NYC Local Guides

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.

Dave Krugman is a NYC photographer who started his career by assisting in Annie Leibovitz's photography studio and is now a top photographer for brands like Sony. He grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts and always dreamed of two things: becoming a photographer and living in NYC. After achieving both, he shares how to really get started in photography at any budget. He talks about what technology will look like in the future from augmented reality to smart contact lenses. As a talented photographer, he is approached with numerous big opportunities, but is still humble to say no to things that don’t align with his values and still finds time to give back to causes he truly cares about. Learn his favorite paintings in the Met to his favorite statue in Central Park to his favorite airport to fly into for views and where to sit on the plane.

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.

Welcome to NYC Local Guides, I’m your host Jennifer O’Brien and I interview New Yorkers from creatives to CEOs and everyone in between. For more NYC resources like eBooks and videos visit NYClocalguides.com. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to be a New Yorker or if you want to hear some crazy stories, keep listening.

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.