Security Check:
Megan is the Business Development and Investor Relations manager @ FundedBuy and the Venture Consultant @ Comcast Ventures. She also has impeccible taste in music, food, and people (according to Erica, that is).

What’s your historical Los Angeles and New York connection?
I moved to L.A. to do a music business program at M.I. while working at ICM in Century City. I grew up on the east coast ( D.C.) and spent a lot of time in NYC when I was younger, always envisioning myself living in the city. In 2010 I jumped at the opportunity to come to NYC over the summer originally for 3 months to shoot a new Joseph-Gordon Levitt movie. Two things happened: I decided I never wanted to set foot on a set again. And, I decided I was crazy enough to commit to the city that never sleeps.
Describe your experience in LA and your experience in NYC
In L.A. I spent a lot of time hiking 4-5 days a week at sunrise/set, at the beach, traveling to other SoCal spots to check out what the best coast was all about. I met a lot of great friends, mentors & colleagues that I’m still very close with. I realized there was a whole world waiting for me and lots of opportunities to seize outside my prior D.C. bubble. I’ve been in NYC for 4 1/2 years now and I feel right at home. I made the move to Williamsburg 2 years ago and it has really helped me ground myself after a busy day running around the city. In NYC I’m constantly exploring: new areas, parks, people, restaurants, boroughs. I’ve found a really solid crew of friends (like family) that are just as adventurous as I am and that has really made for some unique experiences & wonderful memories. I feed off the energy.

What was the biggest challenge of moving from NYC to LA?
DC—> L.A. I literally did not know one single person. I found my roommate online, mailed myself 7 boxes, brought 2 suitcases. My first apartment was in a shitty part of Hollywood on a street few people have heard of. I also didn’t have a car in the beginning. I made friends very quickly 🙂 My biggest challenge was getting myself set up in a new city and diving into making friends while balancing school and work at the same time. L.A. —> NYC the biggest challenge was figuring out my flow—where do I want to live vs. where I could afford to live, where can I find space to tap into nature, what activities outside of the busy nightlife fuel me and who are my “people” to go on said adventures with? Trial and error + time.

How can NYC and LA best engage with each other?
I used to go back to LA once a month, now it’s once a quarter, this year I’m planning for a month during the winter. I believe there is a healthy balance for both. Answer: openness to new people, energy, ideas.

Favorite LA secret spot
The Dime… sexy late night cocktail (or it was!)

Favorite NYC secret spot
Wine Cellar @ Il Buco on a winters night w/ great friends.

Inflight Entertainment: tell us what song/album, TV show, podcast, or web videos you’ve been watching lately.

Music— I’m really into my friend Leah’s new band, Leisure Cruise — it’s very pop/ flighty — I think they’d put her song “Sailing” in a 2014 John Hughes movie. The album is on Spotify — another great track is “Ragged Down.”

TV— I don’t own a TV anymore but I did recently watch 3 full seasons of ABC’s Scandal during a week of feeling under the weather— addicting.

Reading for fun: The Frank Lebowitz Reader, a collection of essays because she’s the shit. Reading for life: Principles by Ray Dalio, his life/business manifesto for identifying and sticking by your principles & eliminating noise to achieve said goals. For the soul: The Game of Life & How You Play It, Florence Scovel-Shinn, a 1925 classic for manifesting.

From the 2462 Miles newsletter: connecting NEW YORK CITY + LOS ANGELES