Feeling like a local will change forever the way you travel
Do everything you do in your country, in your city, in your daily life, but in another country
A nomad lives in limbo: neither a tourist nor a local.
"Being local" is hard to define. Probably, we are only locals where we were born and raised. In most other places throughout life, we get accustomed to them. It's also easier to become a local in more cosmopolitan cities, like São Paulo or New York.
Human adaptability is astonishing. I feel like a local wherever I am and experience local life that I wouldn't have otherwise.
In this text, I give tips on feeling like a local —most can be done even as a passing tourist. And this will change forever the way you travel.
Choose Airbnb over a hotel. An Airbnb in a not-so-central neighborhood, away from hotels and tourists. It doesn't have to be an entirely residential area —in Rome, I stayed in Pigneto, a bohemian neighborhood, but a local bohemian. I was almost the only non-Italian in all the bars.
Visit all the local markets until you find the one you like the most (or the one with the best prices). Going to the market repeatedly, becoming friends with the women at the checkout, choosing fruits next to the local grandmothers —there are few experiences more local than this.
Local karaoke is also a fascinating experience. In Budapest, I went to two types: one more touristy, with Americans singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (it was excellent), and the other extremely local, with Hungarians singing Hungarian hits in Hungarian, which was incomprehensible to me —but also an amazing experience. In Montevideo, where I am currently, there's a karaoke on the corner of my house. In just an hour, I discovered dozens of Uruguayan songs that would otherwise take months to get to know.
A friend, the daughter of Uruguayans, recommended that I go to a street market in Montevideo. Walking randomly on the weekend, I found it and remembered her advice. And now I want to do this in every city I go to. In a street market, you find the most authentic local expression, with vendors shouting their offers, residents with their shopping carts, and the most common fruits in the city at that time of year. It's important to emphasize that souvernirs street markets in touristy places may be a good experience but different from a local neighborhood street market.
I've talked about the gym a few times here. Besides the challenge of exercising in another country, I like going to the gym precisely because it provides another sample of local life. There are no tourists in the gym. There are, of course, non-natives, people who are living there for work or study. I remember that in the gym in Rome, I even could communicate to the point of understanding, in Italian, the receptionist's message: "Tomorrow we won't open because it's a holiday." I was happy, partly for understanding such a different language, and partly for knowing it would be a holiday the next day. Living locally. "Mateus, but I'm on vacation; going to a gym is impossible." You may want a break from the gym, and that's fair. But most of them accept daily or weekly packages if you want to experience the gym in another city or country.
Another way to increase the local experience is to visit the bars locals usually visit. Avoid Google. The main results in Google searches tend to be oriented towards tourists. "Oh, Mateus, but I have little time in the city; I don't have time to take risks." That's where my tip comes in: create your own pub crawl. Instead of spending the night in one bar, choose four or five bars in the area and drink in each one. Choosing them randomly makes the experience even more authentic. I usually choose the ones that attract me, whether the front, the crowd, or the music.
I don't recommend doing this on vacation, but working from cafes makes you feel very local. You're not in a cafe just strolling around; you're working, like several people around you who live in that city.
Renting a car and driving in another country is one of the most local experiences. The rules, signs, entrances and exits, driver behaviors — everything is a bit different. At this point, it's essential to be a driver with some experience because a lot of information can be confusing, and confidence is vital in traffic.
Go to the cinema and watch a national film (an American film doesn't count unless you're in the United States). I saw a movie in Buenos Aires set in Buenos Aires, and it was incredible to recognize the places. It also helped me increase my knowledge about various issues in Argentina, like the country's education system, the movie's theme.
Walking is another way to have contact with local life, language, and people. Try to walk in nontouristic places. And be aware of not taking the cell phone all the time. You need to observe the city around you, not your screen.
In summary, do everything you do in your country, in your city, in your daily life, but in another country.
No Direction Home recommends:
An interview with journalist Paul Salopek, who is retracing, on foot, the migration pathway of early humans out of Africa until Patagonia. Read here.
Just so many yeses were said out loud as I read this. It's so important to me to feel like a "local" when I'm wherever I go. Mostly, I want to interact with the people there. It's the best way to expand myself. I'm preaching to the choir. I know. Thanks for this post and some tips I'll implement, Mateus.
All good advice. And it does--change you. Taking in the local market scene and buying daily or whenever really acclimates one to place. Enjoy your present journey-job!