Out and About: Enjoying Your City

Each city is unique and has tons to offer.

By Fauzeya Rahman

Want to check out an outdoor hour-long yoga class?  How about the latest exhibit at an art museum?  Shakespeare in the Park?  For how much, you ask?  Absolutely nothing.  With a little research and a little effort, it’s incredibly easy to enjoy the best attractions of your city without racking up high-flying credit card bills in the process.

We all get that itch to do something different.  To explore our surroundings and become more cultured while we’re at it.  By keeping up with local media, checking out various calendars and adopting an adventurous attitude, your culture quest will be an incredibly rich experience that won’t cost much at all.

Read up on local media

Many cities feature free outdoor yoga classes.

Your best resource in this new endeavor is definitely local media.  City-specific blogs, Web sites and magazines will be packed with information on upcoming events, new hangouts and restaurant reviews.  For example, the “ist” Web sites (Houstonist.com, Austinist.com, etc) are updated daily with city happenings and discussion.  I suggest subscribing to their RSS feeds to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.  Of course, there are always the traditional sources like newspapers and TV, but from personal experience these mediums don’t seem to include the more random events that you can find elsewhere.  By keeping up with local publications you’ll be the first to know of free movie screenings, book signings, restaurant openings, concerts and various performances.  One more benefit of local media: it’s most always free, including magazines which can be picked up anywhere around town.

Be a calendar-watcher

No matter which city you live in, it’s possible to visit your local-area museums, theaters and parks without paying much or anything at all.  This is an obvious tip, but hold on to your student I.D. for as long as you can.  Take advantage of student rates wherever possible.  Another way to visit on the cheap is to frequently visit the Web sites of these different venues and look at their calendar.  Most museums have free admission days once a week or let’s say the second Saturday of every month.  Facilities such as Discovery Green in Houston or NorthPark Center in Dallas have plenty of weekly events for visitors ranging from free weekly yoga classes to farmers’ markets to children’s activities.

Summer is a great time for free activities, with most cities having outdoor summer concert series for its citizens.  Cities such as Houston, Dallas and Austin all have free summer concerts for the community.  Not only can you have access to great symphony performances, but you can do so without a high-priced ticket and stuffy atmosphere.

Oftentimes local area museums and galleries have special after-hours parties and events going on.  For a reasonable fee, you’ll have access to music, food and entertainment.  Instead of doing the expected dinner and a movie, plan for a fun night at the museum.

Small concerts at your local venue can be fun and affordable.

Oftentimes the best way to explore your city is to just go to a walking-friendly area of town and hit the pavement.  You’ll find hidden gems that you probably never noticed, no matter how many times you drive by that same area.  Try to go to various cultural pockets around town and just enjoy your surroundings.  You never know what you’ll find.  It could be a successful outing or a flop, but that’s all part of the fun.

Instead of going to your usual restaurants or Yelp-ing every choice to death, trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to explore new cuisines, areas of town or restaurant atmospheres.  By having an open mind and adventurous attitude, nothing will hold you back as you get to learn more about your city.

Pretty soon, you’ll see how your culture quest will lead you to all sorts of fun, ridiculous activities without costing much at all.  Your quest could have you learning Thriller at Discovery Green, attending a Mamma Mia sing-a-long or judging a chili cook-off.  You’ll learn so much about your city and best of all, you can pass this knowledge on to someone else as well.