There are many different kinds of trips: a luxurious weekend at the spa, business trips to an urban metropolis, a couples’ getaway to a tropical island … and then there’s the kind you take when you’re visiting the exotic destination known as “Your Hometown.” Boasting the movie theater where you had your first kiss and an unsettling amount of people from high school, Your Hometown makes for the perfect holiday weekend getaway, filled with fun activities like running into your 7th grade teacher and realizing you can’t fit into your prom dress anymore. Book now, or continue to endure exhausting phone calls with your mom about never spending time together.
Going home isn’t always a horrifying experience, but when it threatens to be, here are a few things you can do to make it even the teensiest bit less so.
Reconnect … With a Select Few
Thanks to Facebook, it takes about 30 seconds to find out where everyone you’ve ever known in your life currently resides. Do a quick search to see who still lives in your hometown, and take it upon yourself to let them know (via private message) when you’ll be visiting—that is, if you’re interested in seeing them. Use this chance to meet up with the person you had a crush on in high school, the teacher who taught your favorite subject, or the cousin you always say you’ll hang out with but never do. And for goodness sake, take your parents out for dinner. www.facebook.com
Be a Tourist
Act as though you’re planning a trip to somewhere new: check the web, peruse guidebooks, and read travel blogs. If nothing else, you’ll probably get a good laugh out of it, but often, this kind of “outsider” information can be useful for rediscovering your roots. Follow the other tourists to free tours, city hall, and other local landmarks that supposedly communicate what it’s like to live there. Don’t live in a tourist town? Check your city’s website and see what they recommend. While tourists are attempting to “live like locals,” you’ll be doing the opposite.
Try Something New
You know all those places you were too cool/young/broke to visit when you were eighteen? Fortunately, you’re none of those things now. Make a reservation at the restaurant you used to assume was for fast talking businessmen and old ladies in fur coats. Spend an afternoon browsing through the “local authors” section at the library, and visit the new boutiques and cafes that have popped up since you’ve left. Live like you do in your current home town in your old one and see how different your life would be if you had stayed.
Read Up on What You Missed
Borrow the local newspaper (after your dad is finished with the crossword) to catch up on what’s happening around town. Reorient yourself within the community so that you’ve got something other than “how weird the weather’s been lately” to discuss with your relatives when you meet them for dinner. Chances are the hot topics around town have changed dramatically since you last cared about them.
Keep the Peace
Unless you’ve got the kind of parents who’ve kept your bedroom exactly the way it was when you left, you may want to think twice about shacking up with mom and dad during your visit. Having a visitor puts pressure and stress on a host, and spending too much time together may exacerbate underlying tension. Also, if you’re bringing a spouse, it’s important to take his or her’s opinion into consideration and to give yourselves plenty of breathing space. Plus, by staying in a hotel you’ll be contributing to local business. It’s a win-win! www.hotels.com
