Live More Like a Local

When we travel, we often live as if we are alien to the landscape about us. There is good reason for this. We are often in a different time zone, immersed within a different culture, and surrounded by people, sights, and sounds that are novel to us. I find that I enjoy travel best when I have done my homework and spend my time in the land I am exploring behaving as much like a local as I can while being sure that I see the icon sights that have propelled me toward this destination. Holding ourselves outside of the culture we are visiting keeps us from fully enjoying the experience we have set out to have.

When I traveled to Hawaii years ago to celebrate my first child's first birthday, I read a travel book well in advance of landing on the island. I had taken the time to learn about food of the region. I knew that when I ate Poi not to just stick it into my mouth and exclaim, as so many tourists have, that it has no flavor. I had learned that Hawaiians dip their pork into the Poi at a luau. So, when I ate my Poi, as the natives did, I found that I was actually rather fond of the dish. I remember how astonished natives were that I actually bothered to try this dish. It never would have occurred to me to go to Hawaii and not try the things that are native in the way that they were used by the people. For me, this would have presented cognitive dissonance. I could not imagine traveling and not immersing myself into the native experience. I will always wonder how many people miss the experience and/or dismiss the dish, because they simply don't bother to figure out how it is enjoyed by the native people.

When I read The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler (who is one of my favorite authors), I thought the idea of someone traveling with the full intention of behaving as if he had never left home was a scream. It never so much as occurred to me that there are people who wish to travel but don't want new experiences. This was totally incomprehensible to me. Over the years, I have come to accept that there is a subset of the human race that wishes to do just that. The idea is to travel, and yet not to stretch. This is fine for people with this desire. I totally understand wishing for the comfort of the familiar while traveling. However, I prefer to be a bit more adventurous. You may wish to as well.

Why live like a local when traveling?

Personally, I find that the more I stretch, the happier I become. I can travel to France and eat the most wonderful cheeses. My life would be so much less fulfilling if I insisted upon eating only food that I was familiar with. I would never have found my favorite meal (Cafe La Belle Ferronnière: four cheese ravioli and fresh squeezed orange juice).

However, aside from personal preference, there are real reasons to live like a local when traveling.

1. Cost is often less to live like a local.

Eating at local eateries rather than eating at large commercial spots allow you to eat locally and therefore eat more inexpensively. You may not get the best of what the country has to offer, but you will very likely get the best of what that particular region offers. This not only means you will get to experience local fair, it also means you are more likely to eat fresh ingredients.

2. You are supporting the local economy.

Staying in local establishments and eating in local eateries puts your money directly where you are. You will not be supporting multinational corporations but small independent owners. Buying local crafts supports the people of the region as well. Although I am perfectly capable of finding artwork depicting travel sights, I find that they are particularly meaningful for me when I got to pick out the artwork on the street and speak with the artist. The work may be no more technically correct, but I feel that I made a more significant connection with the space itself when I buy my art this way. And, of course, I am helping a local artist make a living doing what they enjoy.

3. Meet the people.

When you are staying in local establishments, eating at local restaurants, and buying from local shops, you are more likely to have meaningful interactions with people from this area. You will find that this gives you the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with people who have great stories and a fresh perspective on life. It also gives you the opportunity to hear fascinating stories you would never otherwise hear. I was regaled with one such story in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in 2016. Sitting at a long communal table in perhaps the oldest pub in London, I was regaled with a tale about the consequences of not selling a single Wellie to a wealthy man's wife.

4. You get to experience places that you otherwise wouldn't.

I will return you again to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This is not a stop one generally finds on a tour of London, but it is not to be missed. I find that my trips are more meaningful to me when I let my interests draw me to my destination rather than following a local tour guide. I know that my morning spent at Charles' Dickens' home made my trip to London more personally meaningful than if I had spent the same amount of time in the Tower of London. I love the work of Dickens and it is so much more personally meaningful to me to know where the great writer sat than to have seen the jewels worn by the English aristocracy.

This is not to mean that one shouldn't see the great sights. It is, however, to suggest that you allow yourself to see a variety of things, eat at a variety of establishments, and stay at a variety of places. I enjoy an openness to what the travel destination provides and often find that if I do miss the grand sights for whatever reason, I am more than contented to have experienced the less grand sights I found. For example, while in Paris last year, I was suffering from a ruptured disc in my back. Therefore, I was unable to stand in the long line to see Notre Dame. Although I did not get to see this beautiful sight, I did find and thoroughly enjoy touring Sainte-Chapelle. Sometimes necessity allows us to have different and yet equally meaningful experiences, and I challenge you to find the unexpected when you find you cannot enjoy the expected.