25 Ways to Be a Traveler in your Hometown – Guest Post

If you’re like me, you love to travel. You love the adventure of going somewhere new, the feeling of a plane ticket in your hand, the thrill of ordering off a menu where you can’t understand any of the words.

But, sometimes we can’t travel as much as we want. First of all, travel can be expensive, and most of us can’t afford every plane ticket we want. Second, travel has a big environmental impact, and from plane rides to hotels, the travel choices affect the amount of waste you put into the world. Travel also takes time, and most of us have responsibilities that don’t allow us to escape for weeks or even days at a time.

Does that mean we have to give up on the joy of travel, dreaming wistfully of our next trip, months or years away? Nope!

If you love to travel, I encourage you to find a way to be a traveler in your own city

Being a tourist in your own city is, of course, fun. Most of us get a chance to do this when we have out-of-town visitors, or maybe for a special event. Visit a local museum. See a show. Have dinner at a famous restaurant in your town. Attend a festival in your area. These are great things, and they can definitely scratch your travel itch and help you to appreciate your home town or city.

But when I talk about being a traveler in your own city, that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about exploring somewhere you’ve never been before. Talking to people you wouldn’t normally talk to, and hearing from their perspective. Eating things you’ve never eaten before, that are made with love and pride. Spending time really looking at your surroundings, observing and listening and thinking. Wandering without a map, stopping into shops or cafes just because they look interesting. Spending the whole day outside, looking at animals and plants and landscapes you haven’t seen before.

For me, traveling is about these things, and it turns out that I can seek out these same experiences closer to home. Near your hometown, you have to try harder. There are familiar places to go and eat and see, so you have to actively resist them in order to try new things. But the rewards can be sweet! You get some of the same joy of travel without the expense and environmental impact, you support your local economy, and if you find a place you love, it’s easy to go back whenever you want!

To get you started, here are 25 suggestions of ways to be a traveler in or around your hometown.

Twenty-five Ways to be a Traveler in your Hometown

1. Read about the history of a monument or famous building in your town, and then go to see it in person
2. Find a grocery store or shop in your area that caters to another ethnicity, and purchase the ingredients to make a meal you haven’t cooked before
3. Choose a part of town where you’ve never been, and go for a walk, stopping in 5 buildings you’ve never been in
4. Go to the park and don’t leave until you’ve hung out with three new people.
5. Take your sketchbook on a walk or a drive and sketch a place that catches your eye – you’ll see it in a new life
6. Attend a concert, art show, or other event put on my a school in your area – embrace it!
7. Find the restaurant that’s been in your town the longest and go there for lunch.
8. Explore every nook and cranny of your local library, borrowing something you’d normally never be interested in.
9. Find a place to volunteer. If your town has a senior citizen center or retirement home, this is a great place to get new perspectives on your town and make a positive impact
10. Look for a pond or lake, and spend a few hours just watching the people, wildlife, and whatever else comes along (with or without music)
11. Learn to cook something that your hometown or region is famous for
12. Look for a free class to join – a Facebook group for your town might have some suggestions
13. Have a contest with your friends – who can find the most interesting place within a one-hour drive? Then go see it!
14. Grab your camera (or phone) and go on a photo tour of some of your favorite places, trying to show what you love about them through your photos
15. Find an animal shelter that needs volunteers, and spend some time with the animals. If you have permission, you can share their stories and help them to get adopted
16. Go on a dessert tour of your town
17. Think about a food that your region is famous for, and find 3 places to try their offering and compare to find the “best” one in your town
18. Find a state park, national park, or other areas to go for a hike
19. Have a picnic
20. Get up early and head to the coffee shop, and place yourself at the counter for people-watching and a hot cup of coffee
21. Next time you stop in the gas station for a snack, buy something you’ve never bought before and try it out
22. Find a farmers market or other similar market and commit to walking the whole thing in one visit
23. Find a place to look for birds, and borrow a bird book or other field guide from the library. See if you can identify some bird, flower, or tree species
24. Get up early on a Saturday morning and head to some yard sales. Talk to people that you meet. You can have a contest of who of your friends can buy the coolest thing for $5
25. Volunteer at a community event. This is a great way to get to know more people and get involved.

These are just some ideas to get you started – everyone and every town are different! But don’t think that all the things worth doing and seeing are a plane-ticket away. Your town has art, culture, food, and Instagram-worthy adventures — and if it doesn’t, you can help to bring them there!

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