NYC Local Guides

Grace Lee always dreamed of moving to NYC and working in fashion, but talks about the harsh truths of finding a great apartment too far away to finding out a mouse moved in. She started as a content creator and blogger in fashion ten years ago. Learn about her early fashion internships and start up jobs that led her to leave her full-time position to start a career in social media working with clients. She talks about the feeling of being on vacation from working at home with her family in quarantine and how her definition of success as a content creator has changed over time. 

Adrienne Jordan or AJeveryday has been a travel writer for almost a decade. She talks about how she still has consistent writing assignments but how the narrative is changing. Her features include National Geographic Traveler, CNN, Travel and Leisure, Afar, and Forbes. She is currently based just outside NYC in Newark, New Jersey and has lived in the NYC area since 2015. She explains the benefits of living here for travel writers and how to build your portfolio and differentiate yourself in this dream career path. Often glamorized, she shares her first free trip, what it’s really like to travel for free, and how she goes above and beyond for each assignment. While many start as bloggers before becoming published journalists, she explains why it has helped her to pursue journalism before she is now launching her personal brand. If you’ve ever wanted to be a travel writer or curious about what this career path is like, this talk is for you!  

Laura Chung is a New York based spiritual healer, motivational speaker, Reiki master, Kundalini Yoga Teacher and podcaster, her show is called Awaken and align. The list goes on. She has a Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and worked 6 years in finance to get that Tribeca apartment. She quickly realized that the Carrie Bradshaw dream was not as wonderful as it seemed to be, so she quit her job in 2017 to travel nomadically. She’s back in New York and helps guide others through their awakening, healing, and transformation. She tackles difficult questions on how to deal with fear and anxiety and small NYC apartments during quarantine. 

Jessica Hirsch is a New York City food and travel photographer who founded CheatDayEats and YourRoomService. She worked as a math teacher for 7 years before becoming a fulltime creative in 2017. Listen as she shares which NYC foodie creatives she follows and her tips for taking better food photos. She explains how to capture quick food moments like a dripping egg yolk or ice cream cone. Find out which restaurants she’s heading to first when NYC’s quarantine ends. This epic food lightning round reveals her favorite foodie spots for pizza, ice cream, mac and cheese, bagels and so much more! 

Cole Riley came to New York to attend NYU a decade ago. He recently pivoted his company Founders Market to become Founders Give to organize the largest food drive in NYC history to support the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. He talks about a new found respect for human connection and what healthcare workers do day in and day out. 

Madelyn Moon, yes that’s her real last name, calls herself a walking permission slip, soul igniter and devoted teacher. Maddy started her podcast 6 years ago, Mind Body Musings, which is a top-50 ranking self-improvement podcast. She is an author and a coach on a mission to unite opposite elements and help people fight perfectionism in eating and in life. One of my last guests Jen Morilla recommended I talk to her as she might be able to shed some light on this confusing time of anxiety and uncertainty. Maddy moved here over a year ago and currently lives in Brooklyn with her dog Ollie. Maddy admits that New York “sparked something inside me that had not been sparked before!” When everyone told her to move to LA she felt drawn to New York. Despite the abundance of things to do, she reminds us to find the stillness and peace in this city and to let pleasure lead you. Instead of making a list of places she needed to go, she has a note in her phone of New York adventures from her moving initiation to spending an entire day finding a bathroom. She keeps it real at this time of heartbreak to feel the feels and gives people permission to embrace this great pause.

Check out Maddy's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-body-musings/id866031519

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Pinsi Lei went into labor on March 11th and gave birth two days later just as Covid-19 cases were escalating in New York. She was two weeks earlier than expected. With new hospital visitor rules and since her parents were forced into a 2-week self-quarantine, both of their parents did not meet their grandson in the hospital. Find out why she had to mostly take care of her baby by herself for the first few weeks and how she’s finding support virtually. Pinsi’s birth story was featured in Good Morning America and the NY Post. Hear her heart-warming story of how she became a new mother at a difficult time in New York history. She also shares her advice to others headed to the hospital soon or how friends of new mothers can celebrate moms on this unique Mother’s Day in 2020. 

