Satisfy Your Wanderlust When You Can’t Travel
Downtown Dallas, Texas
As a travel lover, it’s easy to get consumed in the excitement of exploring new destinations. The sites, foods, and unfamiliar cultures satisfy your desire to hop on a plane or in a car and head from place to place. But, what happens when life puts a pause on your travel dreams? Whether it's lack of vacation time or limited funds, there are lots of things in life that can keep you from traveling when you so desperately want to. But just because you can't physically go anywhere, doesn't mean that you can't still find ways to satisfy your love for jet setting. So, how exactly do you satisfy your wanderlust when you can't travel at all?
Explore your local area
As a native to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, I’ve often overlooked my local area. DFW and the surrounding cities were too familiar and boring to me, and when given the option between traveling and staying in town, I would always pick travel. It wasn’t until I started dating my then boyfriend (now husband) that I realized what my hometown really has to offer.
As someone who was new to the area, my husband wanted to see everything. He was always finding new activities and new restaurants for us to experience together. He would read about all of the best events and must do excursions, and we would make plans to do those things. It was at that time that I realized just how awesome Texas and the DFW Metroplex really were. I gained a new appreciation for the things in my very own backyard. I began to see DFW as cool again.
Sometimes, exploring your own backyards can be just as fun as traveling to a new place. Even if you think you’ve seen everything around, you probably haven’t. Take a city tour, visit a museum, attend a local cultural event, try a new restaurant with unique cuisine that you’re not familiar with eating. There are lots of ways to have a different cultural experience while staying close to home.
Plan your next trip
Okay, so you can't go on vacation, but you can start planning your next trip. There's something about looking up costs, hotels, flight schedules, and cool things to do in different cities that can get you so excited, even when you're bored at home. Not only are you keeping yourself occupied in the moment, but you’ll already have most of your trip planned for when you finally get the opportunity to travel.
Watch travel shows/movies
I enjoy watching HGTV's House Hunters International and travel videos on YouTube. I just love exploring different cities from the comfort of my living room. Watching travel shows is a great way to temporarily satisfy your urge to travel. Sometimes seeing beautiful travel destinations from your couch makes you feel like you're actually there, but without the expense of actually making the trip.
Hang out in the travel section at the local bookstore
Books, books, and more books! I've been spending a lot of time at the bookstore lately, and let me tell you, there are a ton of awesome travel books. You can literally grab a book off the shelf and keep yourself entertained for hours. I really like perusing the shelves in the travel section at the bookstore because it's a great way to discover new places to add to my bucket list and learn more about destinations that I've already visited.
Read travel blogs/websites
Reading travel blogs and visiting travel websites such as Afar, Condé Nast Traveler, and Airbnb are great ways to get completely sucked into the world of travel. Looking at the beautiful photos, reading details about potential travel destinations, and even getting the insider scoop into things to do, can really set your wanderlust on fire.
