How many photos have you taken to record your travels? One hundred? One thousand? Ten thousand?

Go ahead, count ’em … I’ll wait. I need to go check on the coffee anyway, so no rush.

(time passing)

Ok (gulp), what did you come up with? Good. Now, how many of those were taken in or near your hometown? I’m craving a donut now to dunk in my coffee so take your time counting and…

What’s that? You’re done counting? Zero, nada, zilch of your travel photos were taken in your hometown?

Fair enough, I did ask you specifically to review your “travel” photos. But as MNMark points out in a thread on the TravBuddy forums, some of the best trips can occur just by stepping out of your proverbial back door.

I just realized I’ve lived close to dozens of sights that other people travel 1000’s of miles to see, yet I’ve never bothered to check them out….

 

The biggest ‘misses’ that come to mind are deadwood, Mt. Rushmore and Sturgis when I lived in South Dakota for a while….

 

Anyone else get so caught up with the daily grind and/or traveling to far of destinations they completely forget/ignore what’s close by?

I can attest to having fallen into this trap. As can several other travelers posting in the thread:

I spent years in Edinburgh steadfastly ignoring the castle and palaces. ~sarahelaine

I started to realize that especially when I used to get foreign clients and colleagues travelling to here. When taking them around it was in some way a discovery tour in my own country too. ~westwind57

There are many places nearby I have planned to visit soon, but that soon never comes. Another thing is that I am simply used to being surrounded by these attractions, I hear a lot about them, I see them on TV, etc. so it almost feels like I’ve already been there. And finally, some of the attractions are relatively expensive, so I think to myself that it’s better to pay a flight ticket to London than see something “ordinary” in my neighborhood. ~Mixal

Several others, however, do actually actively “visit” their own city/region – even if some of them have to invent reasons to do so:

I love playing tourist in my own town, just a few weeks ago I was walking in a part of town I’ve been many times before but had always failed to notice the little details, the architecture, the street art. If I had been visiting I’m sure I would have been amazed and taking pictures ~Nadia79

After 25 years of living in Melbourne I have just started a blog on it so that it gives me a project to go and explore the place. Without this project I suspect that I may stick to my one small part of this great place. ~Besandri

Hold on there Besandri, the last thing the world needs is yet another blog about Melbourne 😉

What about you? Have your travels to far off lands caused you to overlook the attractions that surround your home? Or are you pretty good about visiting the local attractions, and even just wandering around the neighborhoods nearby to sense the flavor of what life is really like in your hometown?

C’mon, stop wasting your time counting your old travel photos (I mean seriously, you can’t think of anything better to do with your day than that?), step outside your door and take a walk around. And don’t forget to bring your camera.

Read the thread in its entirety: ‘Traveling’ in your own backyard