Building community — one story at a time.
Neighbors, homes, food, style, travel close to home and the businesses that serve your community. What you will find in a typical issue and why it is all good news.
Short answer: a City Lifestyle magazine is a monthly collection of local, good-news stories about the community it serves: the people, homes, restaurants, style, travel and causes that make the place feel like home, along with the local businesses that serve it. Every issue is free, mailed to homes in the neighborhoods it covers and available online at CityLifestyle.com.
Each publisher shapes their magazine around their community, so no two issues are the same. Most issues include a mix of the following.
Many do. Issues across markets often share a monthly theme, such as the Style Issue, the Explore Issue, the Food and Drink Issue or a Health and Wellness issue. Each publisher then fills the theme with local stories, so the September Style Issue in Colorado looks nothing like the one in Tennessee.
Because that is the point of the magazine. City Lifestyle's mission is to inspire, instruct and uplift readers through articles, detailed and searchable listings of local businesses, and by sharing unique experiences and events in and around town. City Lifestyle leaves breaking news and national headlines to other outlets and focuses on the people and places close to home.
That approach also makes it a magazine the whole household can pick up. It is written to be kept on the coffee table, passed to a neighbor and read again later in the month.
Every magazine is made by a local team. The publisher owns the magazine and knows the business owners. A local editor, often working with a group of local writers, plans and writes the stories. City Lifestyle's Kansas City headquarters handles design, printing and mailing, and its editorial team supports each market's editor. The articles themselves are always written locally. If you know a story that belongs in your magazine, here is how to get featured in City Lifestyle.
The businesses in each issue are the partners who make the magazine possible. Their advertising pays for printing and mailing, which is why readers never pay for City Lifestyle. Publishers work with businesses they are proud to recommend to their neighbors, and every partner is listed in the businesses section of the market's page on CityLifestyle.com, so readers can find them later. Business owners interested in joining them can read how to advertise in City Lifestyle.
In print, if your home is in your magazine's mailing area, and online for everyone. Each market page on CityLifestyle.com has the current digital issue, past issues, individual articles and the local business directory. Find yours at citylifestyle.com/magazines, or read how to get City Lifestyle magazine for delivery, email and social options.
Is City Lifestyle a news magazine? No. City Lifestyle is a community lifestyle magazine. It covers local people, places, businesses and events, and leaves breaking news to other outlets.
Is every City Lifestyle magazine the same? Every magazine shares the same brand, design quality and approach, but the stories are local. Each of the more than 250 magazines is built around its own community by its own publisher.
How long is a City Lifestyle magazine? It varies by market and by month, depending on the stories and the local businesses in that issue.
Who writes City Lifestyle? Each magazine's local editor and the local writers they work with. A corporate editorial team supports those editors but does not write the articles. Many issues also include columns featuring local experts.
Can I suggest a story for City Lifestyle? Yes. Email the publisher listed on your market's page with a short pitch. The details are in how to get featured.
Where did City Lifestyle start? In Kansas City in 2009, with a single community magazine. More on the company is in what is City Lifestyle.
