What’s your historical Los Angeles and New York connection?
I studied at NYU for a summer while in college, and moved out to Los Angeles from Canada in 2009. I visit New York three or four times a year for work and play.
Describe your experience in LA.
I love just about everything about LA; it’s such a thriving, exciting city with so much to see and do. It’s a cliche, but the weather here really is conducive to a great quality of life. In LA you spend lots of time outdoors whether hiking, at the beach, or simply dining al fresco.
Describe your experience in NYC.
New York has such a great buzz to it. You really feel like you can get things accomplished there, and there is always something going on; an art opening, a new restaurant, a fun bar to try. I feel like I pack my schedule more when in NYC which can be good and bad.
What was the biggest challenge of moving from LA to NYC (or vic versa), or simply in splitting time?
I’ve never lived in NYC but I think that the greatest challenge is that people tend to compare the two cities even though they are so different. It’s important to accept each city for what it is rather than complaining that people don’t seem to work hard enough in LA or that rent is so expensive in NYC.
How can NYC and LA best engage with each other?
I think it’s important to keep up on news and developments in both cities; both NYC and LA are guilty of thinking of themselves as the most important one.
Favorite LA secret spot:
I suppose it’s not really a secret, but Chez Jay, a tiny little bar/restaurant hybrid in Santa Monica sure feels like one! It’s a great mix between a surf shack and a dive bar that has fantastic people watching (almost everyone there is a regular that the bartender knows by name), great drinks specials and surprisingly good food.
Favorite NYC secret spot:
Again, not a secret, but I absolutely love the Lombardy Hotel. It has a 9th Street Espresso outpost (their cappuccinos are the best) and a beautifully decorated restaurant.
If you were not writing and also running your own lifestyle blog, what would you be doing?
I’ve always thought that being a travel photographer would be a pretty amazing job – though I’d have to learn to take my DSLR off of automatic!
What’s on your playlist right now?
Lorde, my friend Tamara Laurel, and The Traveling Wilburys – they’re been one of my favorite bands since I was 5 years old and my dad would play them on road trips.
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