Alex and Brian are the Nowhere Men, two best friends who believe everyone has a story to tell, especially a New Yorker. They document real New York stories from the DogFather, a former mafia enforcer turned animal rescuer, to how to manage coronavirus stress. They started their journey together at the Mongol Rally then did a 13-month trip from NYC to the bottom of South America. They now explore lesser known New York stories across all boroughs and walks of life. Have you ever wondered why the fruit vendors stay open late or what their business model is? Their Facebook videos cleverly answer these unique New York questions. From growing up in a commuter town to “studying abroad” for college away from New York just to come back to this city, they say there was never a possibility of living anywhere else in their minds. They think a New Yorker badge is eating at more than 10 dollar pizza places. Alex shares his worst apartment horror story complete with pigeon sounds. Brian shares his favorite Calvin and Hobbes quote “there’s never enough time for all the nothing in the world.” This quote has helped him let go of things that don’t matter in his apartment, like his guitar, which he hasn’t touched in years and helped him gain clarity during quarantine on things that matter most. 

Jeremy Jacobowitz aka Brunch Boys eats brunch for a living and was born in Brooklyn and now lives in Williamsburg. He is a food-loving creator and video host who usually shares his brunch from around the world. He talks about how Covid-19 is impacting his business, NYC restaurants and influencers without substance.  He also shares his favorite 3 places for brunch, bagels, burgers, pizza, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Listen to find out why he loves Japan, TikTok, and Monday Night Wrestling.

Kraig Adams is a minimalist New York YouTuber who creates cinematic silent hiking videos. He talks about what it’s like in NYC right now in quarantine and how we can still connect with our neighbors by visiting each other’s islands in animal crossing or petting dogs from 6 feet away. He shares his content strategy after having his YouTube hacked and how he views sponsorships, affiliates, and social media in general. He explains how he transitioned away from the Casey Neistat NYC vlog style to find his own voice. “It’s much easier and low risk to just copy what’s successful, it takes a bit more courage and more effort and work to take a leap and do something nobody else is doing.” We talk about the future of the handshake and what post-Covid-19 New York feel like.  

Jen Morilla shares her story of how she coped with her mom, dad and grandfather being effected by Covid-19 and the lessons she hopes we all learn from this. She reminds us how New Yorkers have been through a lot. We have tough skin and "New York has made me the woman I am today professionally and personally." In the end the biggest lesson perhaps is that "You are the creator of your happiness - if before you weren't happy, I hope after you get up and do something about it." This conversation is one of the most lighthearted but helpful stories of season two of this podcast, a must-listen episode! 

When the world and NYC especially is socially distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Jeremy Cohen got creative and asked a girl on a date via drone. His original TikTok video now has over 30 million views and has been picked up in the news globally. Listen to this modern love story and how Jeremy planned each date and found a bubble for his second date. He talks about why he likes TikTok’s unique algorithm and how his mom inspired him to be an optimistic storyteller. He shares the defining moment that he became a New Yorker and what the future of dating will look like now.  

Leo Chan of Levitate Style kicks off Season 2 of the podcast covering COVID-19 stories in NYC. Leo shares his perspective of racist attacks and how it feels to be an Asian American in NYC right now. Leo is a men’s fashion and travel content creator, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to NYC when he was 10 years old. He worked in corporate banking for 4 years before he and his girlfriend Alicia both quit their jobs to work on a sponsorship project where they traveled the world on a cruise for 5 months. Learn how he found his unique niche, why it’s called Levitate Style and how to nail the perfect levitate photo. He shares what it’s like to be an influencer from working with a manager to his favorite Dumbo photo spots and how important it is now to use his influence for good. He talks about racism spreading, how Chinese businesses are suffering and how important it is to help each other right now. 

Meagan Morrison still feels like a tourist with stars in her eyes despite living in the city for over a decade. She talks about her journey to living in her dream city and pursuing a career in a niche that she chose for herself of travel fashion illustration. Hear what it was like to visit NYC while growing up and the moment she knew it would become her home. She attended business school in Canada but was so enthralled when she first learned about fashion illustration that she saved up to attend FIT in 2009. She shares super helpful advice to others who want to follow a similar path. Meagan explains what Instagram was like in the beginning and how it was a part of sharing her creative process. She talks about how she selects brands to align with and how she has built her audience’s trust. 

