It's your first summer back from college, and you're faced with four long months back in your hometown...
Unpacking is daunting, finding work is daunting, and the fact that all your older friends have their lives together and are traveling and interning is not helping your social situation or self-esteem. Town is dead as always, and your wallet is woefully empty. So what is there to do? Here are some cheap, fun ideas to pep up your summer!
1. Standing Room Only Tickets
Check your local ballpark and buy a couple of the standing-room-only tickets for you and your friends. It's a cheap way to go to a professional or minor league game and get the full atmosphere! More often than not, you'll be able to move up to empty seats throughout the game anyways, so you're really cheating the system. You can go to a game at Fenway Park for just a $25.00 standing room ticket!
2. Drive Past the Big Name Beach
Bypass the biggest beaches in your area this summer and drive in and around the coast a little bit. Not much farther past those popular locations are tons of hidden, craggy little nooks. Parking is cheaper, crowds are less, and the beach is just as nice! It's worth it to take the time and discover a cute little town instead of walking a mile through the parking lot just to get to that one over-crowded beach.
3. Local Street Festivals
Tons of cities have ongoing street festivals all summer. They may not be overly advertised or famous, but all it takes is a little poking around to find something being celebrated nearby! Better yet, these kinds of parades and outdoor festivals are usually guaranteed to be free to walk in to and watch since they're a totally public area and celebration. Check out some local listings and get your beads ready!
4. Historic Tours
You probably haven't checked out a historical site near you since a forced field trip in grade school, but it's actually a great summer activity. You can go visit for free without doing a paid tour, so it's a perfect opportunity to go walk around with some friends on a nice day! Check out the history around you that you haven't bothered to look at because it's so close to home.
5. Hikes
100% free, 100% beautiful, and a fitness opportunity! Even if there aren't any local mountains, find some trail walks, reservation land, or parks to log some miles in. It's a free and easy way to enjoy the beautiful summer weather in the shade of some trees instead of roasting in direct sunlight.
6. Biking
Another great fitness opportunity, and all you need is a bike and some pavement. It's another great way to spend time outside and enjoy the area you live in at your own pace and in a healthy way. You probably haven't ridden a bike since the days when you had to do laps around the neighborhood to find friends, but it's still surprisingly fun!
7. Homemade Recipes
Instead of feeling like you're constantly blowing money to go out and eat, make it an activity with friends as well as a yummy product! Buy some ingredients to make your own ice cream, popsicles, and other summer treats to give yourself a fun job to do with a worthwhile result.
8. Reading for Pleasure
During the semester, there's no free time to read anything you want to outside of school work. Take the free time to tackle some you've been waiting for, or just grab something easy to flip through on the beach! Reading anything--books, magazines, the newspaper--is a great relaxer in any location, with the dual purpose of getting your tan on and learning something new.
It might feel like there's a whole lot of nothing to do after the excitement and craziness of college, but there's plenty of decently easy opportunities right at your fingertips if you look a little! Plans don't have to be extravagant, expensive, or a huge effort--just something to get you outside and your friends together. If anything, enjoy the down time while you have it! It might feel like a curse, but you'll probably miss it once you're the one with two jobs, an internship, and summer studies.
