12
Ways to Feel at Home in a Foreign Place
part
2
5. Linger in cafes
-- and don't count out chain
establishments.
Ah, geez, I might as well say what I mean: go check out the local Starbucks. Anti-corporate and anti-chain restaurant sentiments aside, locals go to Starbucks to sit around, to gossip, to work and to meet friends. If there is a locally preferred alternative to the Starbucks, go there instead, by all means. Near me, Small World Coffee is popular with locals, and its two outposts typically offer all the local flavor (and hopefully a little weirdness) you could hope for in a suburban university town.
Folks are often at their least guarded in a coffee shop -- after all, they are indulging their obsession with, or even addiction to, coffee. When you visit, linger for a while, and do so quietly; you will see and overhear quite a bit of local life.
6. Walk to and from all meals.
Getting to and from restaurants is your best opportunity to have a look around.
For example, finding the mobile food truck I mention above can be an adventure
in itself. In most locations, eateries are somewhat centrally located, so get
off the subway a stop early, or park your car a little ways away, and hoof it
for a few blocks coming and going. The amount you will see that you would have
missed otherwise will pile up nicely after a few days.
7. Ask around at the bar.
Traveler Mike Sullivan counts on the local bartender to get the scoop: "I
walk into pub, ask for a local brew and open up a conversation by asking what's
the most interesting local history to them." Sullivan adds: "It only
got me in trouble in one place."
In his work as legal counsel for large-scale real estate projects, Piirimae has used a similar tactic: "Professionally I have done some effective snooping to get a sense of local attitudes toward development projects by hanging out or having dinner at local bars when I hit town. You have to find the right kind of place, but you can learn a lot quickly."
8.
Go see some houses.
Another advocate of going running, sports medicine physician Andrew McMarlin of Sullivan's Island, SC, also recommends going house-hunting: "The two best methods I've experienced have been having a realtor show me around (in the States) and running a different loop each day of my trip (everywhere)."
Going house-hunting with a licensed realtor will get you inside homes, where people do their real living. While McMarlin does this mainly in the U.S., I have heard of folks doing the same while in Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South America. In a place where folks live very different home lives from yours, you can learn a whole lot fast; a middle-class home in Beijing, for example, is very different from one in Atlanta. If you feel funny about taking up a realtor's time, a good option is to look up and attend some open houses on your own.
9. Do something extremely mundane.
For several years my go-to tactic on this score has been to get a haircut -- nothing could be much easier, or more likely to put you in a room among folks where few tourists ever go. I have had haircuts in Marathon, Greece during the Olympics; in Henley-on-Thames during its regatta; and in Tangier, Copenhagen and La Libertad.
10. Find a club.
When traveling, indulge your skill or hobby. If you play a musical instrument,
look for local open mic nights; if you do yoga, go to the local studio; if you
are a photographer, seek out the local photography club -- you get the idea. In
doing these things, you are not necessarily hoping to take great photos or get
a workout in, although that may happen -- you are looking to meet the locals.
Folks with similar interests are most likely to take you in and show you
around.
5. Linger in cafes
-- and don't count out chain
establishments.Ah, geez, I might as well say what I mean: go check out the local Starbucks. Anti-corporate and anti-chain restaurant sentiments aside, locals go to Starbucks to sit around, to gossip, to work and to meet friends. If there is a locally preferred alternative to the Starbucks, go there instead, by all means. Near me, Small World Coffee is popular with locals, and its two outposts typically offer all the local flavor (and hopefully a little weirdness) you could hope for in a suburban university town.
Folks are often at their least guarded in a coffee shop -- after all, they are indulging their obsession with, or even addiction to, coffee. When you visit, linger for a while, and do so quietly; you will see and overhear quite a bit of local life.
6. Walk to and from all meals.
Getting to and from restaurants is your best opportunity to have a look around.
For example, finding the mobile food truck I mention above can be an adventure
in itself. In most locations, eateries are somewhat centrally located, so get
off the subway a stop early, or park your car a little ways away, and hoof it
for a few blocks coming and going. The amount you will see that you would have
missed otherwise will pile up nicely after a few days.7. Ask around at the bar.
Traveler Mike Sullivan counts on the local bartender to get the scoop: "I
walk into pub, ask for a local brew and open up a conversation by asking what's
the most interesting local history to them." Sullivan adds: "It only
got me in trouble in one place."In his work as legal counsel for large-scale real estate projects, Piirimae has used a similar tactic: "Professionally I have done some effective snooping to get a sense of local attitudes toward development projects by hanging out or having dinner at local bars when I hit town. You have to find the right kind of place, but you can learn a lot quickly."
8.
Go see some houses.Another advocate of going running, sports medicine physician Andrew McMarlin of Sullivan's Island, SC, also recommends going house-hunting: "The two best methods I've experienced have been having a realtor show me around (in the States) and running a different loop each day of my trip (everywhere)."
Going house-hunting with a licensed realtor will get you inside homes, where people do their real living. While McMarlin does this mainly in the U.S., I have heard of folks doing the same while in Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South America. In a place where folks live very different home lives from yours, you can learn a whole lot fast; a middle-class home in Beijing, for example, is very different from one in Atlanta. If you feel funny about taking up a realtor's time, a good option is to look up and attend some open houses on your own.
9. Do something extremely mundane.
For several years my go-to tactic on this score has been to get a haircut -- nothing could be much easier, or more likely to put you in a room among folks where few tourists ever go. I have had haircuts in Marathon, Greece during the Olympics; in Henley-on-Thames during its regatta; and in Tangier, Copenhagen and La Libertad.
10. Find a club.
When traveling, indulge your skill or hobby. If you play a musical instrument,
look for local open mic nights; if you do yoga, go to the local studio; if you
are a photographer, seek out the local photography club -- you get the idea. In
doing these things, you are not necessarily hoping to take great photos or get
a workout in, although that may happen -- you are looking to meet the locals.
Folks with similar interests are most likely to take you in and show you
around.
11. Read a book.
McGrand recommends reading a book that is set in your destination: "Good local fiction ahead of time." Seeing a place through the prism of a good novel can be extremely satisfying, and certainly it has become part of the travel industry -- tours based on massively popular novels like "The Da Vinci Code" can be found in a number of cities. It is easy to get over some of the notorious inaccuracies in many historical novels (it is fiction, after all) when following the thread of the novel takes you to new and fascinating parts of a city or country.
12. Watch the news.
If you just want a vacation and these tips seem too strenuous or challenging, you can even stare at the boob tube right from your hotel room. Architect Jeff Peterson recommends this simple trick: "Watch the local news. It is particularly enlightening if you are out in a rural area."
McGrand recommends reading a book that is set in your destination: "Good local fiction ahead of time." Seeing a place through the prism of a good novel can be extremely satisfying, and certainly it has become part of the travel industry -- tours based on massively popular novels like "The Da Vinci Code" can be found in a number of cities. It is easy to get over some of the notorious inaccuracies in many historical novels (it is fiction, after all) when following the thread of the novel takes you to new and fascinating parts of a city or country.
12. Watch the news.
If you just want a vacation and these tips seem too strenuous or challenging, you can even stare at the boob tube right from your hotel room. Architect Jeff Peterson recommends this simple trick: "Watch the local news. It is particularly enlightening if you are out in a rural area."
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