5 Cities I Would Return To

Quite a while ago now I was tagged in a travel blogger series by The Little Backpacker (read her interview here) that was doing the rounds called ‘5 Cities I Would Return To’, and obviously, me being me, I started a post for it, and then promptly forgot all about it until just now.

So even thought I’m a little bit late, I thought I’d give it some thought. I’m always thinking about the next place I want to go, and all the places I haven’t yet been to, so it’s interesting to think about the places I would go back to – the places I loved the first, second or even third time around and still want to go back for more. There’s got to be something pretty special about a place to make me miss it, as I’m usually all about moving forward to what else is out there, rather than looking back, but every so often I’ll come across a photo of a place, or a song that jolts a memory, and I’ll want to be right back there, reliving it, or having a new experience in a much loved location.

Here are the 5 cities I would always like to return to:

London, UK

This one’s kind of cheating, as I’m actually in London right now. London is, and always will be, my home. It is where I grew up, it’s where my oldest friends are, it’s where I gained my independence and my love for cities. I don’t think it’s a place I want to live forever, but it’s a place I’ll always keep coming back to.

Sydney, Australia

I first visited to Sydney back in 2011, when I spent NYE watching the fireworks over the Harbour Bridge. However I only spent about a week there and it just wasn’t long enough! So last year I got my 12 month Australian visa and spent about 4 months living and working in Sydney, and having an absolute ball. I lived in a little apartment with some friends just up the road from Kings Cross, in Darlinghurst, and it was AWESOME. Great friends, great parties, great nights out, sweet beaches, insanely fantastic weather (hello summer in November)… I could go on about how fantastic this city is forever. I’m hoping to move back to Australia (permanently if I’ve can find someone to sponsor me!) in the next couple of years and Sydney will definitely be my first stop! And it’s only a 10 hour drive from Byron Bay, one of my other favourite places in Oz…bonus!

Wanaka, New Zealand

To be honest I’d love to just return to New Zealand in general and do my whole campervan road trip all over again. It was absolutely glorious and I loved pretty much every place we visited (EVERYWHERE!), but there were a few spots that really stood out for me and one of those was Wanaka. Now, I’m not sure if it is even classed as a city, as it’s so small, but I absolutely loved it. We stayed in a little holiday park just up to the road from the main part of town, and spent a few days wandering around and lying in the sun by the water. I’d love to go back in winter and make my way up the mountains for some snowboarding, or be there in the summer for some kayaking and general outdoor activities.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

This was the second stop on my round the world trip back in 2011 – we got an overnight bus from Bangkok – and even though we were only there for a few days, we packed a whole heap into those days, from playing with tigers, to eating the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had, to paying just £1.50 per night for our accommodation, to visiting one of the most beautiful temples I’ve seen (Doi Suthep), to witnessing a thousand lanterns floating across the sky at the Loi Krathong festival. I would love to return to Chiang Mai and spend a bit more time there, perhaps making in a proper base for more exploration around SE Asia.

Los Angeles, USA

It’s a fact. I love the sunshine. I love the beach. And I love the skater/surfer lifestyle. I know that there are plenty of places around the world where living this life is a possibility, but there’s something about LA that just always draws me back. When I talk about Los Angeles though, I don’t mean downtown or Hollywood. I mean Santa Monica and Venice. Chilling on the beach, watching the surfers from the pier, walking or skating along the boardwalk, shopping on 3rd street promenade, and generally just soaking up the hippie vibe – if America would allow me a visa, I’d move there in a heartbeat.