Hi, I’m Liz! You can read more about me on my personal website here. The CliffsNotes version is I’m a photographer and writer. In the process of visiting friends and shooting shows, I’ve gone to a bunch of different cities. I’ve found coffee shops and thrift stores and tattoo shops I’ve enjoyed and I haven’t found anyone else writing about them. So here I am.

By definition, periphery describes “the outer limits or edge of an area or object.” And that’s how I like to explore a city. Yes, I’ll check out the tourist attractions once and cross them off my bucket list, but that’s not where I’ll spend the majority of my time in a city.

I like to experience the city like the people who live there. I know I’m just a background character in the stories that will continue to exist in those cities long after I’ve kept driving, but for a moment, our stories exist in the same chapter, in the same scene, in the same city and that’s beautiful.

I’m on an artist’s budget while traveling, so I mostly visit coffee shops and thrift or vintage stores. I’ll look for meals under $15, but sometimes I will treat myself to something fancier or to a cocktail. Many of my travels have been due to being a music photographer, so I’ve got your scoop on the venues in these cities. (There’s a music venue in St. Louis that serves coffee and I cannot tell you how much I love that.) I also love finding local radio stations to listen to, so you’ll find a smattering of those in my recommendations, too.

Most of the places I’ve found in these guides are through asking baristas and vintage store owners for recommendations. A few years ago, my friend Jason told me that the biggest commodity of the Midwest is its people. I’d agree, but I’d expand that and say that I think the biggest commodity of any city is its people. These guides will give you a landing place, a starting point, but I’d encourage you to ask the people around you, to get to know them, to linger, to learn about each city you visit. That’s how you fall in love with a person and it’s how you fall in love with a place, too.

My favourite way to explore a city is on foot and by neighborhood. I like to park someone or get off on a train stop and wander an area for an afternoon. For cities I’ve explored more thoroughly, I’ve divided the guides into neighborhoods so you can do the same thing. For cities I’ve spent a little less time in, I’ve divided them by category.
(And I’m open to feedback! Let me know which type of guide you like.)

I hope you enjoy these cities as much as I have. I hope you find conversation and connection and adventure. I hope you find places that feel new and freeing and places of belonging. And I hope as you travel into new places, you find newness in yourself, too. Hands down, that’s my favourite part of traveling: finding a new part of myself in a new city (and getting a tattoo to commemorate it).

all photos on the site are mine unless otherwise mentioned
above photo credit: Sarah McCulloch