Elena Sheppard is a writer and editor who is currently in charge of arts and entertainment at PolicyMic. She is on Twitter.

My parents moved to New York City in 1976. They were 23 and broke, and came to New York to pursue the arts. Their story – one of empty rolodexes, $195 monthly rent and eventual financial and professional stability – is now the stuff of myth. While the city remains a geographic hub for the arts, it’s also an address that is inhospitable to the young and financially struggling. Ask Patti Smith what to do, and her advice is pretty clear: “Find a new city.”

Becoming a successful artist requires a cocktail of connections, financial support, talent and luck, so many of us are opting for more stable paths.

But the young artist’s dilemma extends beyond geography. To support a career in the arts in 2013 requires a cocktail of connections, financial support, talent and tremendous luck – and many of us just starting our professional lives are choosing more stable paths. We are not in the financial position to take on more risk. The result is a rising creative class largely determined by money.

The millennial generation was brought up on the “you-can-do-anything” dream. That dream, however, comes with a few caveats: don't let student loans crush you first, or unpaid internships leave you homeless. Add in David Byrne's take -- that we’re living in “a culture of arrogance, hubris and winner-take-all” -- and it’s no wonder millennials are making more practical choices.

My parents still live in New York. Otherwise I never would have been able to make the choices I did upon beginning my New York career. Because I was able to live at home for a while, it was possible for me to take unpaid internships and accept entry-level salaries in the competitive and, in general, low-paying world of journalism. Without this privilege, my choices would have been different. No matter how passionate you are, at a certain point, finances trump all.

Artistically, we’ve been called “the lamest generation.” And we’ve been famously pegged as “the me me me generation.” If you type “millennials are” in Google, the autofill is “lazy.” In reality, I think we are practical. We have huge debts to pay off, big rent bills to cover, and are making our professional moves accordingly. As long as pay in the arts fails to cover the bills, the creative class will be dominated by the wealthy.



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