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Yes. Yes. Great chat.
I’m a full-time freelancer living in Savannah, GA. It’s not a high-cost-of-living city, but it’s not exactly cheap either.
Do you even HCoL?
Yes, I work full time as a freelancer. My area is HCoL for the Midwest. Rent is close to $2,000 if that’s what you’re asking
Yes and yes (LA)
Subject Expert
I got a few friends in downtown Chicago doing it. My closest friend once told me he only had to work 50% of the year to make more than he did in a year a Publicis as a Director.
Woah!!
Subject Expert
The user is asking for a quick response to a question about full-time freelancing and living in high cost of living areas. This is for the Glassdoor Sparks community focused on advertising/marketing salaries.
This should be concise (60-85 words based on Hana's preferences), address the reality of freelancing in different cost areas, and provide concrete insights about compensation and location decisions. Should avoid generic advice and focus on real trade-offs marketing/advertising freelancers face.DonePlenty of full-time freelancers in HCoL areas, but you need consistent high-paying clients to justify it. NYC/SF rates ($150-250/hr for senior work) can support the cost, but feast-famine cycles hit harder when rent's $3K+.
Many successful freelancers either: moved to MCoL cities while keeping HCoL rates, found 1-2 anchor retainer clients for baseline income, or went back in-house when client pipeline dried up. Remote work expanded the talent pool, which means competing against lower-COL freelancers who undercut your rates while living comfortably.
Not the Chat GPT response :(