I’m getting married this year, and I’m so excited!

I’m also broke.

Weddings are expensive. Even when you’re eloping; even when you look for your dress in a sample sale; even when you’re getting your shoes at a discount. I’m convinced that when you add the word “wedding” to something, the price skyrockets, because of the once-in-a-lifetime specialness of the event.

For that reason, I’m travelling a lot less this year—and if I’m being honest, it’s kind of breaking my heart. I got to go on so many trips last year just by planning my PTO carefully and making my money stretch and stretch! But this year, it’s not that there’s less money as much as there’s nearly no money. And that means one thing: I’m staying at home.

I know these are champagne problems. And don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited about getting married—my life is full of joy right now! But I’m missing things I would usually look forward to, and I’m looking for ways to fill that void. Here are the ways (so far!) I’ve been dealing with my lack of funds, and ability to travel:

I’m becoming a collector of lists and map points. Any time I hear of a restaurant to go to, an exhibition to check out, or a coffee shop that looks worthwhile, I make it a pin on my Google map of “places to explore”. Right now my Google map for London looks like this:

I’ve got lists for libraries, coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, stationary shops, and cultural exhibitions (museums mostly, but some historical houses, gardens, and pubs as well!). Most of these places are low-cost or free; if I want a cheap afternoon out, I can always bring a book and find a cute new coffeeshop to kill an hour in. It’s also a massive help when I’m out and about with friends to be able to say, there’s a place nearby I’ve been keen to check out. Discovering new things is a huge part of why I travel, and this scratches that itch. After all—you never know when you’ll find your new favourite place, and using this map helps me feel like I’m discovering new places all the time.

I’m exploring new neighbourhoods. This might not work everywhere, but London is especially good for this. There’s no true “downtown” or “city centre” in London; there are a lot of little pockets of London that give different vibes. Notting Hill is chic-yet-inviting; Brixton is loud and full of people and music; Camden is beautiful but overwhelming in its options of what to see and do. There are tons of tiny boroughs to explore, so rather than whip out my passport, I’m taking out my bus pass and exploring the different nooks and crannies that are unfamiliar to me in my current city.

I’m looking for experiences that would feel special if I’d travelled to try them. I think that I take for granted the fact that I live in a big city, and there are hundreds if not thousands of cool things happening that I don’t know about. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been able to find an art deco bar that screens free movies twice a month; a gym where you can learn archery and sword-fighting; a bookshop that sells only cookbooks, with a café inside that tests the recipes; a studio where you can make splatter paintings by hurling brushes at walls; and a café where instead of ordering coffee, you order art experiences like painting and pottery. These are things that, if someone said to me “I’m going to a neighbouring city to check out this cool experience”, I would think I’m so jealous! …And yet these things are on my doorstep, I’m just not aware of them. To correct for this, I’ve started following many London-only creators on TikTok and Instagram, and have started a spreadsheet of all the things I’d like to try.

I’m trying different cuisines as much as I can. I love food, and this year I’ve made it a goal of mine to try 10 new restaurants in the city. I’m trying to develop my palette (I can’t handle spicy food, and sometimes that really limits what I can eat on vacation—I need to correct for this!), and find new favourite dishes from around the world. Just because I’m not somewhere new, doesn’t mean I can’t immerse myself in the tastes of a new place!

I’m looking for bus and train tickets to replace my flight obsession, and day trips/weekend trips over multiple days of travel. London is very well-connected, so again, I know I’m lucky here. Top of my list are Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester; places where I know there are direct routes on local trains, where I can get discounted tickets if I plan ahead enough. Other places I can recommend for day trips are Arundel (countryside village with an impressive castle), Brighton (a boardwalk town with arcades on the beach and tons of cute shops), and Bath (a posh city seeped in history); I’ve gone to all three of these places for day trips and loved them. Plus, when I’m not staying overnight I side-step the huge expense of a hotel!

I joy-hunt, wherever I go. This is tied to my gratitude practice, but whenever I’m out, if something sparks joy I try to either take a picture or make a note to myself in my bullet journal. There’s science that backs up the idea that those who are grateful for what they have are happier; if we go through the day trying to find things to be grateful for, our subconscious brain recognizes that this is important to us. Once it’s recognized that pattern, it will work to show us things that make us happy. It’s a catch-22, but in the best way; so if I’m walking and the rain clears up, that’s a good day (as opposed to being irritated that I was caught in the rain at all). Because there’s so much to be grateful for, even if I’m not able to travel as much this year!

How do you deal with the desire to travel, when taking trips isn’t in the cards? I hope you’ll let me know in the comments, as I could really use the help here. Happy travels!