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Travel locally, where you are
51–60 of 81 posts
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#52I recently found out about a tiny room in the local public library that resells books (most for $0.25-$1). I've lived here over a decade. Overreliance on echo-chambering platforms like Reddit/IG/Google Maps limits one's ability to explore. There's still lots to discover. And re-discover as you grow up.
I read this 3 times to try to figure out why you were living in the library for 10 years. It sparked Roofman vibes.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#53We live in the Pacific North West, and have travelled in a similar fashion. Visit Vancouver BC, then out to Squamish, Whistler. On different trips we then venture out further to Prince George, Edmonton, Jasper, Banff.
We've then expanded to different provinces and states, staying in each town or city for one or more days.
At first we did this by car, staying in hotels at night. But then we bought a large van, outfitted with a simple mattress and kitchen and toilet, and traveled more into the mountains and forests to enjoy nature.
From there we crossed Canada from the extreme west coast to the east coast of Newfoundland in our van. We did the same in the northern States and the entire west coast down to southern California. It's a good way to travel and explore our own backyard before venturing out to other countries.
Currently doing similar in South East Asia. We have a home base, travel slowly from our home, outwards. Then to different countries nearby. A good life!
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#54This is great unless you live in an area of almost absolute geographic and social homogeny in a 100 mile / 160 km radius. "Yo friends, want to drive an hour and see if the fast food in a strip mall is the same as our fast food in a strip mall" just doesn't quite land or "Want to drive 45 minutes and walk in a park that was built in the early aughts and lacks proper shade and had all it's benches removed just like our…
Yeah, not everybody lives in Switzerland or the San Francisco Bay Area. I've been in many a road trip up, down, and across the Great Plains of the US, where I spend a full day driving only to arrive in a town and geography that looks the exact same as the one I woke up in that morning. Only the signs are different.
I randomly picked Jamestown ND as an overnight stop on a recent trip. The next morning we went into the downtown and were pleasantly surprised. Even found a Seattle themed coffee shop with gluten-free options for my travel companion.
Completely unexpected.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, not everybody lives in Switzerland or the San Francisco Bay Area. I've been in many a road trip up, down, and across the Great Plains of the US, where I spend a full day driving only to arrive in a town and geography that looks the exact same as the one I woke up in that morning. Only the signs are different.
I lived in Texas for ~20 years and am well-versed in the plains+midwest, I just don't agree here. If all you do is drive through highways in these states, yes those are truck stops. However I'm fully confident in saying everywhere has the places the author is talking about. Like he said, it's about creativity.
OP living in Switzerland is a comically poor messenger for this though. I follow a few accounts on Instagram of people that are good messengers in relatively boring places. A Japanese lady that lives in Texas and always has the nicest things to say about things I wouldn't usually even notice. And another lady from the Midwest that used to travel globally but cannot anymore because of her family and yet still seemingly enjoys her local sights.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#56This is great unless you live in an area of almost absolute geographic and social homogeny in a 100 mile / 160 km radius. "Yo friends, want to drive an hour and see if the fast food in a strip mall is the same as our fast food in a strip mall" just doesn't quite land or "Want to drive 45 minutes and walk in a park that was built in the early aughts and lacks proper shade and had all it's benches removed just like our…
I live in Texas, which is probably very similar to where you’re thinking of, and I could list off at least 10 different places within a 1 hour radius that should be visited.
I grew up in Michigan farm country and have lived in the desert SW and Pacific NW as an adult.
The outdoor attractions out west are world class compared to the attractions closer to where I grew up. Still, there are plenty of places I enjoy when I get back to Michigan to see family and friends. Even the Plains states have some great outdoorsy places, you might have to work a little harder to find them.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#57This is great unless you live in an area of almost absolute geographic and social homogeny in a 100 mile / 160 km radius. "Yo friends, want to drive an hour and see if the fast food in a strip mall is the same as our fast food in a strip mall" just doesn't quite land or "Want to drive 45 minutes and walk in a park that was built in the early aughts and lacks proper shade and had all it's benches removed just like our…
Yep. My partner came with me to visit family in the midwest. It's flat and everything is spaced out and there are no sidewalks because no one walks because you have to drive to get anywhere. The best park is a little wooded area that you can loop in 15m. If you haven't lived is a place like that, it's probably difficult to imagine how much nothing is going on.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#58I agree. In Europe we're particularly lucky that, after only a few hours in a train, we can be in a totally different culture, speaking a different language. But even without this, traveling in the country side, getting to learn the history of those places, with the "small history", not the big battles, but the local inventions, the local specialties, etc, is so enriching and rewarding
I'd argue that that diversity you claim for Europe has declined greatly in the last couple of decades. Wherever you go, local young people have been following the same global social media for long years now, which has had a leveling effect. Even among the language diversity, what people are saying in their own languages is often calqued on English. In the 1990s and early millennium, opposing globalization (especially…
I mean, it is quite literally a conservative position (a refusal of change), and the right is typically conservative.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#59This is great unless you live in an area of almost absolute geographic and social homogeny in a 100 mile / 160 km radius. "Yo friends, want to drive an hour and see if the fast food in a strip mall is the same as our fast food in a strip mall" just doesn't quite land or "Want to drive 45 minutes and walk in a park that was built in the early aughts and lacks proper shade and had all it's benches removed just like our…
You are generally correct, despite the rebuttals in the reply comments to yours. But I think the challenge here is that we can have great places if we do the following: 1. Focus on transportation and ways of living that focus on walking or taking a tram. 2. Create and support medium-density, mixed-use neighborhoods 3. Require good, sound architectural principles. When you think of Paris and those narrow streets or th…
I'd love to do all 3, and actively push my city council to prioritize rezoning for mixed use + medium density.. and eliminating parking minimums. I previously lived in NYC and it was true like the author said; I could have boundless weekend trips to a variety of places with Amtrak + Bus service.
Re: Travel locally, where you are
#60[deleted]