You know what I’ll never understand? Why do we always convince ourselves that the city we live in has nothing to do? “I hate it here. It’s boring and I’ve done it all.” Want to make a bet?

I have lived in the same city for 25 years now, and I still haven’t done everything there is to do here. In fact, I’ve done more adventurous things on vacations and have tried more things in summers away than I have in my entire life at home.

I find it funny that when we have guests come visit, they always want to do the tourist recommended travelling. We’ll often join, and shortly after, we’ll realize that we ourselves haven’t experienced this specific outing.  

As much as spending mass amounts of money to go on a life-altering trip is worthwhile, when you’re financially unable to make those journeys, there comes a point in time when you have to start seeing the sunny side of your situation.

Take a step back and realize your surroundings. Your city is beautiful, because if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t still be there. It’s time to source out things you haven’t yet tried or discovered, and challenge yourself to tackle them over your time there.

Going to Mexico for a week is always a blast, but what’s just as meaningful to me is spending a weekend away in the mountains or hiking, which I am lucky enough to say is only a 45-minute drive from my house.

Here’s 3 reasons you need to explore how much there is to do in your city:

Consider these staycations a budgets’ best friend

When looking for something fun and new to try out, staying local and avoiding high travel costs can end up saving you more cash to assign to a larger travel goal. Keep yourself level by taking mini staycations instead of smaller vacations that are keeping you from bigger adventures.

You deserve the same happiness as those who are financially free

Just because you are currently working towards a financial goal (paying off debt, saving for emergency fund), doesn’t mean you need to avoid all opportunities to try new things. Finding these opportunities within your own city can allow you to stay on target financially, while still enjoying a healthy social life.

Go on a vacation without using your vacation days

Using your weekends to tackle a small getaway can give you a chance to reduce stress, save money, and make going back to work on Monday a lot easier. If you have used too many vacation days, don’t let that stop you from learning more about your community and surrounding area. Adventure can still happen on a day trip.

Thinking more about your city and hometown, do you feel you have experienced less than you originally thought? We all convince ourselves that we are bored, when in reality, we haven’t given ourselves the opening to be excited.

Have any fun local things you wish you could do but haven’t yet had the time? Let me know in the comments!

PS: Here are 8 things for my local readers to try out, if they haven’t already:

• My favorite hiking trail

• Snowshoeing in Kananaskis

• Paddle Boarding at a my hometown lake

• Columbia Icefield Tour

• Pick up Peter’s Drive In and go have a picnic in Fish Creek Park

• Visit a Corn Maze

• Try Axe-Throwing!

• Head to a board game café with some friends