Peer a little further than you should
Six microprinciples for metropolitan exploration
Here are a few (micro)microprinciples to try whenever exploring a new city—or anything too complex to understand on a first pass.
Move as slow as possible
You’ve heard this one before. When you move quickly, your body enters focus mode and blocks out distractions. This can be useful when you’re on a mission, but not when you’re exploring. Moving slowly lets you see what others might miss. The natives might judge you for dawdling; who cares. It’s absurd to under-explore a city for fear of what strangers might think.
Peer a little further than you should
Right when a neighborhood seems to peter out, where it feels more anonymous and quiet, and the grid gets weird… keep going. Something profoundly interesting is right around the corner. You know this: your favorite spots back home are rarely on the main drag. Peer a little further than you should. When you feel a little lost, you are activating curiosity.
Avoid Instagram traps
The wait is long. The food is only OK. And you’ve already seen it on online.
Avoid the need to check boxes
Well meaning friends may lavish you with “must-dos” for your trip. You “simply must” visit a famous deli, museum, cathedral, boat tour, etc. Instead of obeying someone else’s agenda, define parameters that encourage randomness, curiosity, and exploration. Things like:
Dinner must be a recommendation by a local
Devote a whole day to the pursuit of good smells
If there’s a line for a fried snack, we’re waiting in it
Attend at least one event discovered on a poster
Give yourself a puzzle, not a checklist. Parameters like these resist disappointment, because the pursuit becomes part of the experience.
Return to a spot more than once
Just as you can read a book more than once, you’re allowed to do this when traveling too. It’s strangely fun: on a 10-day trip to New York City (ever heard of it?), I became a regular at a café by starting every morning there. I got to know the staff and befriended locals. Not every part of a trip has to be novel. Grounding in familiarity can be valuable, because you don’t just want to see a new city—you want to know it too.
You don’t need the “best”
Don’t obsess over finding the best {whatever} in {wherever}. This is a bizarre way to live. You don’t need the best cocktail in Krakow because there isn’t one. You’re not Galahad seeking the Grail. The point of travel is to leave as one person and return as someone else, loaded with memories and stories. Living for “travel OKRs” will flatten your experience. Just try things, even if they only seem OK. Everything becomes what you make it. You are a part of the experience too.
These principles aren’t only about cities. They’re about receptivity: the skill of making yourself available to a world that resists perfection and control. Cities are too complex for itineraries and checkboxes. So are people. The same patience that lets a city reveal itself also happens to be the key to connection. Happy trails.