The Tourist Rule
When you’re away somewhere new, you move a little differently.
You don’t default to your usual routine, you try a restaurant you wouldn’t normally pick or have been to, you may tend to try differnt coffee shops than back home. You slow down, wander a bit, take the longer route just to see what’s there. .
You pay attention.
Then, at home, something shifts.
The same places become routine. Home can start to feel like a series of errands and stops, familiar, predictable. And every now and then, it’s enjoyable to slow down and see it in a different light, with the mindset of a vacation day in your own city.
Every summer, people from all over arrive on Vancouver Island with intention. They explore Nanaimo, Victoria, Tofino—finding beaches, hikes, small towns, roadside stands, quiet viewpoints. They build their days around it while they’re on vacation. value it.
And in a quieter way, that says something important.
We don’t just live near those experiences—we live within them.
This is a harbour city. The ocean is part of the rhythm here. Trails start minutes from home. There’s an endless access to the outdoors—without needing to always plan for it.
The kind of lifestyle people usually book time off to find… is just built into everyday life here.
There’s a simple idea that reframes it:
If you wouldn’t do it on vacation, don’t do it today.
Not as something rigid. More as something to sit with.
Because when you think about it, vacation behaviour isn’t only about where you are—it’s also about how you move through a place, you’re not running errands and you don’t typically go to the same places.
What That Could Look Like
It’s interesting how small the shifts can be.
It might look like something as simple as choosing a different coffee spot and actually sitting with it for a few extra minutes—something that would feel natural if you were visiting. Or maybe it shows up in small, unexpected ways like these: A slower kind of morning—coffee in hand, somewhere near the water, maybe even bringing a paddle board along just because you can. An afternoon that isn’t planned too tightly—renting kayaks, being out on the water longer than expected, with nowhere else to be. A short drive out of town—something like heading toward Ladysmith, with a stop at Old Town Bakery before making your way to a quiet trail like Heart Lake. Trying a new coffee spot, but not rushing out—staying a while, maybe with a book or a deck of cards, letting time stretch a little. Wandering somewhere familiar, like the Nanaimo Harbourfront Walkway, but without a destination—maybe it turns into a drink, a small bite, or just a longer walk than planned. A day that starts outdoors—something like Mount Benson in the morning—and ends somewhere new for dinner, simply because it feels like the right way to close it out. None of it has to be planned perfectly. That’s kind of the point—it’s less about what you do, and more about giving yourself the space to experience it differently.
Why It Feels Different
When you’re somewhere new, your attention sharpens. You notice details. Time feels like it stretches because you’re more present in it.
At home, familiarity does the opposite. Things fade into the background. Days move faster—not because they are, but because less of them is being actively experienced.
That’s part of what people are chasing when they go away.
But it’s also something that can exist much closer to home than we think, especially living on Vancouver Island.
Seeing It Again
Vancouver Island isn’t just somewhere people come to visit.
It’s somewhere they come to feel something—to slow down, to notice more, to reconnect with the simple parts of a day, and explore this beautiful island.
Here’s to a spring and summer of slowing down, enjoying local, and exploring a little more of it.