood cleanups.
I’m also part of a few really lovely groups, like a queer archery league that shoots at my local range. I’m also into just going to different events and meeting people there. I’m in so many Discords and Geneva chats. There’s a group for women and femme people who watch movies together, we did a Wes Anderson picnic once. I sometimes write with a writing group at my favorite coffee shop. I’m polyamorous and there’s a Discord for polyamorous people in Brooklyn and they do monthly picnics and a lot of fun events. I’m also involved in the kink community which overlaps a lot with the art and fashion worlds I’m into in a fun way.
Hannah: How affordable actually was it for you to move out of Nebraska?
Mars: I was really lucky to have been on a few scholarships in college. I graduated with only credit card debt. I searched for an apartment for what feels like forever and then ended up using a coliving company to find a place. I live pretty deep in Brooklyn, just far enough from work for it to be affordable but also a pretty great commute. It’s only like 30 minutes to the office in Tribeca. I live in a four-bedroom with three roommates I barely see or know. There’s a good female-health centric clinic near my office that’s easy to get to. There’s a couple Trader Joes in easy commute reach, including one that I can walk to from the office.
I think people should understand that even with a good salary, you’re not going to have a fancy NYC life like you see in influencer videos. I take advantage of a lot of cool free events, a really decently priced thrift store, and the free snacks at work. I mostly splurge on rideshare rides late at night, occasional food delivery when I get home bone-dead from the office, and collecting art from local artists.
I tell people to save like at the very least, three months worth of expenses if you already have a locked and loaded job (or at the very very very least, an internship) ready, and like five to six months if you don’t have a job lined up.
Hannah: How about opportunities to explore outside of work - are these actually affordable?
Mars: NYC has some really incredible and accessible cultural features. The Met Museum is pay what you wish for state residents, as are many local museums. The museums you do have to pay for, average $25 a ticket, which by contrast, is the cost of a nice cocktail. A lot of my favorite arts orgs do a ton of free events, lectures, and workshops. I usually consult the skint, a weekly roundup of cool free or really cheap events.
Hannah: What has it been like to adjust to the size of the city you moved to?
Mars: In a weird way, I feel less “surveilled.” I feel like since Omaha was so small, like a lot of small towns, everyone knows each other's business. I feel pretty anonymous every day, which can be weird for some people but I find it comforting.
I also feel like there’s so much potential in the city, there’s always a new community, organization, and neighborhood to get to know. I’m even learning Spanish to get to know certain communities better. Also Italian, but that’s just to eavesdrop on the guys at my barbershop.
Also, famous people live here. Which is super weird in a way? To run into famous people at your coffee shop or concert or whatever. I try to be a good New Yorker about it and pretend I don’t recognize them.
Hannah: What else have you adjusted to in your new place?
Mars: As someone with intense sensory issues, it was definitely a big adjustment to move to such a loud and smelly city. Now I’m fairly used to the ever-present smell of weed, urine, cigarette smoke and pollution. The train system is unbearably loud but that’s what headphones are for.
Flooding can be a bit of a nightmare in the city, everything comes up from the sewers and gutters. I’ve seen water come bursting out of subway walls.
I feel like dating is also an interesting change that I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t really know anything about polyamory back home but in Brooklyn, it’s pretty normal. There’s also a great huge queer community. Of course, everyone still knows each other, but some things never change no matter where you are.
Hannah: Some people feel twinges of guilt around their choices to move, either with balancing leaving people “behind” in Nebraska or for other reasons. Have you ever felt this tug, and if so, what would you like to share about that?
Mars: I have definitely felt extremely guilty about moving for a variety of reasons. Moving away from my partner at the time was really difficult for me. It would be difficult for anybody, I think. I didn’t really have family roots to anchor me otherwise. In fact, I have more family now in the city that I’m grateful for. The other big reason for my guilt though was this like common thing a lot of young, probably progressive people hear, which is, why move because of issues instead of trying to stay and solve them and make your community better? Which is a very valid point, but one that is most often directed at people with a very good reason to want to leave, namely queer and trans people, especially people of color. We are simultaneously asked to bear the burden of oppression and to solve our own oppression. And it’s hard to make the case to ourselves to stay when we see people who don’t face that same oppression not really doing anything to solve it either. I think there’s lots of wonderful community-building and advocacy happening in Omaha. There’s so much opportunity to do good. But it’s hard to ask people to trade other important opportunities, like access to a better job market, more inclusive communities, better health services, more accessible transit, etc, for the opportunity to stay and do good when they could just as well do good anywhere else. I think I’m also heavily invested in growing community and doing good here in the city. I’ve been able to connect with amazing activists and resources that I could never have dreamed of back in Omaha. If I sound like I’m still trying to rationalize my guilt, it’s because I am. But I’m also just trying to live the Good Life, a promise that Nebraska failed to keep to me.
Hannah: What do you wish you’d known before you moved that may help someone else who is looking to move out of Nebraska now?
Mars: You are going to have a breakdown. Several, probably. If you think you might benefit from medications, get on them before you get here. A therapist is essential, someone to tell about your near brush with death with a taxi.
Explore your neighborhood and try to have a routine you love. For me it’s sunshine and a matcha latte from my local coffee shop, while I watch people walk their dogs in the park.
Get involved, there’s nothing that roots you more than being involved in your community. When you help clean up the streets, you start to love them. When you help plant new flowers in the beds, it makes you smile even more in the spring.
Hannah: Did you find what you were looking for in your move?
Mars: I love the variety, life and chaos of the city. But there are some days I think I would love living in a quiet Omaha neighborhood, probably for a fifth of the cost of my current apartment. I think it was also much easier to make a name for yourself back home, not a lot of names out there. In the city, it seems like there’s a million, billion people doing things way cooler than you and winning awards you didn’t even know existed. But I try to focus on the life and career I’m building for myself. I love walking through Chinatown in the summer, writing the beginning of half a dozen novels and scripts I’ll never finish, cooking with my partners (I literally cannot imagine being queer and polyamorous in Omaha haha), and taking night classes at some of the best art schools in the world. I’m way less interesting compared to most people here, but I still love it anyways. I’d rather cry on the subway here than cry in a Runza’s back home, even though damn I do miss those.
Hannah: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your move to NYC?
Mars: I think feeling settled in my “New York City life” took a lot longer than I thought it would. I didn’t seriously date for more than a year. I didn’t hang up art in my first apartment, thinking it wouldn’t last, and it didn’t. Things still feel tenuous, life is always in flux here. But I think I’ve learned to let myself be open to that. If there’s anything this city is better at offering than any other place in the world, it’s a billion different paths to take.
Mars is on Instagram @marzyonearth. Their portfolio (though not updated since college) can also be found here. Read their guides: big apple, tiny *ass budget and So You Want to Move to NYC.
Midwest Crisis is a new project from Hannah Michelle Bussa. People are leaving the state of Nebraska, but research on the topic is limited. Join Hannah as she interviews individuals with various perspectives on their choices - to move and to stay - each week this spring.
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Do you want to share your story about moving from or deciding to stay in the Midwest? Please email hanmichelleb@gmail.com!