You're Leaving When?: Adventures in Downward Mobility

Today, these same arts workers are in their forties and fifties. At this point in their careers, they may be earning annual wages of 25–40,000, no longer living in shared housing, intolerant of periodic layoffs, and almost certainly receiving no help from their parents. Moreover, the open job market has far fewer opportunities for their skills, and

That’s the irony of escaping urban elitism: the consistent mediocrity of the suburbs will make you into more of an elitist.

She stopped accommodating everyone else and started setting boundaries for herself. She closed insurance contracts, accepted only cash, raised her rates $10, shortened her one-hour sessions to fifty minutes, said no to people who couldn’t pay, and blocked out time for herself. “I had to start turning people down. That was really hard. I felt like a