Get to Know the Author: Why I’m Digging for Our Town’s Best

We all see the 'Talk' groups and the Yelp reviews, but who has the time to sift through 70+ comments to find a reliable plumber?

Hi, I’m Alexandra, and I’ve made it my mission to do the heavy lifting for you.

My mission to discover the ultimate referral for any service or business began when I was in search of a reliable carpet cleaner for my company’s offices. I searched through Facebook.com ‘Talk’ groups, Ring Neighbor discussions, and Yelp reviews to uncover the truth about local businesses. Other ways I have used this form of research were for sign painters, balloon artists, local activities for myself and my son, and a hairstylist.

Nowhere could I find a platform that gathered this information into a centralized space to hear who locals trust.

Yelp reviews are trustworthy for negative reviews or extraordinary stories, but I have found it to be rare that people will go out of their way to write a Yelp or Google review just for a quick reference. While scrolling Facebook.com or receiving notifications from Ring Neighbor, I saw an outpouring of recommendations from locals on these ‘Talk’ forums, and most of them referred to the same businesses.

Thus the creation of Local Neighbr! A centralized and honest blog, full of recommendations for locals from locals. I hope to inspire a sense of community and integrity- bringing written form back in a digital era!

Becoming a novelist has been my life-long dream, and blogging, to me, is like small novels! I enjoy the process of sitting down, gathering data, reading about new places, and preparing a perfectly crafted post.

Many spiral notebooks lived in my storage for years, full of crazy fictional stories I created as a child - even some high school essays I took pride in are still saved to my drive - these inspire me to bring my inner-child’s dream to reality!

In between the research and recommendations, I also love to discover businesses on my own and share my experiences and thoughts, and hopefully bring new customers to locations I enjoy. Whether you trust my opinion or search through the data I share in my local-recommendations posts, this is a space for all newcomers and locals to learn more about our great cities.

To get to know me, here are a few of my favorite things!

1. Coffee- Shocker! I am a Gen Z, full-time mom, and employee, and I love to find a great coffee nearby. My preference is usually caramel, and some of my favorite spots include DCH Roasters (inside Kaiser Permanente locations - don’t knock it ‘till you try it!), Rival Coffee Co., and E.A.T. Marketplace.

2. Community- ‘Social Butterfly’ was practically my first name as a child. I have always enjoyed an outing, adventure, or anything that brought me to engage with my community members and explore new places.

3. Dining Out- I LOVE to sit down at a restaurant and experience the ambiance and new menu, engage with servers, and enjoy my meal with family and friends. As a server for nearly four years before switching to a remote job, I found myself loving being on the other side!

4. Hot Pilates/Yoga- My mother-in-law grew my obsession with hot yoga and pilates quicker than I could have ever expected. It is communal, engaging, exhausting, hot, and so much fun! My favorite spot, where my MIL teaches, is Core Movement off of Los Alamos and Whitewood. It is as great of a de-stresser as blogging is!

Some more insight into me is that I love musicals, Three Days Grace, bbq Pop Corners chips (bring them back, Pop Corners!), my guilty pleasure is S.L.O.M.W., I never gave up on Minecraft, Edmonton Oilers is the only sports team I care about, and watching people brush their teeth grosses me out! There are many more things, but you will have to continue reading to learn more!

As I continue to grow my blog and engage with our community, I open my discussion groups to those who want to share their recs., request research for certain services, or just want to chat! If any of these suggestions inspire you, please join the newsletter, comment in the discussion group, or email me!

Thank you for being here, I am so happy to have you!