How to make yourself feel at home

Such a boring title, but yeah, I have been doing several posts lately about how to do stuff. It’s almost as though I’m a credible source for advice. I’m not. Anyway, I am currently in the process of making Nice feel like home to me so here’s what I do to make that happen.

Start at your actual home

So, maybe the city will be a bit of a big target. Especially if you’re moving to a bigger city, like Paris or London maybe, it’s difficult to make that your own. Generally, you have a place to stay though so what might help is to make that a proper home base. For me, when I arrived in Nice my place was pretty much perfect already for me. Still, I went out and bought just a few tiny little things that are now mine and make everything seem a bit more personal and “mine”. Unpacking also helps. So, if you’re like me and you tend to live out of a suitcase because you’re too lazy to do something about it; do it.

Walk around

One thing that is always sound advice is to opt for over-ground transportation as opposed to underground transportation. Still, for me walking is even better. Walking around gives you the chance to really look around, to get to know all the little streets and the people who live there with you.

Start a routine

This doesn’t like a lot of fun but it could help. If you find places you always go back to, food you always eat at a certain place or buy at a certain store, a route you always take to get somewhere, the boredom might in fact help you feel like you’re actually at home. It’s pretty much the difference between travelling around and settling somewhere. You can still be spontaneous but by settling in some patterns it registers a bit sooner that you’re actually there for the foreseeable future.

Find people

To be honest, I have not exactly succeeded in Nice. But one thing I know is that last year in England, Derby didn’t quite feel like home until I had a couple of people to contact when bored or lonely. People are very important, not just to fill the time, but to fall back on when things aren’t going your way. Just complaining about a bus always being late to someone who actually knows the issue is a relieve at times. So yeah, this is, I think, the main thing. So, if this is a struggle then be pro-active; use apps such as Couchsurfing to meet other people in the area, search on Facebook for events and stay open for random encounters on the street. It might be a bit scary, but it’s worth it in the end.

And that was all. I’ve been told that it’s better to have titles like ‘4 top tips for making a place feel like home’, but I’m slightly opposed to that so I’m going to go with this boring title. Click or don’t click, it’s fine. I’m off to find wifi so I can actually upload this. Back next week with more.