Unfortunately, everyone doesn’t have an endless supply of money or vacation days (oh, if only there was a money tree and a way to work but have endless amounts of time to travel for the average Joe). If you find yourself lacking in either, such that you can’t currently travel, there are lots of things that you can do in the meantime to assuage the wanderlust.

Seek out a non-profit that helps refugees

If you are from the Twin Cities (Minne-snow-ta) like I am, you can volunteer with Arrive Ministries. There are several volunteer opportunities to fit different levels of commitment, from regular participation in cultural exchange programs to helping out by driving newly settled refugees to appointments to assisting them in deciphering how to navigate the transit system. By volunteering, you are not only helping out those in need, you are also getting cultural exposure that you most likely wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. For those of you in the Twin Cities, check out Arrive’s website, here: www.arriveministries.org. If you are not from Minnesota, you can search for similar non-profits in your area, or if you are so inclined, start your own!

Host an international exchange student

Another way to seek out cultural experiences without leaving your hometown is by hosting a high school student from a different country. This experience not only benefits you by allowing you to have a welcome visitor in your home to talk about their realities of the country they are from, it also enables you to broaden the horizon of the student. You are able to see how a teenager that is not from the US thinks about the world, and gives an opportunity for them to see how parental figures act in the US.

Register with Couchsurfing

Along the same lines as hosting an exchange student, but with less time commitment, is registering with Couchsurfing. You can elect to open your home to visitors needing a free place to stay, or if that puts you outside your comfort zone, you can join and attend their meetups that members put together. The last time I attended a meet up, about 20 of us cooked an authentic Indian meal together and got to hang out and talk about our different cultures and experiences in the Couchsurfing community. By opening your house to host you gain an extra degree of reception of other cultures, and you determine who you choose to welcome into your home.

Find other travel aficionados and have regular coffee dates

Finding like minded people to meet up with can be wonderful, as it allows you to a) talk about their travels and possibly find new places to add to your travel wishlist, b) live through their experiences for the time being, and c) potentially find travel buddies for your next trip! Win-win-win! The group that you go out with can extend their dates from just chats to even include a travel book club or presentation of latest travels, to further expand your knowledge on the distinctive cultural idiosyncrasies of various locales.

Check out good travel shows

The last suggestion I have is to check out quality travel shows-- usually your local public broadcasting station would have a good selection of travel shows to choose from. Whether it be Rick Steves’ Europe, Globe Trekkers, or even Ricky Gervais’ An Idiot Abroad, all will have insight into local traditions, celebrations, and culture. I particulary enjoy Globe Trekkers, as the shows often go to more remote sites than some of the other mainstream travel shows do.

What do you think? Did I cover all the things you can do to help get your travel fix when you aren’t able to travel? Comment with anything I missed, below!