Once I journey—particularly alone—I slip into a completely totally different rhythm. I get up early, stroll for miles with no vacation spot, observe a bakery’s scent, the traces exterior of outlets, or the sound of road music, and strike up conversations with strangers each probability I get. Curiosity turns into my compass.
Whether or not it’s an enormous metropolis like New York, or a small village in Europe, I really feel absolutely alive, open, untethered. However coming house has all the time meant instantly stepping again into routine—snug, acquainted, slightly boring. After my most up-to-date journey, although, one thing shifted. After weeks on the highway, I returned house with no longing to flee once more. As an alternative, I had the need to remain and see, actually see, my metropolis the best way I see new ones.
Featured picture by Michelle Nash.
How I’m Rediscovering My Metropolis with a Passport Mindset
I’m strolling extra. Much more. Wandering. Consuming solo at locations I’ve all the time meant to strive. Reserving tickets to reveals that sound attention-grabbing, regardless of if I’ve a pal to affix me. I’m letting the identical spirit that makes me courageous and expansive on the highway additionally information me again at house. I’m rediscovering my metropolis not as a neighborhood, however as a traveler—one with roots and a contemporary perspective. It’s been a strong reframe to find that the key isn’t in the place I’m going, however in how I present up.
Listed here are just a few methods I’m exploring my very own hometown:
The Espresso Stroll
What began as a sensible stroll for espresso has change into a cherished ritual. Each Sunday, I lace up my sneakers with my New York Occasions and set out on a five-mile stroll to my favourite espresso store—not as a result of it’s the closest (it’s 2.5 miles away), however as a result of the journey there looks like a deal with.
I give myself the posh of wandering a bit, window purchasing, people-watching, or taking a distinct route simply to see what’s modified. By the point I arrive, espresso in hand, I’ve already had a second with town—and with myself. It’s a small journey, however one which jogs my memory I don’t need to be far-off to really feel grounded and current.
New Neighborhoods, New Eyes
As an alternative of looping the identical streets, I now select neighborhoods I’ve by no means explored or ones I’ve ignored for years. I’d plan my stroll round a classic retailer I’ve heard about or a taco truck somebody advisable. Generally, I head out with no plan in any respect, letting curiosity information me prefer it does after I journey. I’m always shocked by how a lot life and element I’ve missed in my very own yard—colourful murals, tucked-away neighborhood gardens, and new to me pop-up retailers. Exploring like a vacationer in my very own metropolis has made it really feel greater, richer, extra alive.
Museum Curiosity
I’ve all the time liked museums, however at house, I used to attend to go except I had a purpose, like a visiting good friend, a date, or a special day. Now, I test museum calendars the best way I’d lookup occasions in a brand new metropolis. I’ll see an exhibit opening or a panel dialog and carve out time to go, simply because.
I wander by means of rooms slowly, not needing to clarify my curiosity to anybody else. It’s change into a type of solo journey in place—every museum or set up go to turns into a portal into one other time, place, or perspective. It jogs my memory of how a lot there’s to be taught proper the place I’m.
Embracing Solo Adventures
For a very long time, I advised myself sure issues had been higher with firm—attempting a brand new restaurant, going to a gallery opening, strolling into an unfamiliar area. However journey has taught me that doing issues alone doesn’t imply doing them lonely. In reality, solo experiences usually carry extra freedom, extra reference to strangers, and extra alignment with what I really need.
So now, I’m going, even when nobody’s free. I take myself out, identical to I’d in Paris or Amsterdam or New York. And in doing so, I’m not lacking out—I’m really displaying up extra absolutely for my life. I’ve been amazed by what number of others are doing this, too. It’s refreshing. I can’t stress how nice it feels to not wait round for another person to expertise the issues I need in life.
Seeing My Metropolis By way of My Buddies’ Eyes
I’m an enormous fan of crowd-sourcing, so I’ve began asking buddies, “If you were planning the perfect day in Austin—where would we go?” Their solutions by no means disappoint. Seeing town by means of another person’s lens helps break me out of my patterns and jogs my memory that discovery doesn’t all the time have to come back from inside. It’s been a good way to spark spontaneous hangs, get to know my buddies slightly higher, and revel in just a few solo days impressed by the folks I like.
I can’t stress how nice it feels to not wait round for another person to expertise the issues I need in life.
Making a Bucket Checklist—and Truly Utilizing It
I’ve all the time been the sort of one who researches a brand new metropolis to demise earlier than I go to. I guide eating places, analysis retailers, hikes, the place to get one of the best chilly brew, learn NYT’s 36 Hours, and scour web sites prefer it’s my job. However I not often give my very own metropolis of Austin that sort of consideration, particularly after 15 years of residing right here.
So I’ve began making an “Austin bucket list,” in my Notes app, filled with locations I’ve needed to strive, issues I’ve heard about, and experiences I’ve been saving for “someday.” When I’ve a free afternoon or an open weekend, I decide one thing from the checklist—nearly at random—to keep away from getting caught in my spiral of indecision. It’s a strategy to carry novelty and spontaneity again into the on a regular basis, and truthfully, it makes life really feel slightly extra cinematic. Like I’m starring in my very own journey montage, solely this time, the backdrop is house.
Now if I may solely give a few of these outfits in my closet the identical consideration and cease ready for the proper second to put on them, I’d be golden! Child steps…
