How To Itch The Travel Scratch, Without The Travelling

There’s no denying it, if we could, we’d all follow those inspiring Instagram influencers who tell us to just “live our lives and travel the world!!!!” However, the reality is that most of us aren’t receiving sponsored plane tickets to stay at a fancy resort paid for by some make-up brand to advertise it’s new foundation. Most of us are working 9-5 and just barely making ends meet, but why should that mean that we can’t experience the same joys that so many get from travelling? There are plenty of ways that individuals can recreate that “wanderlust” type euphoria that comes when discovering new places, right at home! 

The first thing you can do is imagine up your dream vacation, and write it down. The “Bucket List Vacation” is a new trend sweeping millennials, and gives you an ultimate goal to work towards. If you want to go to Italy only so you can get an espresso from a specific cafe in Calabria where your grandparents first met, do it! Or at least write that down as a goal for when you finally save up enough coins in your “travel” jar. No matter how silly of a reason, it’s special to you specifically and that’s all that matters! Your vacations are meant to be YOUR time to rest and relax however you choose. So create a whole Bucket List just for places you want to see within your lifetime, and forget everyone else…unless you want to plan a trip to Paris with all your BFF’s or something, then totally go for it. 

Love Padlocks At ‘Le Pont Des Arts’ In Paris, A Popular Bucket List Vacation

Now that you have a list of dream vacation destinations, let’s figure out how you can scratch the travel itch until then. First, take a language class. Learning a new language is an amazing way to not only be introduced to a new culture from the comfort of your own home, but also experience it for yourself. It can allow you to take a certain mental escape and embrace another cultures art of communication. Additionally, you can learn the language that is native to one of your bucket list locations, this way, you’ll be more prepared and comfortable to actually go!

Food is another incredible way to recreate that “travelers high” so many are chasing. Trying a new cuisine offers the same level of cultural experience as travelling to the actual place. When I say try a new cuisine, I don’t mean go to a new Chinese restaurant as opposed to your usual spot, but actual new cuisine. Try new foods from anywhere, even if it scares you. 

“Eating and appreciating something new reduces our fear of a foreign place, there’s a sense of familiarity when we’ve tasted a community’s food before we visit that community — and there’s an interest in the people, culture, and history as a result. Fundamentally, it makes us happy when we taste something different — there’s a moment of enlightenment, of realizing that there is something else out there in the vast universe that we’ve suddenly grasped — and it’s for that instant, the one that sparks an even greater hunger for understanding, that we taste new cuisines,” said chef and restaurateur Simone Tong, of New York’s Little Tong Noodle Shop, in an interview with Travel and Leisure’s Online Magazine.

Chef Simone Tong of Little Tong Noodle Shop

Don’t be afraid to be a tourist in your own city. Explore all the areas you know well already, but with a fresh perspective. Atlas Obscura’s city guides are a great resource to use to tell you all about the lesser known hot spots in your city and any special events occurring near you. Get in the car and go to the places you’ve never really explored because they’re viewed as “basic” or “overrated” tourist spots. Go into it with an open mind, even if it does end up being basic and uninteresting, at least you’re out of the house and experiencing the community. If it ends up being not your cup of tea, go somewhere in your city that is, this way you won’t view it as a wasted day. 

TREAT! YO! SELF! As we all have learned from the iconic episode of “Parks and Recreation,” the art of “treating yourself” to a day of complete pampering and spoiling yourself is normally exactly what the travel doctor orders. Recreate the hotel vacation experience by ordering food for delivery, getting into sweatpants, putting on a face mask and scented candle, and ordering a movie on demand. That’s right, avoid streaming, that’s easy, go out of your way to pay the $5 to rent a movie you’ve never seen, kick up your feet, and multitask with some online shopping. Yes, I know spending money kind of defeats the whole purpose of “travelling without the travel”, however, as stated previously vacations are meant to relax you and be for you. So who better knows what you like than you? Take an at home vacation for a day and go nuts, and don’t worry, you won’t get the credit card bill for another month, so you can worry about it then. 

The final tip to be offered is to take a day trip. If you have access to a car, or public transportation, wake up early one day and go somewhere that’s not crazy far, but far enough that you’re going out of your way to get there. Even if it’s just getting a meal in a town 30 minutes from you, changing up the scenery from your normal hometown streets is good for your mental health. So often we all find ourselves getting stuck in the monotonous cycle of waking up, doing our morning routine, working, coming home, doing our nightly routine only to go to bed and start all over the next day. 

Changing up our routine and scenery as often as we can is important so that we don’t feel suffocated by our own schedules. On weekends, try to hang out with friends who you normally don’t see that often because they live far, same with family. Go to a new park and just be present, shop at a new boutique, look up local community events such as farmers markets and art shows. There’s something new in every town that you can do.

All of these experiences will not only embody the euphoria one experiences when travelling to a new place, but also prepares you for when you’re finally ready to check off all the different places on your bucket list.