Debbie has lived in NYC for over 20 years but she admits it doesn’t matter how many years you live here. Some people see more than most New Yorkers see in a year or two. “Honestly I feel like as a New Yorker sometimes you don’t really take advantage of a lot of things because it’s always in your backyard that you always feel like you have time to see it or do it and then you leave for a little while and you really understand what a gem NYC is.” She grew up in Queens and is now a Bronx girl. She breaks down the vibes of her favorite boroughs and what she misses about New York like a secret U2 concert. If you want to laugh listen to the end for Debbie’s favorite dive bar and count how many times she says the signature drink.  

Lara came to NYC to attend FIT. She was an OG beauty blogger and influencer before that was a thing and talks about how that industry has changed. She lived in NYC for the past 18 years. Unlike the quote, she didn’t feel like a New Yorker in 5 minutes but more like 5 years. She has seen how the fashion and beauty industry has changed over the years. She compares NYFW to other fashion weeks in other cities and how NYFW has changed over the past 10 years. She explains the epitome of a New Yorker through amazing New Yorkers like Patricia Field who styled Sex and the City and the Devil wears Prada to name a few. Lara shares tips on how to move to New York from the neighborhoods to subletting and find your place in the city.   

Mary McCarthy went viral after sharing photo updates of her left hand being @NotEngaged all around NYC and even while cleaning her bathroom. She is the single friend New Yorkers didn’t know they needed. She was born in queens, grew up nearby and is currently an actor and writer in the big apple. Strangers often propose to her, but she promises she’s ok not being engaged. Find out what will happen if she were to put a ring on it and how she views being single in the city. She shares her favorite pizza joints and even the lesser known ticker tape parades in NYC marked along Broadway from City Hall to Battery Park, which was started for the Statue of Liberty dedication. 

LA vs NYC? Will is one of the newest New Yorkers on this podcast and the first person I actually interviewed for this podcast! Special guest performance by a NYC heater. Will’s fresh perspective draws lights on some things New Yorkers forget are unique to us. He only just moved here from Virginia by way of LA about a year ago. He compares the creator scene in NYC to LA and explains competition in LA and why he thinks New York is a wonderland compared to LA. What makes someone a New Yorker? He breaks it down from the way we walk to how proud we are of our tap water. Together we analyze why you might be more likely to see people crying outside in NYC than most other cities from small apartments to roommates. Will is proud to say after visiting his local Bodega daily, they now know his usual order. He talks about what it feels like to learn the subway while people are running to catch trains around him and catching his first rat in his apartment. 

Oneika Raymond hosts two digital Travel Channel shows and is a TV correspondent for shows like New York Live. She left teaching to move to NYC and talks about how it has given her some of her best opportunities like working with American Express. She has traveled to 118 countries and has lived in large cities like London and Hong Kong every two years for most of her adult life, staying the longest in NYC. Four years later, she still loves Midtown because it is the NYC of film and television from the skyscrapers to the yellow cabs. Only a few weeks ago, she just had a little New Yorker baby who already has her passport and is ready to travel soon. She shares why she wouldn’t live anywhere other than LIC, Queens and her favorite local places in the area. She questions the true meaning of being a local but prides herself at being a pro at riding the subway and ultimately states the definition of a New Yorker rests within yourself. 

Sarah Funk is a NYC tour guide from Upstate New York who came to the city for college, got her first job here and quit her first job here. After 10 years of living here, she started her YouTube channel after living here for ten years to share the good and the terrible about this city. She says, “I've seen a lot of sides of the city and the city has seen a lot of sides of me.” The two factors she requires to define a New Yorker are “you have to be living here for 10 years and you have to cry in public.” Listen to hear her advice for someone moving here and getting a job here and to find out what her dream apartment looks like. When it comes to an apartment, Sarah breaks down the 3 elements you want in a perfect apartment. Keep listening for her haunted Broadway story, favorite dive bar with the free hot dogs and her favorite building that was a prototype for the Empire State Building.