The Staycation: A Mental Break, Sans “Breaking the Budget”

by Alan Perlman
on October 23rd, 2011
Leave a Comment

Folks, winter is approaching, and we know exactly what that means. It’s vacation time.

With Thanksgiving, the holidays and the New Year all a stone’s throw away, the winter season is a great opportunity to take a vacation, to escape work and the incremental stress of quotidian affairs to someplace calmer, more relaxing and possibly exotic.

For the lucky few, it’s jetting off to an exotic country, a week-long ocean cruise or an amazing attraction like the Grand Canyon. It’s the beach, the mountains, or if you live in a place like California, both.

Yet, if you’re strapped for cash this season or are simply looking to be a little offbeat with your free time, it’s entirely possible to have a vacation right at home, or a “staycation” if you’re looking to be all snazzy about it. The staycation is a great way to save money and to experience a place you already know so well with a new, fresh pair of eyes.

I’m a huge fan of the staycation model – thinking of creative, innovative ways to explore areas and activities in and around one’s current residence. Since I’ll be starting a new job soon and won’t likely be taking much vacation time this winter, I began thinking of a few ways to have a staycation. Here’s are four ideas that I came up with:

1. Attend an Independent Film or Look into Film Tours

I recently went to the Reel Rock Film Tour, a rock climbing, mountaineering and general outdoor film festival sponsored by North Face and Windstopper. That night, I hung out with a friend I don’t normally get to see, I discovered a new independent theater in the Boston area, and I got to see a new, quirky side of the Boston outdoor community.

Look into your local town or city’s independent theaters and check the schedule to see if anything interesting is coming up.

2. Host a Friend.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my college friends came through Boston. Hosting someone in your city is a great opportunity to showcase your home—through tourist attractions, quirky restaurants, fun walks and neighborhoods. My friend spend the majority of the day walking through different areas of downtown Boston, something I wouldn’t normally do on my own, or with my friends that live here.

Think about tourist attractions or other iconic spots in your town or city that you haven’t been to in a while—if ever—and check them out! Have you ever been to the art or science museum? Those are good places to start.

3. Throw an International Cuisine Dinner Party

I’m all about dinner parties. Sharing a home-cooked meal with close friends—or with new people you’re trying to get to know—is a fun and simple way to spend an evening. It can also be a great opportunity to scratch the travel itch.

For example, let’s say you’ve been planning a trip to Spain, but won’t be able to go until sometime next year. Throw a party full of tapas, Spanish music and table wine. For inspiration, check out Destination Dinners, a company that makes throwing these kind of meals a lot easier. The Korean food package looks particularly delectable.

4. Become an Armchair Traveler

A couple of months ago, I quit my job as an international cost-of-living surveyor, a job that took me to 50+ countries over the last three years. As you might imagine, I’m already starting to think about the next time I’ll be able to travel. To satiate that desire in the meantime, I recently purchased a number of books from my local bookstore’s travel section.

Armchair traveling, or reading books about travel, is a great way to let the mind escape. If you’re looking for inspiration, I’d start with authors like Pico Iyer, Paul Theroux or Bill Bryson, each of whom are prolific travelers with their own unique way of expressing their travels.

You can also rent foreign films or watch movies about travel, and if you’re a computer nut like me, there are plenty of travel blogs like this one. If anything, the content archives of this site provide enough articles to at least get you through a week or two!

What other staycation tips would you add to this list?

[image via Evil Yoda]

Alan Perlman

Alan Perlman travels the world as an international cost-of-living surveyor. When he's not hunting for the price of female undergarments in places like Syria, Rwanda and Turkmenistan, he's hanging out in Boston, MA, staying active, meeting people and brainstorming business models. You can read more about Alan and his plans to conquer life at his blog, The 9 to 5 Alternative.