Should You Move to Los Angeles for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?

Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles

When we were faced with the decision of whether to move to Los Angeles for our daughter to become a child actor, we did not know where to turn for answers.

We had a talent manager who was urging us to move to Los Angeles so he could represent our daughter.

Our daughter was doing some acting locally, but the fact is that Charleston, SC, is not exactly a hotbed of acting activity.  There were not very many auditions for her there.

My daughter also had an agent in Atlanta, but that is about a five-hour drive, which is a long way to go for acting auditions.

Surprisingly, many of our family and friends thought we would regret it if we did not at least give our daughter the chance to pursue acting in Los Angeles.  Of course, others thought we were totally out of our minds for even considering such a thing.

There were so many things to consider, such as whether we could afford it, how long we’d be in Los Angeles, how we’d manage with our family divided that way, and how my husband would work his full-time job and take care of our home and 12-year-old son with us away.

I was worried about leaving my family and friends and going alone with my daughter to this place that I’d heard so many negative things about. And that meant that I would not have anyone I knew nearby to help if we needed it.

And then I had to think about whether I wanted our lives to change that much. We were living a very comfortable life in South Carolina.

It was a very difficult decision to make, especially knowing that there are no guarantees in the entertainment industry.

Certainly, the decision to move to California or New York for your child to become a child actor is a decision that should only be made after a lot of  soul searching.

Is moving to Los Angeles for your child to become a child actor the best decision for you and your child? How will a move like this affect your whole family?  Are there other choices you can make for pursuing a show business career for your child?

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