Help me start my new life, after 10 years away

I came to NYC with a dream : dance. 

I studied dance in NYC with the bests for years, and I’ve graduated with two degrees - of performing artist and Graham technique teacher. I’ve auditioned, I’ve rehearsed, I’ve performed. Being a dancer was always going to be precarious, and as a young adult I was fine with it as long as my dream was alive. 
Slowly but surely I realized that the stage wasn’t for me. Dancing will always be in my blood, but the competition, the constant thoughts of “you’re not good enough yet” became too hard to ignore. 
Eventually, I retired from performing. 

One day a friend told me “have you tried Pilates ?”

And since, my life has been wildly different. 

I studied at the Kane School and started teaching right away, my dance background giving me a good head start in the comprehension of biomechanics. Since a few years, my days have been filled with Pilates classes and the joy to accompany my clients through their Pilates / fitness journey. 

But life in NYC is hard. Incredibly fun but incredibly unstable. Pilates instructors are independent contractors. A paycheck is never promised at the end of the week. Rent rises constantly, but money isn’t always coming in… Then, the big beautiful bill took away my health insurance in July therefore I had to pay a private insurance in order to get my medications prescribed - as a person with chronic conditions. Even with that, the medication that saved my work life and mental health for the past 3 years has been denied  by this new (expensive) insurance. 
I cannot continue living paycheck to paycheck and being afraid of not having a roof over my head. 

I decided it’s time : I’m moving back to France after 10 years on the other side of the world. 

Leaving New York City will be the biggest heartbreak of my life 💔

I’m starting this fundraising campaign so that - if you’d like and if you’re able to - you can help me transition by participating to the cost of my relocation. 

I have projects :

In France, because of heavy regulations, I’ll have to go back to school in order to teach Pilates classes. I intend on going to public school (500€ per year) and get certified as a fitness instructor in three years. There are also some private courses that would be faster but more expensive (6-7k) although the government could potentially give me a full or partial scholarship.

In the meantime, I’ll work in a restaurant or a bar, as an English tutor or a personal assistant. 

Eventually, I want to open my own studio. 
My dream is to have the perfect studio with mat classes (Pilates, yoga, dance, stretch…), a gym space for weight lifting and fitness and OF COURSE a Pilates’ apparatus room with reformers, chairs, cadillac and all the fun stuff Joe Pilates has created. 
And when I say “eventually”, I really mean “as soon as possible” ;) 

Here’s where you come in : I need help to transition, settle down and start this new life. Your love and support is the most important thing I need ! So, thank you for being there, reading this, and believing in me. 

The details of what I need next : 

- moving out cost (overseas shipping) 5000$

- one way ticket to France 800$

- passport and shots for the cats Minou and Finn 600$

- Paris - Montpellier train ride 200€

- deposit, first and last month rent in Montpellier (3x500€)

- first month basic expenses (food, utilities) 300€

- university inscription 500€ 

- business starting budget to open my studio 30000€

More on Instagram @eleonoredoespilates