8 Reasons Why You Should Travel Close to Home

When people think about travel, they often imagine themselves going to far off places in distant countries with exotic environments. They imagine going to see famous buildings, ancient ruins or fascinating landscapes. However, they usually don’t realize how much their own homes have to offer. We’re certainly guilty of this, but the recent pandemic gave us the perfect opportunity to rediscover our homes and we encourage you to do the same. Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t ever venture further away. Even if the idea of being far from home scares you, you will find that you’ll have an enriching experience by going far out into the world. Plus, with our best travel safety tip, you’ll have a lot less to worry about. Even so, there are plenty of good arguments to be made regarding the benefits of rediscovering your home. So without any further adieu, let’s get into our top reasons for traveling close to home:

1. If you don’t go now, you probably never will.
   It’s so easy to fall into the mindset where you think, “I live so close, I can go anytime.” We’re all guilty of doing this and more often then not, most of us never actually end up going and seeing the things that are closest to home. If you don’t go explore your home now, then there may come a time in your life, when you look back and regret not taking those short trips; especially if something were to prevent you from doing so in the future.
2. There’s usually much more to see and do than you realize.
   For some reason, home just doesn’t get our adventurous spirits going like the mystery of a distant land. We suspect that’s because we have this false sense of already knowing everything there is to know about where we come from. Oh, how wrong we are. This article was partially inspired by the fact that we are working on other articles about all of the great things to do and see in our own homes. During our research, we discovered so many things that we’d never even heard of! As it turns out, our homes are much more interesting than we ever realized.
3. It’s a good excuse to get out of the house.
   Especially since the worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns, everyone has found themselves stuck in the house more than they prefer. If you’re tired of going to the same park or walking the same trail, then a day trip to a nearby destination is the perfect way to shake things up and spend a few hours away from home. If that’s not convincing enough, then here are 5 more reasons to spend time outdoors right now.
4. There are no accommodation costs.
   Traveling can sometimes be expensive and that’s often, in no small part, due to accommodation costs. When you travel close to home, however, you can usually just take day trips and sleep in your own bed when you get back. That’s one less thing to worry about and it also makes your trip planning much easier.
5. It’s environmentally friendly.
   By traveling close to home, you are not taking a trip that requires you to hop into an airplane and contribute to air pollution. Even though the occasional flyer doesn’t make a huge impact on airplane emissions, it still doesn’t hurt to do your part by taking one less flight. Furthermore, your travels within your home region will give you a newfound appreciation of the natural beauty of where you live. When you love your natural environment, you will be more conscious in protecting it. This brings us to our next point.
6. You gain an appreciation of where you’re from.
   Just because we live somewhere, doesn’t mean we automatically know everything there is to know about that place. In fact, we will generally find that we know very little about our homes. By going to nearby historical sites, we not only learn about what happened there, but we also gain a better understanding of where we came from. Likewise, we gain an appreciation for the past and often learn many lessons that we can use to shape our future.
7. You support the local economy.
   By traveling within your own region, any purchase you make will flow right back into the local economy. You’re not supporting giant multinational conglomerates or typical tourist destinations that already get millions of yearly visitors. You’re supporting local families and small businesses who are doing their best to make it in this world. Likewise, your local tourism bureaus take notice of tourist traffic in specific areas and can use the increased numbers to make their case for more government funding to promote the region. In doing so, they will attract more outside visitors, who will also bring their tourist dollars to your region. In turn, you and your neighbors thrive.
8. You can promote your home to others.
   Similar to reason number 7, promoting your home to others can only benefit you and your neighbors. Once you’ve learned about your home and appreciate all of the incredible things it has to offer, you can take that knowledge and use it to promote tourism to your area. As people who are constantly traveling, we are always asked by other travelers if it’s worth visiting the places we come from. There are two answers that can almost guarantee they will never tour your region: “No” and “I don’t know.” After you’ve explored your home and discovered everything it has to offer, you can at least share all of your interesting knowledge with other travelers so that they may also consider a visit to your region. Likewise, you never know when they may use that information in a conversation with another traveler, increasing the likelihood of more visitors.

We certainly hope this list has convinced you to do some more sightseeing in your own region. If you’re ready to go, then you don’t have to wait for this crisis to be over. You can venture about right now. In fact, we’ve been exploring throughout the entire pandemic and so can you. If you’re unsure how, then read our 7 simple tips for traveling during the coronavirus pandemic.

So what do you think? Are you going to go discover everything your home has to offer? Do you already make a point to visit nearby destinations? Let us know all about it in the comments!