I love magazines. Love love LOVE them. I honestly spend about £10 a week on magazines. The ones I do read though, are mostly pointless information. As much as I like to think all of the information I am reading in these magazines is relevant to me, finding out how much Lucy Meck weighs or where Danielle Armstrong gets her haircut probably isn’t going to benefit me.

What WOULD benefit me though, is knowing a bit more about the local services and events in my county. I’m often stuck for new and interesting things to do, and although I have been an Essex resident my whole life, I am ashamed to admit I really do not get involved in the community that much. Most of the local businesses and events I have recently found out about are to do with my blog, but what about people that don’t blog and are not that social media savvy?

The Essex Lowdown ( http://www.essexlowdown.co.uk )is an online and in print magazine that covers a range of topics and event that are actually tailored to your area. You can use their website to filter results from your actual district, or just between topics in general. The Essex Lowdown guys really do have a great resource going on for whats on in Essex, and not only that but they have really handy bits of information like take away numbers (lets be honest, the diet ALWAYS starts Monday, so when you have thrown away all the take away menu’s in a moment of immense willpower you are probably going to be logging on to get the number of that Chinese you like).

The events advertised are things you can really get involved with to be part of the community, such as runs, informative events and talks and comedy nights. Until you read something like Essex Lowdown you probably don’t realize how much there is actually going on in town. I’m from Basildon and have always suspected the only thing available to do socially is go and drink white lightening in the park or complain about the number 22 bus to Canvey. There is a specific magazine for each area available on the website, so you can really hone in on where you live and find something decent going on without having to move too many miles from your sofa and paying loads in taxi’s.

You can also browse generic things to do in Essex, not just events. I didn’t even know you could do white water rafting so close to home until I looked at their website, which is great. I’m not about to do it any time soon because I am terrified of water, but it’s nice to know I have the option available, I feel a lot better for that.

The actual part of the website that covers the whole county is a bit like an ‘E-zine’ and covers loads of subjects from kids, motoring, shopping, entertainment, business, home and garden, sport and fitness, and food and drink. Yes shopping, who would of thought it, there ARE actually places to shop in Essex aside from Lakeside and Bluewater! What a revelation.

The food and drink part is one of my favourites, because I am always looking for nice places to eat in Essex. Although I do review a fair amount of restaurants, if it’s just a random week day and I am looking for somewhere new to go you would be surprised how hard i find it to get decent suggestions from people. The motoring sections has a few events listed, like actual proper events for car enthusiasts and not just meets down Pitsea flyover. The entertainment section is probably the largest and busiest, which is great for people that love the theatre, cinema, or the thriving culture of Essex music.

You can check out listings, events, whats on at the cinema, reviews, who’s playing live and where, days out, nights out and everything in between. The Essex music scene is very busy, and you could probably find yourself a little gig to go to every weekend.

As well as the website, you can also actually buy the Essex lowdown in print. Some people find it easier to read things that are physically on a page, some people are just weirdo’s and some people love magazines like me. Not only can you buy one off editions, but if you want to ensure you get it and can read it on anything, anywhere, you can purchase a 12 month digital subscription, which is compatible with your Kindle and all of those other gadgets you got for Christmas. That means you have a whole year of knowing what’s going on in Essex and being the smarmy one out of all of your mates that always knows all the good places to go to.

Another tip I would give you is to keep up to date with their Facebook page on: https://www.facebook.com/essexlowdownmagazine as they have regular competitions, and all you have to do is like their page to see them all and how to enter. You can win loads of things from Amazon vouchers to Art sets to hair products, it’s really varied so there is something for all ages in competitions.

The districts currently covered in Essex Lowdown are Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castlepoint, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Southend, Tendring, Thurrock, and Uttlesford, so even if you don’t see your actual district listed i’m sure there is one close enough for you to be able to browse events and services.

If you wish to advertise on Essex Lowdown, you can contact them on info@essexlowdown.co.uk, as it is great to see local business supporting the magazine and the magazine supporting local businesses.

Too many magazines nowadays that support local area’s are free ones that fund by advertising and do not actually have any substance to them to bring the reader in and create engagement in the first place, so although cheaper, it is unlikely people will see ads posted in magazines and papers of this nature anyway.

Essex Lowdown is a real up and coming player in the Essex magazine market, so if we all get supporting them good things are to come for the future.