There may well be very few people remaining in New York (or anywhere else for that matter) who remember what it was like to be a freelance graphic designer, BC (before computers) and in the 1980's. This may sound like an archaic tale but those were some of the easiest working times in the last 25 years.
As a freelance graphic designer doing the most basic work, known as 'paste-ups and mechanicals', one could easily earn $15-20 per hour. That meant that for a 5-hour day and a 5-day week, one could take home $500, free and clear. (That would be $1,014 in 2010 dollars according to the CoinNews.net Inflation Calculator). At the time, that could and DID pay the bills. It took many years to get over the idea that earning $100 a day and $500 a week could or would make ends meet. Those numbers have long since been eclipsed for any New York style standard of living. But at that time, it was a very comfortable life for many freelance creative people.
To some degree, there was the flexibility of making one's own hours. This meant that one could avoid the rush hour travel from the outer boroughs of Manhattan in an uncrowded express bus, seated in comfort with almost door-to-door service, all for $3.50 each way. This was in contrast to being a commuter during rush hour, standing for almost an hour in a packed-like-sardines, noisy, filthy subway car even if it was less than half the cost of the bus.
The only companions one might need on these sojourns were the occasional lunch if the area of Manhattan was unfamiliar or if one did not want to take time away from the job to go out to find something to eat. But it always included a small, compact but extremely efficient set of tools that one brought to the job. Every designer had his or her own tool kit. It was like a toothbrush or a brush and comb; one did not share it with others and one always made sure to bring it.
http://marketingbytesblog.com/2010/05/17/what-is-%E2%80%98good-design%E2%80%99-and-does-it-still-exist/
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