Dearest reader, brace yourselves for you are about to embark on a journey to the unassuming city of Raleigh, North Carolina, through the jaundiced lens of yours truly, Diana.

Though currently shackled to this patch of asphalt, I wasn’t always a Raleighan. No, my origins lie shrouded in the icy desolation of Saskatchewan, Canada, where my formative years were spent traversing plains as flat as a forgotten pancake on a griddle. Edmonton, Alberta, followed, bringing with it a brief yet misguided dalliance with oil barons and hockey pucks.

Adulthood, in its questionable wisdom, led me to the sun-baked plains of Austin, Texas, where I learned the dubious arts of two-stepping and brisket consumption. Illinois, ever the temptress, lured me back north with whispers of a graduate degree.

Exhausted by escapades both exotic and mundane, I stumbled upon Raleigh in 2012. While not exactly paradise, it wasn’t entirely devoid of redeeming qualities. And so, with a sigh as weary as a Southwest Airlines employee facing a meltdown, I decided to call it home.

Since Google started tracking my whereabouts 6 years ago, it has recorded my visits to 22 countries. Yet, like a moth drawn to a flickering bulb, I always find myself back in Raleigh, lured by the siren song of… well, something. Perhaps it’s the peculiar allure of biscuits and gravy, or the thrill of spotting a squirrel pilfering a discarded Krispy Kreme. Whatever the reason, I find myself compelled to share the dubious delights of this city through my blog, a monument to my own perseverance and a warning to those contemplating a similar fate.

So, if you have a morbid curiosity about a city that simultaneously inspires yawns and raised eyebrows, then step right up. Just be warned, it may not always be sunshine and rainbows.

Prepare yourselves, then, for a travel blog filled with more suspense than a tax audit, and more local color than a paint factory explosion. This, my friends, is Raleigh, as seen through the bloodshot eyes of yours truly.

What can you expect to see here?

Development updates? Hot concert reviews? Local celebrity gossip? Nope! Who needs such frivolous frippery when there are sinkholes to dodge, cicada invasions to weather, and rogue possums to befriend?

The types of things you can expect to read here are things you might do here as a visitor or adventurous local. Expect convoluted but detailed weekend itineraries and must-attend events. Expect restaurant round-ups that venture beyond the predictable chains and beige buffets. And expect profiles of attractions so quirky they’d make a taxidermied squirrel blush.

So, if you’re planning a trip to Raleigh, pack your sense of humor and a sturdy pair of walking shoes and be prepared to be inspired. And if you live here, put down your phone, step outside, and embrace the glorious, unsettling weirdness that is your city.

Yours truly, Diana