He made over $100,000 in tech. Five years later, he staged his first art show as a goodbye to NYC.

Andrew Tsao at T.O.L.K., standing in front of "The Art of Surrender," his first art exhibition ever. Jonah Rosenberg for BI Andrew Tsao transitioned from a six-figure tech job to being an artist in New York City. Medicaid and lifestyle changes helped him heal after the switch. Tsao's first art show, "The Art of Surrender," marks his farewell to NYC before returning to Taiwan. It took Andrew Tsao a layoff from his six-figure tech job, Medicaid-subsidized therapy , and a psychedelic session to realize he wanted to be an artist in New York City. His first art show ended up as his goodbye letter to the city he called home for 13 years. The 34-year-old artist and life coach, born in California and raised in Taiwan, is based in Brooklyn and recently finalized his first art exhibition, "The Art of Surrender." The collection, displayed in T.O.L.K. — a Bushwick café and art gallery in mid and late July — served as his final homage to the city, as he returned to Taiwan on August 5 to complete the military service required to retain his citizenship. Since the opening, he has sold his first four pieces at his first art show, two for $500, with the help of the coffee shop's owners, who did not take a commission. He was able to hold the show under his planned budget. Andrew Tsao touching one of his paintings at his art exhibition. Jonah Rosenberg for BI Yet, it was just a year ago that he started calling himself a part-time artist. During his time in New York City, he has worked in B2B sales, held multiple tech jobs at startups, become a career and life coach, and found his passion for art. All the while, he has had to learn how to afford to practice art in one of the most expensive cities in the country after his income fell from six figures to under $25,000 when he left the corporate world. Tsao is among the many New Yorkers who have adapted how they live to keep up with the city’s high cost of living. Business Insider has documented similar trade-offs throughout our Cost of the City series. From a one-way ticket to a six-figure career After graduating from the University of Southern California, Tsao moved to New York with a one-way ticket and no job lined up. He worked in B2B sales before transitioning into the tech industry, where he became a product manager, earning over $100,000 a year at a healthcare startup doing opioid addiction treatment. Then came the pandemic . Although Tsao's company had gone fully remote a few months prior, he was laid off on May 15, 2020. Frustration with the layoff led to Tsao taking steps toward entrepreneurship. He began coaching early-stage founders and taught them how to build websites without coding. The career change came at a financial cost: Tsao watched his annual income fall from six figures to less than $25,000. He had some money in his 401(k) and savings from his tech career, which he invested in opening his own business. Although he could move back in with his parents in Taiwan if things got worse, the loss of financial stability weighed on him and made him reassess his priorities. "It is true that there are things that could feel more heavy," like paying bills, he said. "I was able to really be clear with myself of what I need to really feel joyful and safe." Tsao found that while the city takes a lot, it offers a lot too Tsao realized his priorities were to have a roof over his head and access to affordable food . The trade-offs he made included going out less often, cooking rather than ordering delivery or eating out, and choosing longer subway commutes over Uber rides. "It actually did allow me to realize that there's a lot of things that are really beautiful in New York, even if you're not having as much disposable income," he said. Andrew Tsao standing in Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Jonah Rosenberg for BI Tsao concluded that New York City can be unaffordable and affordable at the same time. He exchanged pricey concerts for walks through Prospect Park, came up with creative date ideas, and took advantage of the Culture Pass, which gives New Yorkers free access to museums and libraries. He shifted from buying books from Amazon to discovering the Brooklyn Public Library , which became his favorite place to read and find books. "I found creative ways to really enjoy living in New York City, especially Brooklyn, on a budget," he said. During the pandemic, he moved into a two-bedroom apartment with in-unit laundry, which he split with his ex-girlfriend. By the time he moved out in June 2026, the rent was around $1,300 each. He temporarily stayed in a sublet until he moved to Taiwan. Besides rent, he budgeted around $150 a month for groceries and kept his art-supply costs down. Most of his materials were donated by friends or found on Brooklyn patios. Yet, he did pay $12 per bottle of ink and about $38 for Posca markers. Healthcare was one of the biggest shifts he experienced As Tsao's income bracket fell, he was caught by something else — Medicaid. After qualifying for the federal program , he began to receive both emotional and physical treatment, which he would not have looked for when working in tech and paying for his own private health insurance. Through Medicaid, he began seeing a social worker at Le Santé Health Center in Flatbush for weekly therapy sessions. "I was trying to separate my identity and value from productivity, output, and how people perceived me," he said. "I would not have gotten therapy if I had not been on Medicaid." He also began to receive Medicaid-subsidized physical therapy for chronic pain in his upper-right shoulder, which had developed in 2020 from a combination of leaning forward at his desk and recreational bouldering. "From a health level, it was the most abundant I had ever felt," he said. "That was really one area that the change in affordability didn't make me feel more constrained. Actually, it made me feel like I had more options." A new beginning in art, and a farewell to New York City Tsao found that what he enjoyed about coaching was the emotional guidance he brought to it. In 2022, he replaced his technical, no-code coaching with coaching for executives and people in leadership roles — $200-$250, hour-long sessions — which were his main source of income. "I realized I liked talking about those feelings more than I liked the technical coaching," he said. "New York feels like just this unbelievable, magically chaotic place," Tsao said. Jonah Rosenberg for BI Tsao realized he "also wanted to live" what he was coaching. This realization, tied to his period of personal healing and one psychedelic session, led Tsao back to art. During that session, he began picking up art materials and rediscovered his love of painting. Afterward, he began using art materials he had received from friends and carving out time to create while supporting himself through coaching. His mixed-media abstract work featured in the exhibition explores ancestry, Eastern and Western identities, and connection to the self through ink, collage, crayons, and colored markers. This shift is what led him to his first art exhibition and now to the send-off for the city he lived in for 13 years. He will miss the city's pizza and diversity, but most importantly the vibrance of its people — from buskers on the subway to dancers in Washington Square Park. "I think about the New York that doesn't really relate to things with price," he said. "I definitely do think about the concerts I've been to, the food I've had, the encounters at that. But most importantly, the love letter is everything in between. It's for the little pockets of magic." 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