Local Town Charm & Identity

Every town has its own charm and identity, no matter the size of the particular town or city in question. There may be certain activities that separate one town from the others, or certain foods that get your mouth watering of just the thought of visiting that city to enjoy the meal. I would like to encourage you to do a little research on your State or surrounding States and think about taking a little road trip to enjoy these community specialties, close to where you live.

We often seem to think that we need to board a plane to see culture. Wrong! Get out a road map, pull out a daily planner, and start scheduling a short family vacation. Include your family on the towns to visit. Yes, the kids may be a little less enthusiastic about visiting heritage sites, but present them with the opportunity of doing something they would love to do - like a water park, or amusement park that your kids will love and enjoy.

The great and beautiful thing about staying local in your next family vacation is the fact that you’re a short driving distance away from home. No hassle with large amounts of luggage, no airport security lines, and no airline flight delays. So let me lay out a few examples of areas in the United States families would be interested in driving for a short local vacation.

Local Town Amusement Parks

The State of Florida has numerous amusement parks for every age or creed, including adults. Some of these parks are so large and full of activities that it would take a family more than a week to do every activity available in the park to be enjoyed. Don’t worry, you can also go park hopping. If you would like to get a little taste of a few amusement parks, you can go to a different cart each day. But whatever your age, these parks will have something for you and your family to enjoy and store memories for years to come.

The food. I myself prefer a mom-and-pop quality style of food. The State of Florida will have many establishments that offer these high quality meals. But if high quality of food establishments is your goal, there will be a little research for you to do, whether on the Internet or simply asking someone who has been there before and has similar tastes as you and your family have. Don’t worry, there will be personal gym everywhere, I’m sure, if you need to work out the calories you put on the previous day - if that’s something you are concerned with. If not, just enjoy the food as much as you can.

Local Town Entertainment

One thing that you need to research is entertainment. It’s sometimes difficult to know what a local town has to offer when it comes to a community theater or in minor league sports. These smaller companies do not receive the same publicity as the major entertainment establishments, so you’ll need to carefully research the local town you are planning to visit. University towns will have several theatrical performances, I’m sure, but they usually don’t run year round. But you can always find a local town theater that will have performances that will be cute and enjoyable for a small ticket price.

Maybe you like the big stage! Well, places like Las Vegas are rare, but you can find a big stage performance in every city. Even if they are a touring company travelling across the country, they will perform in a big theater and perform at the highest quality. Some of these performers even have Broadways experience, so do little reading and research, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find the perfect family performances for you to enjoy.

Local Town Traditions

The real cool and unique identity of a particular town or city will come from their traditions. New York have Broadway, Las Vegas has casinos, and Hawaii has the evening hula by the bonfire. These local customs will make your visit special and unique. Traditions that you will not find anywhere else, or at least, traditions that will not be as authentically respected or performed. There are benchmarks in these local towns and with them will come expectations that will greatly benefit the audience.

Touring companies do a great job of holding up these expectation and benchmarks when they travel from town to town. These performers normally have training and experience from their home town or city, and do a great job representing their company. Las Vegas is one of those cities that has gone out and brought the world into one town. Eiffel tower? Las Vegas has one. A Grand Canal, they got one of those too. And some would say, Las Vegas doesn’t have that local charm for this reason. To each his own, you and your family need to visit where you believe you’ll have a safe and memory-filled stay.

Local Town Love

So, I hope a have made the case for you and your family to research and plan out a local family vacation - no matter where you live in the United States. Maybe budget is a concern for you, location, or simply the need for the most enjoyable and memorable time with your family. No matter the reason, I think you can plan the most adventurous family vacation that you have yet experienced by just looking around your State or city. The other great result of you taking a local family vacation, economical. Not only will you be saving money, but you will also be helping the local economy. A win, win situation for you, if this matters to you and your family. Obviously, your children will not make this a priority, but they don’t make the final decision, now do they?

So no matter where you go, and where you visit, try to enjoy your time with your family. Make the experience as memorable as possible. This can easily become an annual family tradition that will have your family with remarkable memories for years to come.