Security Check: As the CEO of Global Natives, David Teweles works with global causes, creatives and companies to develop their businesses, tell their stories, and increase public engagement.

What’s your historical London and New York connection?
I had the pleasure of calling NYC home while working on a media startup there a few years ago, and since leaving, have spent about a week a month there. While I don’t live there, I see many of my NYC friends as much now as when I lived there, if not more!

As for London, I moved here full-time a year and a half ago, after spending a year traveling to London for a week a month. I used to hate London, finding it uninspiring and unconvincing, but as the years passed and I spent more and more time there, I slowly fell in love. It’s not the sexiest city, or the easiest to love, but it’s got it all, and a sense of place relative to the rest of the world that I’m yet to find elsewhere.

London manages to be both distinctly unique and global at the same time. Whereas NYC is all about NYC, and can afford to be given its importance and location. London is on a tiny little island, and to make it here you have to make it abroad too, which imbues many things here with a cosmopolitan sensibility that really resonates with me.

Describe your experience in London as a New Yorker.
Insert cliche here. Living in London as an American is as original as discussing which version of English is the “right” one, and I really don’t mind. I’m even appreciative of it, having previously lived in far more exotic places and thus, having stood out much more. All in all, the natives here are hospitable and kind, though it takes much longer here to make true friends than on the other side of the pond. I have a dog, and he’s a big fan of London given the incredible variety of central green spaces (from the Heath to Regents Park), and no one caring if he’s on a leash.

How can New York and London better engage with each other?
London is the gateway to Europe, and NYC could more proactively take advantage of how easy it is to work with London from NYC. As for the other way around, I think every Londoner is already in love with the idea of NYC, so Hollywood has done its job!

Favorite NYC secret spot: The cardamom coffee at Hampton Chutney Co. in Soho is unbelievable. Seriously.

Favorite London secret spot: It’s far from secret, but Nopi, Yotam Ottolenghi’s chef restaurant is my go to spot for a proper meal anytime of the day for the amazing food, but also the incredibly elegant interior, and charming staff.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Now, I’m living the dream between NYC and London. Later, I could see switching one of these cities out for a more exotic, relaxed, and windswept locale, perhaps in the West Indies.

In flight entertainment:

What’s playing in your headphones right now? San Fermin, Bonobo, and Macklemore, in equal parts… so I’m either chilling or rocking, but more chilling these days.

And what are you currently reading? “How Much is Enough?” by Robert and Edward Skidelsky and “A History of Future Cities” by Dan Brook

From the 3460 Miles newsletter: connecting NEW YORK CITY + LONDON