Meet your guides to city life

In January 2005, after being put off by the blatant marketing of “tourist sites” and lack of real information on her new city, Alex Beauchamp decided if she couldn’t find the information online that she was looking for, she’d write about it herself. Creating Girls Guide to LA in January 2005, the site was instantly popular with both locals and travelers alike. In September 2005 the site expanded into a global network of women travel writers who are passionate about their cities and write about them - just for you!

ALEX BEAUCHAMP, Founder & Editor

She writes for LOS ANGELES | Read her articles

Alex brings her passion for travel, discoveries and love of luxury to the web. With over 10 years of on-line blogging she has accumulated a global audience of over 90,000 daily visitors, awards for her design and constant media attention. Immigrating to America in 1999, she’s since travelled the US extensively (she also writes for the San Francisco, Seattle, Portland & Vancouver Guides) but hasn’t given up on her global escapades just yet. Point her to a good hotel and spa and she’s a happy girl. Just don’t make her wear lipstick. Visit her web site.

ANH-MINH LE

She writes for SAN FRANCISCO. Read her Articles

Anh-Minh has spent 98 percent of her life in the Bay Area. Over the years, she has written for various shopping, food, travel, and lifestyle web sites. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in journalism. In her free time, Anh-Minh contributes to a crafts collective, hangs out in the backyard with her husband, and blogs as a way to remember what she did the day before yesterday. She got her passport late in life and is now attempting to make up for lost time by traveling as often as possible. Her favorite destinations so far? Amsterdam, London, and Hong Kong. Visit her web site.

ANNA INABINET

She writes for CHICAGO. Read her articles

Anna is a freelance writer and policy analyst. After spending most of her childhood moving all around the United States with her family, Anna relocated to Chicago with her husband two years ago, immediately fell in love with the city, and is happy to have found a place that feels like home. If she’s not behind her computer writing, you’ll find her exploring the city’s many shops, restaurants, theaters, museums, and discovering countless hidden treasures along the way. Her other interests include photography, scrapbooking, bargain hunting, reading, traveling, and hiking.

GIGI BURGDORF

She writes for LONDON

Gigi is a freelance writer and devoted city-lover. Her early years were spent yearning for the bright lights of New York where she later got her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Just before the turn of the century, she moved to London where she fills her days with writing, acting, and dining out. She spends a great deal of her time in pursuit of the world’s best coconut rice and is on an endless quest for the perfect pedicure.

KATHERINE HUETHER

She writes for BOSTON

Katherine is a freelance writer who is passionate about chocolate, cappuccinos, and finding unique nightspots with great atmosphere. Since moving to the Boston area in September of 2004 from Germany with her husband, she has found all these things. When she is not exploring the city, she spends her days writing, cooking, and training for a marathon.

KELLY ATKINSON

She writes for AMSTERDAM

Kelly is Australian born and bred, though from an early age she dreamed of living elsewhere so after living in a number of countries she made her home Amsterdam. After working in the film industry she switched to writing full-time. She currently lives happily in a shoebox-sized apartment in the Jordaan. Visit her web site.

REBECCA LEBARD

She writes for SYDNEY

Rebecca embraces every part both of her city and her day. At sunrise you’ll find her running on the beach for bootcamp training and, at sunset, discovering restaurants that offer more than just great food. In between, she teaches at the University of Sydney, writes scientific articles and is an editor for online courses. This year she ran her first half marathon and completed a PhD in science, so she’s ready for some fun and relaxation. It is Rebecca’s wish that everyone would take the time to sip a latte in the sunshine each morning, as she believes the world would be significantly less stressed-out.

AMANDA FORD

She writes for SEATTLE and CHICAGO. You can read her Chicago Articles

Amanda is a true urban girl with a passion for film, fashion, and food. She is the author of Retail Therapy: Life Lessons Learned While Shopping, and her work has been featured in Real Simple, Glamour, The Chicago Tribune and The Seattle Times. Currently Amanda is having a love affair with a deep green velvet skirt and a chunky papier-mache bracelet made by her mother. Whenever possible she likes to stop and smell the flowers. Visit her website.

