The biggest mistake people make when they want to travel is thinking they must go to some distant country for a long period of time. For those with chronic illness, being away from home can sound daunting and even impossible. What if you lose your medicine or need to go to the hospital? What if your flare makes your schedule impossible? What if you spend the entire time in your hotel room?
However, travel doesn’t have to be some distant culture that you experience. Adventure can begin within your local town or city. When you start exploring, you should start locally.
1. Learning Where to Go
Your town has more to offer than you may realize. Even the smallest towns have interesting histories, museums, mom and pop shops, or places that will intrigue you nearby. Starting local allows you to practice researching an area to find the best places to visit. You’ll be caught off guard by the number of options. Keeping a small notebook of the places you find will help you keep track of where you’ve visited and your experience there.
A great place to start when looking for places to visit is your local city website. You can also check Yelp, social media, and any travel blogs about your town. Museums, antique stores, secret trails, and other intriguing places can be found with just a little research. For the more adventurous, you can try geocaching which is similar to a treasure hunt.
2. Teaches You to Pace Yourself
Imagine you are in a different country, or even an unfamiliar big city several hours from where you live. Everything is exciting; new smells, new faces, new places, and so much more popping out at you. You have the list of things you want to do and your heart is yearning to do it all. You end up hustled and bustled by the busy crowds, walking everywhere. By the time you get back to your hotel, you are exhausted, more than just “I’ll just get a good night’s rest and be back at in the morning” exhausted. The next day you can hardly get out of bed. That list you created? Useless. You end up sick for the rest of the trip and have to go home early.
Traveling locally helps you avoid this problem. When you start by traveling locally, you quickly learn your boundaries and how far you can push yourself. Even if you overdo yourself at the beginning, you can recover in the With chronic illness, there is a delicate balance between resting and doing. You have to discover your balance before you tackle bigger travels.
3. Learn about the Place You Live
Nothing is more interesting than learning about where you live. You can find out historical events that happened or famous people that might be from there or have visited. New favorite places to eat, walk, drink, etc. begin to pop up as you find out what your town has to offer. You also learn more about the state you live in. Your appreciation for your town will grow. It also teaches you how to research and learn about an area. You will be a pro by the time you’re ready to tackle a new city or country.
4. Allows You all the Adventure Without the Hassle
One of the best things about traveling locally is it gives you all the adventure with none of the hassle. Let’s face it. Traveling is a hassle, especially with a chronic illness or disability. You have to keep track of medicines, medical information, accessibility devices, and more on top of the normal traveling hassle. When you stay in your town, you don’t have to pack, can enjoy yourself all day, and sleep in your own bed.
Everyone should travel somewhere new, but you should make sure your ready before you do it. Exploring locally can prepare you for bigger challenges while also letting you have lots of fun right where you live. You will feel safer, healthier, and more prepared for your next adventure.