Free Time

When you’re on a budget your free time can be a mixed bag of emotions. On the one hand, “woohoo, it’s the weekend!” on the other hand, “agh, my friends will all want to meet out at a favorite restaurant or bar and my choices are ordering water and gnawing on free breadsticks or feeling guilty about spending too much money and wishing that I had just ordered water and gnawed on free breadsticks.” It’s frustrating to have the desire to engage, enjoy your city, connect with friends, and explore new places when your salary doesn’t seem to support your cravings.

But, what if you didn’t have to choose between breadsticks and guilt?

Sometimes there’s no substitution to ordering a delicious sounding meal and having the server bring out some perfectly presented entrée that meets or exceeds all of your expectations. But, there may be something more interesting and certainly more creative about skipping the bars, cafes, and restaurants and making your own free or nearly free fun. In fact, making your own fun allows you to get more acquainted with your friends and especially your city.

I worked as an unpaid intern in New York City the summer before I graduated college and in that summer became an expert at free fun….people and bird watching in Central Park, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, a free ride or two on the Staten Island Ferry to catch an up close glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, sitting on park benches in Riverside Park, exploring China Town, free museum evenings, and spotting stars in the East Village (I saw Ralph Fiennes and Matthew Broderick on one beautiful afternoon – hubba hubba). Doing it on the free or for the cost of a subway ticket has an almost romantic feel to it and the discoveries are worth far more than the adventures you can read in a brochure.

Have you explored all of the parks and secret gardens in your city? I recently moved back to the Twin Cities and I’m rediscovering the parks from an adult perspective. My friends and I go for hikes along the Mississippi instead of going for Sunday brunch. Last Saturday was unseasonably warm and I hung out with a really cute boy on a soft, sandy Mississippi beach with the sun on our faces, watching icebergs float down the river.

On your next day off, try something new....break out your town’s map or pull it up on Google Maps and resolve to visit the green spaces. Grab a friend and snacks…heck, if you’re in Portland bring a six pack of beer, a blanket, your sketch book, and a camera to Laurelhurst Park and chill for an afternoon. Another fun idea -- and this really works -- is to visit your chamber of commerce website as if you’re a tourist. There will be plenty of free or nearly free ideas there. Check them out, see your city from a new perspective and perhaps fall in love all over again.