April 1, 2021 was the day I moved to LA. I remember anxiously sitting in the lobby of my NYC apartment at 3am with my luggage, awkwardly making eye contact with the doorman while waiting for my Uber to JFK. Whenever I make a big, life changing decision, I question myself constantly to ensure my sanity. “My new job in LA is real, right? I’m not going to get to LA only to realize that I was tripping the entire time, right?” I even pulled up my offer letter on my phone to ensure that the new opportunity awaiting me was, in fact, real and that I was not delusional.
Here I am a year later! I figured the best way to write about my first year in LA is to structure it based on questions I was asked the most. I will keep my answers high level to keep this post as succinct as possible.
Which is better: NYC or LA?
NYC and LA could not be more different, but at this point in my life, I like LA better. I am so glad to have experienced living in NYC, but after 3.5 years, I felt ready for a big change. I feel a lot happier and more relaxed in LA. Moving here has been a very positive change for me both personally and professionally. Read more about my decision to move to LA in this post.
What did you have to adjust to after moving to LA from NYC? What do you love about LA?
- People are nice! Hilariously enough, it took me a while to adjust to how nice people are in LA, even if it is fake or facetious. This meant I had to get rid of my New Yorker “toughness.” I guess I was so used to strangers being mean or rude for no reason in NYC haha.
- Driving. After ~8 years of taking public transportation on the east coast, I was ambivalent about driving. You can technically get by without a car in LA, but it will severely limit how much you can do in the city. Paying for auto insurance and astronomical gas prices is not fun, but I love the freedom and peace that come with having my own car. I also live fairly close to everything I need, so I rarely deal with the notorious LA traffic.
- Enormous Korean community. LA is home to the largest Korean population outside of South Korea. LA Koreatown is basically Korea with everything you can think of, whether it is food, services, fashion, etc. As someone who grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood, I love living in a city that is so rich and vibrant with my heritage and culture.
- Weather. As everyone knows, LA weather is amazing. Blue skies, no humidity, just perfect. Imagine waking up Saturday morning, driving out to the beach, riding bikes and getting a cathartic walk in. Chef’s kiss.
- Food. In my opinion, the quality and selection of Asian food, especially Korean, is so much better in LA than in NYC. I personally found the NYC Korean food scene underwhelming. I will say, though, that NYC is superior when it comes to pizza and bagels. While I was writing this, I actually ordered a bagel from a Jewish deli just to give LA bagels one more chance, but nope… NYC bagels still reign supreme.
What do you miss about NYC?
I miss my best friends. I guess this is only natural after going to college and starting my career on the east coast. Thankfully, I stay in touch with my friends often. I also miss how easy it is to see people in NYC. I could text a friend, hop on the subway, and meet up in 20-30 minutes. Given how spread out LA is, it can be hard to make plans.
What was it like starting a new job during the pandemic?
I started my job in April 2021 and worked from home for a year. Starting a new job remotely (also in a new city!) was not ideal because it was hard to get immersed into the firm culture. When you start a new job, you should meet as many people as possible, which was obviously hard to do remotely. Although my day-to-day was remote, I still attended management presentations, diligence sessions and site visits in person, and my team was really good about organizing social events, so it was a nice balance for me. Amazingly, my team and I managed to sign and close a platform acquisition remotely!
I only recently started going to the office, and I love it! I have seen such a big boost in my productivity, energy, and mood. It also reminded me how much I enjoy social interaction.
What is working in private equity like? Is it different or similar to investment banking?
Before I started the job, I was often told that private equity is “banking 2.0.” After all, private equity is “the other side” of investment banking, and it is mergers and acquisitions at the end of the day. But after a year on the job, I think that term is a big generalization.
Although the job still requires a lot of financial modeling and preparing presentations (for investment committee memos), private equity is very different from investment banking in the sense that the job is to determine whether investing in a company can generate returns for the firm, which can mean the firm potentially investing hundreds of millions (if not, billions) of dollars into said company. As such, you need to understand how companies generate cash flow and, more importantly, you need to have an opinion. Private equity also has a creative aspect around structuring an investment and how you can grow the company under your firm’s ownership. The lifestyle is generally nicer than investment banking since it is not a client services business. However, during a live deal, the days (and nights) can be quite long. Read more about my investment banking experience in this post.
Overall, I really like private equity! The work is intellectually stimulating and interesting, and I get to work with extremely intelligent people through my firm, my portfolio companies, and the companies we underwrite.
How is the finance culture in LA?
The finance ecosystem in LA is very well established with several private equity firms, investment banks, and asset managers. It is a collaborative environment as well, so there is a lot of interaction amongst the firms. Although culture is heavily dependent on the fund and the group/portfolio manager, I think generally finance culture is much more relaxed in LA than in NYC, although it is equally intense during a live deal.
If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for reading.
Phyllis
