Van Life Diaries - How to Find Fascinating Locations
Welcome to van life diaries!
My name is Noah and it’s just, myself and my dog Noodles in my van today.
No edits. No script.
Today we’ll be discussing three methods I use to find offbeat locations.
We’ll take listener questions at the end…
Until then,
I’m going to grab a drink, if you’re in a position to as well do so one and let’s hang out..
For whatever reason, I’ve never been interested in what’s the popular thing to do - it might be the crowds, the conformity of it all or just a general lack of interest…
But because of this, I’ve always searched for what’s off the beaten path - particularly when it comes to traveling.
Over the years I’ve narrowed down my approach to three methods that are effective in finding interesting locations that people might not actively seek out…
Starting with, the most obvious, but also most accurate, simple and effective,,, talk with people that live there …
They simply know where to go …
You can google and drive around for hours but sometimes a simple conversation is all you need.
My go to approach for this method is going to a bar or a dinner …
I’ll get some work done, and as I’m closing out - if they’re not busy - I’ll simply say
“Quick question, I’m just passing through for a day is there anything off the path you’d recommend?”
Almost always, you’ll be directed towards something fantastic ….
The Donner Lake episodes and a future cripted episode happened after doing this … 9 out of 10 of my favorite breakfast spots, bars and coffee places were found after doing this …
If you’re shy, like me, tell yourself you likely will never see this person again but you may remember the experience they recommend for years …
Secondly, make an effort to know broadly what where you’r at is known for …
It sounds abstract, but start with this…
If you’re in southern New Jersey - google “What is southern New Jersey known for?”
Rather than looking up somethings specific it keeps your options open and you can narrow everything down from their…
Look I’ll google it know ….
Use something from that broad search, that interests you the most and narrow everything down from there…
Ok, what’s the jersey devil - let’s stick with that -
Where can I most likely find the jersey devil?
This works because you funnel your own interests and aren’t influenced by anyone else …
If you were to google “non -tourist” things to do in New Jersey - the world is much less your oyster in my opinion ….
Finally, I use at app called Roadtrippers, it can show you sights and attractions along your travel route or within a city you’re visiting
What I do is I open the app, tap of the search box and click on the icon that says sights and attractions
Then possible locations pop up on your map - you can put your route in - but I prefer just to look around ….
It’s wild what you can find - I bet, wherever you’re living right now if you do this you’ll find something you didn’t know about …
You can pay for more features, but I don’t - haha - it works just find for me …
Regardless, even if you don’t use any of the methods I use - on your next trip make an effort to look beyond where everyone goes by default -
It may be a story you’ll remember …