Hey everyone, before I begin I want to take some time out to introduce myself and my blog!
I’m a 25 year old risk consultant with a global accounting and consulting firm, currently living in Philadelphia. I have to be honest and tell you that prior to the commencement of my career, travel wasn’t a passion. After spending nearly all of my professional years on the road, I came to be attached with the hustle and bustle of airports and train stations. My girlfriend and family call me crazy, but I find a sense of calm in an airport. It makes me feel at home 🙂
When coming up with a blog title, I knew The Short Final was the perfect fit. The short final is the point in a flight when the aircraft is roughly 500 feet above the ground and either at or approaching decision height (the point at which the pilot has to either go through with the landing or abort). It’s at this point when your destination is in clear view. You can see the sandy beaches, the palm trees, and the tiny cars moving about. It’s the most exciting, yet nerve-wracking point of flying due to the statistical dangers of landing. To me, this is what traveling is: a mix of excitement and nervous energy. I aim to bring you all exciting news, tips, and tricks about the very best exotic destinations!
In my line of work I tend to travel – alot. I average roughly 70% of my time on the road for business and let me be the first to say that when you’re traveling that much just to go to work, it gets exhausting.
And to think, there are others out there that travel 100% of the time. Phew.
Each time I tell people about my job they always hit me with the “I wish I had a job that let me travel”. Well let me tell you that it isn’t always that great. As a matter fact, there are more bad times than good. It can be very exhausting!
In a lifestyle that often leads to burnout and depression, I’ve been able to find ways to make business travel more fun.
Try awesome local restaurants and bars
One of my favorite things to do in other cities is try restaurants and bars that define them.
In Philly we have the cheesesteak and Chicago has the deep dish pizza. Typically in local restaurants (especially if you sit at the bar and eat) it’s quite easy to strike up conversation with some interesting people, giving you a more enriching experience.
A few of my favorite sources for identifying popular (but not too popular) spots are Thrillist, Reddit, and Food Network.
Since I’m a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dive’s fan I tend to research any triple D restaurants in the city I’m traveling to. I’ll make an effort to try one or more of them.
I also encourage you to try out local breweries. I’m a big advocate of supporting small businesses so this could be your opportunity to give back and have a little fun while doing so.
Make a weekend out of it
Although I don’t personally do this, many of my colleagues and friends tend to extend their stay in a city, often taking advantage of a “free” flight. Typically the way this works is a company will pay for you to fly to and from a city for work. When you get to that city matters, but as is usually the case, when you return does not (as long as you show up for work Monday).
A popular practice is to fly home Sunday rather than Thursday or Friday. If the flight price is comparable, your company may approve it.
Free weekend? I’m down with that.
Blog about it
It’s no secret that people are interested in the travels of others 🙂
In this case, you might come across experiences that others will love to hear about. Blog about it! Blogging costs nothing but your time and could be very enjoyable and therapeutic for you.
Not to mention it is also a way of documenting your memories. If you need any help at all on how to get started with this one, feel free to drop me a line in the comments!
Go out for a run
Another one of my favorite ways to see a new city is to go out for a run in the evening. Ask your hotel concierge for the best running routes and enjoy. Take your time, run slow, and take it all in.
I used to purely run on the treadmill in the hotel gym, but quickly became disenchanted and started hating life on the road. Once I got out and ran throughout the town, I began to become one with my environment and my experience skyrocketed.
Rack up those loyalty points
All of my vacations have been funded with loyalty points and miles I’ve earned while traveling for work. I have to be honest and say this is the good part!
Don’t be afraid to set a travel goal and stay loyal to a specific brand in your travel city. There have been many times where I’ve stayed at a different hotel than my team just to stay brand loyal.
Bottom Line
These are a few tips that have made my experience on the road much more enjoyable. It’s sometimes a lonely place out there and a situation which not many people will understand. Hopefully these will help you to enjoy your travels a bit more!
If there are any road warriors out there, I’d love to hear about your tips and tricks for keeping your spirits up!
Really enjoyed this. One other thing to make business travel or commuting more fun is to meet new people in the same boat. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do at sociocean.com – make business travel fun again.
Fellow blogger here. Agreed with Randy – I love the introduction to your blog title and your description of “Short Final”. I was curious how you came up with the title, and I didn’t know what it represented until now. Very nice. 🙂
Much appreciated. Thanks for the kind words. Look forward to reading your stuff!
I love your description of “The Short Final”. After thousands of flights i can picture that moment within my travel but never really being an #avgeek, I never thought about the descriptor for that moment. Nice start, nice intro,
Thanks Randy!