moving to nyc

1/20/24

With the start of a new year, I’m leaving San Francisco, which has been my home for the past two years, and I will be returning to the East Coast. I am moving to New York City. San Francisco has acted as an invaluable home base and played an instrumental role in who I am today.

Shortly after graduating college, I moved to San Francisco in 2021 and joined Marcy Venture Partners full-time on the investment team. The move to San Francisco was far less intimidating than this NYC move. The comfort in moving to San Francisco stems from being just a ~45-minute flight away from my family in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up. Throughout my childhood, my family would drive up the coast and visit San Francisco annually. The city is vastly different now than it was then, but nonetheless, I truly do love this city. 

Although San Francisco is undeniably beautiful and is geographically ideal for my interests, my experience here would be dramatically different if it were not for the people I met and the relationships I formed. I learned that the impact others have on an experience is irreplaceable, and I have immense gratitude for so many individuals in this city who contributed to my positive experience. Special shoutouts include the MVP team (Larry & Elaine), Track Friday Crew (Adam, Alex, and Ben), and the entire Marina Run Club community.

The person I am today fundamentally differs from the person I was prior to moving to San Francisco. San Francisco challenged me to figure out who I am, what interests me, and what I want to prioritize. I discovered my love for running and endurance. I discovered a community that I didn’t imagine possible outside the walls of an institutional establishment or athletics team. Most importantly, I discovered that being intentionally curious brings me energy, and if I follow my curiosity, opportunities are somewhat limitless.

Despite my love and appreciation for the city, my time has come to leave and begin a new adventure. I decided on NYC for a multitude of reasons, but the three listed below are my key “needle-movers”:

  1. My current curiosity lies in the learnings of consumer brands, psychology, and trends. NYC is a city of early adopters and trendsetters, and the rest of the world follows in its footsteps.

  2. The majority of people who provide me with the most energy and inspiration live in NYC. Indexing my time surrounded by these individuals will be a core catalyst for my personal development.

  3. Personally, I believe the metropolis lifestyle has a finite time constraint, making my mid-20s the most opportune time to explore that. There is no better time to live in the chaos of NYC than now. (I am open to having this assumption proven wrong over time)

Timing is never fully optimal in life to make a significant change, and rather than being scared about the uncertainty, I am excited by it. This excitement stems from my fundamental understanding of who I am and what I prioritize, allowing me to be intentional based on that. I am more motivated now than ever before, which is odd to say, but I genuinely believe that personally, professionally, and physically.

Going forward, I hope to use this platform as a place to share my perspectives on topics, newfound learnings, and evolving frameworks. If you live in NYC and share an interest in the consumer space, shoot me a note. Also, I would welcome recommendations for favorite coffee shops to work from, restaurants to try, or running routes. 

-m

mason@marcyvp.com