So You Want To Work In Film – Where Should You Live?

7th June 2021

So You Want to Work in Film – Where Should You Live? – If you want to realise your dream of working in the film industry and counting star-studded cast members among your colleagues, you have no shortage of options. Runner, writer, extra, producer, technician, engineer, the list of potential footholds into the industry goes on and on and on. However, one element that is often overlooked is just how important location is.

In the film industry, there is no remote working. It pays to be on location in one of the international epicentres of film, where opportunities are always on your doorstep. With that in mind, here are the top places you should consider relocating to if you want to work in film.

1. Los Angeles

There’s no getting around this one. If you want to work in Hollywood, it helps to actually be in Hollywood. People from virtually every country in the world, including plenty of people from the UK, now live and work in Tinseltown. Of course, those looking to make the move should check their bank accounts – the average home price for a single-family home in Los Angeles is now $864,000, with this number rising in film industry hotspots such as WeHo, Studio City, Silver Lake, and Pacific Pallisades. Rent prices aren’t much more reasonable either!

2. London

Known as the Hollywood of Europe, there is no better staging point for your film career than the UK capital. Home to massive studios such as Pinewood, Ealing, Warner Bros. Europe, and Longcross, many of the world’s most ambitious productions are constantly being filmed in the Big Smoke. However, if you want to set down permanent roots in London, beware that property prices are similarly sky-high, with the average home now costing £672,000. Should you wish to buy a home, you can follow in the footsteps of Londoners that came before you by using the free UK online mortgage broker Trussle, for example, which matches you with the most affordable mortgage rates possible. That should leave you with more money spare for the tube.

3. Berlin

The grimy and uber-hip German capital is rapidly emerging as a European film industry hub, thanks to the huge range of spaces and terrains that can allow Berlin to double-up as pretty much anywhere. In addition, filming production in Berlin is cheaper than pretty much any other major European city, making it ideal for budget-conscious producers. In addition, living there is pretty cheap too, with the average apartment in the city costing around €3800 per square metre, or about a third of the cost of the average London property.

4. Atlanta

There’s no getting around it – Atlanta is one of the best places to work in film in the world right now. This is partly because the Peach State has made a concerted effort to attract film producers and reposition itself as the New Hollywood. As such, productions can expect up to 20% of their filming costs to be returned back to them via state tax credits, as well as millions of square feet of studio space across the city. What’s more, living in Atlanta is much cheaper than in Los Angeles, with the average home going for just $325,000.

These are the best places to live if you want to make it in the global film industry. Although there are other places with film industries of their own, these are where most of the action takes place.

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