Staycation
We could all do with getting to know our local areas better.
Kind of Wild is a weekly newsletter on trying to live ethically while still enjoying life. I am a 40-something published author, podcaster, public speaker, charity PR specialist and writer. I speak four languages and live in Brighton, UK. I’ve been vegan for over a decade. I want to save the world - but I also want to experience it.
Last week, one of my dearest friends came to visit me here in Brighton for my birthday. And it turned out to be one of the most wonderful long weekends of my life. After she went home and I returned to work, I felt like I had been on holiday for a week - when in reality, I’d just had two days off, right here at home. It prompted me to remember the potential of a good staycation - and ponder why we don’t really seem to take the time to get to know our hometowns.
Roaming around Brighton with my friend made me realise that sometimes we need the prompt of someone coming to visit in order to explore our hometowns - otherwise, years go by and we keep skipping the main attractions in our city because “that’s too touristy”. Case in point: after eight (!) years of living in Brighton, I finally went for a trip on the Brighton i360, the observation tower that’s been gracing our beach for years. It’s been a reference point for me throughout my time here. “Let’s meet at the i360!” I’d say to friends when meeting up on the beach, never reflecting on the fact that I’d never actually gone up, and neither had most of my friends. It’s for tourists, we’d all think. We live here, what’s the point? And the tower’s just the beginning. I recall a friend telling me that she’d never been inside the Brighton Museum until her sister came to visit. A former colleague mentioned that living in London never gave her time to enjoy the city, and I thought of how the last time I’d been to see a musical in London was…before coming to live there. As for my pre-UK life, I’m slightly ashamed of just how little I knew about Sweden when I lived there. I really wish I’d taken the time to get to know Sweden before spreading my wings and moving away.
It’s a shame that many of us don’t take the time to get to know our homes. If you think about it, chances are you live in a beautiful place - a destination for other travellers, in fact. And then there’s also the fact that choosing a staycation seriously slashes your environmental footprint and can be just as enriching as taking off to a far-flung destination. As travel lovers, we’re always itching to go, go, go - but what we need to do sometimes is stay. Stay where we are, put our sunglasses on and view our hometowns in a whole new light.
Ready to not pack a bag? Here are my best tips for having a great staycation:
Do the “touristy” things. Think of the most basic, obvious things tourists do when they come to your town…and do those things. Yep, that’s right. I sometimes go to the Brighton Museum when I have nothing to do on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and when my friend was here, pizza on the beach was a must (typical Brighton heatwave activity). Brighton’s famous silent disco is still on my to-try list! There’s a big chance that tourists do those things because they’re actually pretty great. Also, in case they are not great, you can tell people as much when they come visit, saving them precious cash and helping shorten those queues.
Look for residents’ discounts. This is such a goldmine - and unknown to so many people. A couple of years ago, I learned that the aforementioned Brighton Museum offers half-price tickets for Brighton residents. And going up in the i360? A mere £5 for us Brightonians, compared to the £19 visitors are expected to cough up. Brighton Pier is also free to those of us who have the fortune to live here (tourists now have to scramble in their pockets for a pound to enjoy this iconic Brighton landmark). Some cities go out of their way to make it easier for us locals to enjoy our towns - we should take them up on their offers, it would be rude not to!
Take the opportunity to learn something. I must admit that I’m still hilariously abysmal at this one. I do try to learn the history of places, I really do - it just never sticks in my brain. Dates, years, the Battle of Whatever, it all just goes merrily sliding into one ear and out the other. When I lived in Florence and friends or family would visit, we’d inevitably find ourselves at some monument and I’d of course be asked, like the local expert I was expected to be, what year the monument was from. I’d always respond “that’s from 1452” with the confidence of a seasoned Uffizi guide. Who knows, it might have been the correct answer at some point - I said it enough times that statistically speaking it could be. Bottom line: if there is an educational aspect to your staycation, take the chance to get a little more acquainted with the history of your hometown.
Explore surrounding areas. Oh, my husband and I are experts on this one. When it comes to the little hidden and not-so-hidden gems around Brighton, there isn’t much David and I haven’t done. From the nicest beaches (Newhaven, West Wittering) and the best hikes (Devil’s Dyke, Seven Sisters) to the most picturesque day trips (Rottingdean, Rye, Hastings), we have nearly seen it all. There’s nothing we love more than hopping on a bus on a random Sunday and take off somewhere near but new. We like a physical challenge - walking from Brighton to Lewes, anyone? - but we’d also never say no to visiting a new little town just to have a coffee there and go back.
Discover local events. Sure, everyone loves Brighton Pride - it’s possibly the biggest event of the year over here. So is the Burning of the Clocks, if you happen to be here in December. But did you know that Brighton also has a March of the Mermaids? I didn’t learn that until last year, when I’d lived here for seven years and somehow missed this. Needless to say, I threw on a glittery skirt and took part - and was reminded again of all the reasons why Brighton is so special: the colourful characters, the creativity, the spontaneous joy. If you have a chance to explore unique events or gatherings in your hometown, go for it!
Eat local food. Whenever my mum comes to visit me in the UK, she insists on having fish and chips. Thanks to her, I now know the best fish and chips spots in Brighton that do amazing vegan options (for me and my husband), most of them cheap as, well, chips. Would I have gone on a tour of Brighton’s finest (okay, and less fine) fish and chips locations without her visiting? Maybe not. But while appreciating the classics is important, let’s not forget to also…
Try new eateries. My friend who came to visit last weekend? Her birthday gift for me was to take me to brunch (I know, I have the best friends). Rather than defaulting to some of my tried-and-true favourite brunch spots, I took the opportunity to branch out (or brunch out - see what I did there?) and try a brand-new spot. I now have somewhere new to recommend visitors and fellow locals alike. Plus, I got to have some really nice vegan French toast.
Act like you’re on vacation. Some of the best parts of my recent staycation? The long, lazy morning of my birthday on the beach. The afternoon spent trying on sunglasses in quirky shops in the Laines. Having an ice matcha on the seafront. Sometimes it’s not about planning who knows what unusual, extraordinary activities - instead, it’s about giving ourselves permission to slow down and just be fully present in small yet exquisitely joyful things. After all, that’s what we do when we’re on holiday. We enjoy long, sunny breakfasts. We take walks with no particular destination. We go into shops because they look nice and not because we need a new can opener. We sip our iced coffee slowly, with no rush to get back to our desks or dirty dishes or endless to-do lists. So treat your staycation the same. Give yourself space to enjoy the day, and it might surprise you how much you end up doing just that.
I always love being a tourist in my city! I have friends and family members that always say things like "I haven't been to [location] in years, it's so touristy" but there's a reason those spots are, they often show the city in its best light.