How do you pick the places you go when you travel around the world and have you ever been disappointed when you went to certain places? asked by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timespirt
Mostly? I choose by the people I know. I've chosen cities that I wanted to see before, and while it turned out okay, it was pretty lonely because I travelled by myself. These days, I try to go somewhere that I know people, so I can catch up with them. And when they're busy, I take tours to see the city sights (and sites) and get a feel for travelling around the place by public transport as much as I can. (Or as much as the city allows.)
Previously, I would stay with friends wherever I landed, particularly in the US. One of the difficulties was that, in a lot of smaller cities (or even the large ones) you have to go by car, full public transport isn't an option. That's okay when you have friends who have the time to take you out and about. It doesn't always work that way, and so when I visited people in my late 20s and 30s, I would spend the day at their house (usually writing) and then we'd go out and do things in the evening. Or I'd stay with someone who could take the time off work that week.
Perhaps the biggest 'disappointment' has been New York City. Maybe that's an odd one to pick, but if I think about how I felt while visiting there (twice) then it's been interesting but...just another city, if you understand my meaning? I had no connection to it but a general touristy connection, and that wasn't sufficient for me to really feel like I had a "great time" in the city. So if I was going to recommend NYC, it would be as somewhere that you need to go with at least one person that you know, or as part of a group. I knew a few people who lived in and around NYC, but I stayed by myself, went sightseeing by myself, and only met up with the friends for a meal. If I'd had a travel companion, then I'd have gone to museums and the sightseeing places, and maybe had more emotionally connected memories of NY than I do.
You know that saying about "people don't remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel"? Well, the same thing holds for cities. If i don't have an emotional connection with cities - friends, memories with friends - then it's...just a city.
timespirtMostly? I choose by the people I know. I've chosen cities that I wanted to see before, and while it turned out okay, it was pretty lonely because I travelled by myself. These days, I try to go somewhere that I know people, so I can catch up with them. And when they're busy, I take tours to see the city sights (and sites) and get a feel for travelling around the place by public transport as much as I can. (Or as much as the city allows.)
Previously, I would stay with friends wherever I landed, particularly in the US. One of the difficulties was that, in a lot of smaller cities (or even the large ones) you have to go by car, full public transport isn't an option. That's okay when you have friends who have the time to take you out and about. It doesn't always work that way, and so when I visited people in my late 20s and 30s, I would spend the day at their house (usually writing) and then we'd go out and do things in the evening. Or I'd stay with someone who could take the time off work that week.
Perhaps the biggest 'disappointment' has been New York City. Maybe that's an odd one to pick, but if I think about how I felt while visiting there (twice) then it's been interesting but...just another city, if you understand my meaning? I had no connection to it but a general touristy connection, and that wasn't sufficient for me to really feel like I had a "great time" in the city. So if I was going to recommend NYC, it would be as somewhere that you need to go with at least one person that you know, or as part of a group. I knew a few people who lived in and around NYC, but I stayed by myself, went sightseeing by myself, and only met up with the friends for a meal. If I'd had a travel companion, then I'd have gone to museums and the sightseeing places, and maybe had more emotionally connected memories of NY than I do.
You know that saying about "people don't remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel"? Well, the same thing holds for cities. If i don't have an emotional connection with cities - friends, memories with friends - then it's...just a city.