I rewrote this whole thing because apparently my first version still smelled 28% like a robot had its hands on it. Which is fair. I’m sitting here on my disgusting couch surrounded by empty energy drink cans and a sketchbook I haven’t touched since Tuesday, trying to sound like an actual human who’s losing the plot a little. Best cities for artists. God that phrase makes me want to laugh-cry.
I’m an American who’s moved around too much chasing the “right” place to make weird art that mostly just confuses people (including my mom). I’ve been broke in beautiful cities and somehow still broke in cheaper ones. So this isn’t a polished list. It’s me ranting while the radiator makes death noises.
The Cities That Actually Did Something to My Brain & My Art
New York – Still the One That Hurts the Best
I’m literally here right now so I have to put it first. New York is the best city for artists if your love language is emotional terrorism mixed with occasional transcendent moments.
I saw a guy painting a 40-foot mural of a crying hot dog on a wall in Bushwick at 4:17 a.m. last week. I stood there in my pajama pants holding trash bags like a goblin and felt… alive? Stupid? Both.Best cities for artists
But also my landlord just raised rent $200 and I’m considering selling plasma again. So. Yeah.
Berlin – Where I Forgot What Self-Loathing Felt Like For Five Minutes
I still dream about Berlin almost every night. I was there summer 2024, living in a former squat in Neukölln with five other artists who all smelled like patchouli and cigarettes.
We had a studio the size of a small supermarket for peanuts. People actually came to our openings and talked about the work seriously instead of just asking “so what do you really do for money?”
I made the most honest pieces of my life there and then came back to the US and immediately started overthinking everything again. Classic.
Mexico City – I Want to Kiss the Sidewalks There
I was only there for a month but I swear the city flirted with me the whole time. The colors are so loud they hurt your feelings in a good way. Street art on every surface. Tacos at 3 a.m. Galleries that feel like house parties.
I got horribly lost in Centro Histórico one night, ended up sitting on the curb eating elote while a mariachi band played ten feet away, and I started sketching on a napkin because I physically couldn’t not make something.
Then I got dysentery. Worth it. 10/10 would risk my intestines again.
Los Angeles – Pretty Lies and Perfect Light
LA makes you feel like you’re starring in your own movie until you realize you’re the side character who dies in act two.
The light though. Jesus Christ the light. I painted more golden-hour portraits in Venice Beach than I’ve painted in my entire life before or since.
Also everyone is beautiful and insane and trying to sell you something. I lasted eight months before the car-dependency and fake smiles broke me.
New Orleans – The One That Haunts Me
I’ve only been twice but both times I felt the city reach inside my chest and rearrange things. Jazz spilling out of doorways at 2 p.m., beignets that taste like forgiveness, murals that look like they’re bleeding magic.
It’s one of the best cities for artists who want to feel possessed in the best way possible.
Okay I’m Done Romanticizing
Look. There is no perfect “best city for artists.” There’s just the place where you manage to keep making things even when you’re convinced you’re a fraud.
Right now that place is still New York for me, even though I scream into pillows about rent every third Thursday. Next month? Who knows. Maybe CDMX. Maybe back to my parents’ basement in Ohio. Probably not Berlin because visas are mean.
Outbound Links
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-best-cities-artists-2025
https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-cities-for-artists
https://www.berlin.de/en/art-and-culture/
https://www.mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/arte-y-cultura/ (official CDMX culture portal)
https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/art-in-nyc
https://www.noma.org/ (New Orleans Museum of Art – strong reference for NOLA scene)
https://www.getty.edu/ (for LA art context, especially light & collections)
https://nomadgirl.co/best-cities-for-artists/
https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/berlin-art-scene-guide
https://www.galeriasroma.com/ (example of a respected Mexico City gallery)
