5: Hometown Tourist: Literally, the Next Town Over

In this Episode…

Carson and Nicole discuss why you should want to explore your hometown as a tourist, and how to do so to expand your horizons, make new discoveries, and uncover the magic in the places you find most mundane.

Show Notes:

Here are the websites we mentioned in today’s episode:

TripAdvisor: a resource for researching and reviewing hotels, restaurants, and attractions

EventBrite: a website that advertises events large and small

Don’t forget to look at your local newspaper and chamber of commerce websites, too. Facebook is another great resource for events.

Takeaways:

  • Playing tourist at home is a great way to give yourself a travel top-up in between trips, you can learn a lot and discover things to show friends and family when they visit, and it’s fun.

  • Plan it like any other trip—look for museums, tourist attractions, state or regional parks, top restaurants and bars in the area.

  • Try simple or spontaneous methods in your day-to-day—stop along your usual routes, turn right instead of left, or ask friends/family for suggestions.

  • Visit a nearby town you don’t spend much time in. Often the destinations that are in the 40-90 minute drive range get ignored.

  • Try a new activity—what’s popular in your area that you’ve never done? Or splurge on something you’ve never indulged in because it’s too expensive.

  • Go where the tourists are and pretend you’re one of them

  • Pick up brochures at local hotels and keep your eyes open for events.

Carson Costa

I’ve always been fascinated by stories and the way people of different cultures and backgrounds experience life. I went to the University of Nevada, Reno, and earned my Bachelor’s in Psychology. After graduation, I decided to convert a Ford Transit cargo van into a tiny home and hit the road, pursuing my dream of being a writer full-time. Now I keep a blog about my experience converting and traveling in the van and write short travel articles and book reviews on Medium.com, while working on short stories and novels that range from Epic Fantasy to Urban Fantasy to Realistic Drama Fiction. You can find more information about all my work on my website: www.carsoncosta.com.

http://www.carsoncosta.com
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2: Go Long: Throwing a Perfect Spiral for Long Term Travel