What’s your historical San Francisco and New York connection?
My adopted home has been San Francisco since 2002, I was a former SF public school teacher and worked at the Board of Supervisors. I love nearly everything about the Bay Area except for Silicon Valley douchebaggery.

I  spent summers in Brooklyn in childhood, and always loved Brooklyn. I moved back here from Shanghai [earlier this year] to work with okay player and The Roots.

Describe your experience in SF.
So much love, but get over yourself, San Francisco! 😉

What was the biggest challenge of moving from SF to NYC?
In SF, your friends are your family and it’s always hard to leave that. There’s no place like it in the world where people care for each other so genuinely, yet flake on each other regularly. While in SF, it’s big fish small pond or you’re just a tech engineer, entrepreneur, “artist”, or just gay. In New York, you are and will always be NOBODY. That can be nice, though but not at these prices. 😉

How can NYC and SF best engage with each other?
I think San Franciscans should spend time in New York so they can get over themselves and that “SF bubble.” I think New Yorkers need to just get over themselves PERIOD! Basically, San Franciscans need to try harder to be relevant and realize they’re not and New Yorkers need to open their mind and at least get over this delusion that just because they reside in a place that in many ways is the center of the earth, they have no right to act like they have any part in that at all!.

Favorite SF secret spot
Embarcadero YMCA, The Ramp, the Capital Restaurant (for their chicken wings), Fort Point –  that fort all the way inside Crissy Field, and 4505 Meats’ burger at the ferry building farmers market.

Favorite NYC secret spot
Wherever has free alcohol and is impossible to get into, but you just somehow get into it and realize it is exactly the same as that other spot yesterday: The Narrows, Rubber Tracks, Miss Lillly’s.

In-flight entertainment: what’s on your playlist/reading list right now?
Eastbound and Down season 4, Grown Kids Radio, the Jalen Rose Report, Sango, King Crule.

From the 2905 Miles newsletter: connecting NEW YORK CITY + SAN FRANCISCO