How About a Staycation This Summer Instead?

No Need to Leave When You Live in Paradise

Sometimes, I’m amazed when I look around. We have beaches, year-round sun, and warm water whenever we want. Living here is amazing, and whatever you like to do, you can do it here. People can swim, sail, and golf — which I really enjoy. But it can be difficult to keep that excitement up when you live in a place. After all, I’m a true local; I was born and grew up here. It may be a destination spot for a lot of people who come to visit for the water and golf, but I’ve been near that water and golf my whole life.

I’m sure it’s that way anywhere. Growing up in a place, you can be vulnerable to forgetting how wonderful it really is. People up north would kill to have our December weather. But I don’t think of it as anything special. As far as I’m concerned, that is how the weather always is in December.

But as the summer nears, I want to see something different happen. Once in a while I make myself relearn to appreciate the place that I call home. One of the best ways I know to do that is to have a staycation instead of a vacation. I know a lot of us don’t want to be close to home when we’re taking time off work or school, but hear me out. There are a lot of good reasons to stick around, the first being that we don’t always make time to do the great things that are all around us. When was the last time you took full advantage of where you live? You might get to golf regularly, but what about taking a boat out or going to the beach? There are a lot of local things we might enjoy if we had the time to try them.

Sanibel Island and Captiva both come to mind as amazing places to do this. It’s about an hour drive from home, but you might as well be in another world. ‘Tween Waters and Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa give way to world-class beaches, and you can enjoy towns that aren’t full of chain restaurants or other corporate interests.

You get all the benefits and most of the isolation of a water-locked island, but if something happens you aren’t far from home. We’ve all had those vacations — the ones where the pet sitter calls, a family member has a car accident, or a kid ends up too sunburned to enjoy themselves. There’s not much we can do to avoid them, but it’s sure better when it happens 45 minutes from home instead of eight hours away.

I already mentioned that the Sanibel Island resorts are great places to take the family, but you can’t really go wrong with any of the options here in South Florida. Let’s be honest: Any day at the beach is a good one, and it’s awesome to spend some time away from home with family. I’ve seen clients do exactly that between houses, and as long as you’re out of sight of your house, does it really matter how far away you are?

I hope your summer is off to a good start, and I’m sure we’ll all enjoy ourselves these next few months, in ways we didn’t get to last summer. Take care and consider a staycation!