Previous Writers:

A huge, huge thank you to the following women who have contributed to Girls Guide to City Life. Their articles are still available for viewing because they’re fabulous!

CLARE DEVEREUX for LOS ANGELES | Articles

Clare is a native Dubliner who has a passion for both fashion and travel. Clare has lived in London and Sydney and relocated to Los Angeles recently. With a love for all things glamorous, LA is agreeing her. After the cold Dublin weather she is welcoming the sunshine and the great beaches. With a background in journalism and fashion styling Clare has written for numerous publications across the globe. She has worked with some of the top designers in the world and blames this for her love of shoes and fashion magazines! While in Los Angeles Clare wants to sample all the fantastic places it has to offer and share her star finds with the readers of Girls Guide.

FELICIA C. SULLIVAN for NEW YORK | Articles

Felicia’s a New York based writer with an MFA from Columbia University. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has been published in Swink, Post Road Magazine, Mississippi Review, Publisher’s Weekly, among other publications. Work is forthcoming in the anthologies, Homewrecker (Soft Skull, 2005) Money Changes Everything (Doubleday, 2006), and Pindeldyboz #6. Algonquin Books will publish her memoir in 2008. She is also the founder of the literary journal, Small Spiral Notebook. When not taking the literary world by storm, she adores yoga, cooking and baking up a storm, tea and fresh pie while dishing with the gals, and weekends tucked away in her apartment, curled up with a good book.

KAICHIN CHANG for HONG KONG

KaiChin spent her childhood stuffing her face with delicious goodies and her high-school weekends trotting for stylish bargains in the alleys and boutiques of her beloved home city. At eighteen, she embarked on a six-year journey to mythic Southern California, where she got her degrees in Communications and International Development at UCLA. She returned to Hong Kong to spread her joy for hidden gems, obscure snacks, heavenly meals, bizarre beauty treatments and everything in-between. In her free time, you’ll either find KaiChin in a movie theater, curled up with a good book, experiencing deeply incurable neurosis over her latest draft or drooling ever so wistfully over the shoes at Marc Jacobs.

JENNIFER BLEAKLEY for PHILADELPHIA | Articles

With an endless number of interests, Jennifer considers herself every type of girl rolled into one and shies away from the thought of having to choose a single path in life or even one look or hairstyle for that matter! Her loves include traveling the world, photography, painting, writing and independent films. Living simply, savoring moments, enjoying all that life has to offer such as exploring cities, shopping, trying new restaurants, indulging in spa treatments, downward dogs and basking in the sunshine.

ALISSA WILKINSON for NEW YORK | Articles

Alissa moved to NYC after finishing a degree in technology and has been rediscovering a love for beauty and creativity ever since. An avid bibilophile, she harbors a penchant for good coffee, indie films, and the Anthropologie store windows near her midtown Manhattan corporate gig. She and her husband spend a lot of time drinking cappuccinos and savoring life together in their Brooklyn neighborhood. Visit her website.

SOFIA BARAO for PARIS

Mixed media artist and designer Sofia, spends her time creating and that’s what she loves best. She arrived in Paris in 1997 and even if she holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business that’s not what she intended to do for life. Sofia now works at a contemporary art museum and at home….creating. Sofia felt in love with Paris and she will be telling you all about her favorite places. In her free time you will find her shopping, reading fashion magazines or thrifting at flea markets. Visit her website and blog

ROXANNA SARMIENTO for BOSTON | Articles

Roxanna is a freelance writer who loves travel and luxury (but still loves the thrill of finding a bargain!). After growing up in Santo Domingo, studying in Granada (Spain), and working her way up the east coast, she now calls the Boston area home. Some of her favorite travel adventures include crossing the desert by camel in Morocco, dancing Sevillanas at the Feria in Seville, and lounging on the beach at Ipanema. But give her a comfy bed and a good book and she’s happy anywhere – especially at home with her husband and son. Visit her web site

A few thanks

A huge thank you to the very talented Amanda Woodward who created our logo and cute icons above. And also to Dreamhost for hosting our site and Wordpress for giving us a great platform on which to write.