Outside of Arizona, I’ve lived in both Ketchikan, Alaska, and Dublin, Ireland. Both may have only been for months at a time, but nevertheless I lived there.
What does it mean to visit a place versus to live in it? According to the Google definitions of the phrases, to visit means “an act of going or coming to see a person or place socially, as a tourist, or for some other purpose” while to live means “to make one’s home in a particular place or with a particular person.”
While I don’t think there’s anything wrong at all with being a tourist, I do prefer living in a place an extended length of time to learn and see more than the average passersby does.
When I first found out I was going to be studying abroad, I became consumed by thinking about all the different countries and places I was going to visit and see. Upon reaching Dublin, though, I was overwhelmed by how much there was to do there alone.
After some consideration, I decided I’d rather come home feeling like I had been a resident of Ireland for the few months I was abroad than be able to say I had visited X amount of countries without fully immersing myself in each of them.
Immersing myself in a community for two months, as I did in Ireland, and three months at a time, as I did in Alaska, came with its own set of benefits that being a tourist simply cannot duplicate.
With cruises in particular, most tourists are only in port for a day or in most cases a few hours. They don’t have much time so they tend to get sucked into the knick-knacky, flashy, shiny places. They pay way too much for bad tours, buy a shirt that says “Alaska” on it with a big humpback whale and eat at an overpriced subpar restaurant 60 feet from their ship.
Living in a place means knowing what the coolest and most dope tours worth paying for are. The best places to see. Where to go and when for the best chance of seeing an actual big humpback whale as well as where the coolest local shops and best restaurants are.
So without further ado here are 30 reasons to consider living in a place for a time, even as little as two or three months, rather than just visiting it.
- You become familiar with the best, coolest and most cost-effective places to eat.
- You know what grocery stores carry what and where to get the best prices.
- You know the bars worth going to and what their reputations are.
- You know how to operate the public transportation system like you’ve been doing it your whole life.
- You know the best coffee shops.
- You know the most beautiful areas to see.
- You have a favorite spot to sit.
- You know where the best salmon bushes are located. (and what they are.)
- You have favorite streets to walk down. (And favorite street names.)
- You have a favorite beach to go to.
- You know the best burger joint with the best tater tots and peanut butter milkshakes.
- You know where coolest stores to shop at are with the coolest local art.
- You know how to get around. What roads are what.
- You know the history of the place.
- You have a favorite route to take to work, school and home.
- You know the best pizza joint in town.
- You know so much annoying touristy information that tourists constantly ask.
- You have a favorite place on the docks.
- You have a favorite jewelry store with jewelry you say you’re going to buy but can’t afford so you just keep going back and looking at it.
- You know people around town – and they know you.
- You find a group of little old ladies to have Bible study with.
- You develop meaningful relationships that last a lifetime.
- You get deals from other locals for being a local yourself.
- You know the places too far out or not well known enough for the tourists to know about.
- You know all the hiking trails tourists don’t have the time to hike.
- You know where the best parts of town are.
- You know the issues that the locals in the town face.
- You become a part of a whole new community.
- You get to try and see so many things that you wouldn’t have had the time to do and discover by simply visiting.
- And last but certainly not least, you get to immerse yourself in a culture unlike any other you’ve ever experienced in your life.
So please, that next place on your list that you really want to visit — consider becoming a resident of it for even a month or so if you can. I promise it will impact you in ways you never thought possible.
Sierra Sage 