I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is about a 2 hour drive to Sedona. Scottsdale is about as artificial as you can get when it comes to cities, which is why Sedona, one of the country’s spiritual hotspots, seems like an escape to another universe. If you’re New Age phobic, you should still go […]
I’ve never considered Boston a viable option as a place to live. It was a good place to go to college, an excellent way to hone my reflexes and acquaint myself with being an adult. It’s a city that feels like training wheels for whatever lies in the great beyond. It’s full of college students, […]
You can take the girl out of Michigan, but I’m not so sure you can ever take the Michigan out of the girl. I never thought this would be the case when I first left home, but the deeper I delve into building a life here on the East Coast, the harder I stubbornly cling to my Midwestern […]
Astoria, Oregon, sits at the mouth of the Columbia River, smack dab between Oregon and Washington, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Judging by location alone, you’d think Astoria would fit the mold of a classic beach town, but if you go there expecting a plethora of pastel ice cream shops and “Life […]
If you asked me what I thought about Ohio when I was a boy-band-loving, glitter-coated 13-year-old, I would have proclaimed my hatred for my hometown, gloating that I had bigger things in store. Now, seven years after I left, I feel the need to apologize. I recently returned to the Midwest with my boyfriend, Mack, […]
And now, let’s discuss the city I visited a couple weeks ago that inspired this whole idea: Chattanooga, Tennessee. I don’t really know what I was expecting when my boyfriend Nick and I set off on a quick one-day road trip to Chattanooga. My main goal was a change of scenery and a distraction from […]
Here’s the thing about Hilo. If you’re looking for a Waikiki-postcard-style Hawaiian vacation, don’t go to Hilo. I know this firsthand because I moved to Hilo in 2006 to spend a semester at the University of Hawaii campus there, and I did no research beforehand. I was just like, “Woohooo Hawaii! Surfing and sunbathing on […]
For a lot of people from Chicago, the place to go for a quick, chill weekend vacation either is Galena (home of fudge shoppes, historical reenactments, and antique stores) or Lake Geneva (great beach, some sailing, OK shopping). However, if you’re not frumpy or if you’re weird (hello) I have to suggest Wisconsin’s great alternative: […]
“Cities That Surprise” highlights places across America that defied or exceeded our expectations, for whatever reason. Today, Carrie Murphy explains why Las Cruces, New Mexico, should be on your radar! The southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces is usually a quick stopover for people traveling east or west on I-10. That’s a pity. From […]
