USA Feeds is a regular traveler for more than a few years. We fell in love with Los Angeles, California more than 10 years ago when we first moved to the area. Since then we’ve owned two homes in Los Angeles, struck out on our own forAbout.com, and traveled frequently for business and pleasure (and a little weddings). In the process, we’ve discovered several off-the-beaten-path dining, shopping and cultural opportunities in beautiful Los Angeles. Our 3 favorite tips for finding the best bargains and seeing the attractions that make this city great, come from experience:
* Know what you want. We generally know what we want most of the time, but the glimpses we get glimpses of that desire often make us realize that it’s well worth pursuing a purchase.
* When in the right location, your price will be more attractive than if you sought out an overpriced, bad location, such as at the airport or in a shopping mall.
* Read more. You should also consider reading every other person’s review on the city/restaurant you wish to visit. I think of a restaurant review as a guide book.
* Talk to locals. Do your planning and research using the Internet. Local discussion groups are usually fairly accurate about the wacky things to do and the amazing restaurants and lodgings in Los Angeles. Use the Internet to gather personal information, such as the number of dog owners in a city, and city maps. Consult the fine print to find out if a destination is actually worth the trip. More than likely, you’ll find better deals by reaching out to the local area residents and merchants. I personally know of one incredibly cheap discount travel package that was available in an unusual manner in the county of Staffordshire, in the heart of the British Midlands. The package included round trip airfare to London, five nights in a comfortable hotel of a friend’s in Leeds, and two nights’ hotel stay in Paris. Last time we checked, we had budget airfare to London from Milan, Turin, Trieste, and a Revel Interstate train transfer to Paris… we could have done that, had we known about the package. We did train our trip to London, only because we had to, because we were late. If you can’t get the time off work, book your travel arrangements while you’re away, you’ll be surprised at how much you can save.
* Figuring out how to stretch your dollar. The best way to stretch your dollar is to take a vacation. After all, that’s what spending is all about. But there are so many ways to stretch your dollar! One of the best things about traveling is that you can buy the little things you need at local stores. breakfast may be just a dollar or two. Shops in your traveling location carry supplies, instead of having to go to a gas station to buy a gallon of Writer’s Ilene Water (isabel in 16 sizes) or other beverage. Instead of going to a water park, go to the grocery store. You can pick up some water and snacks (such as fruit and granola bars) for next to nothing. Just be sure to write on the wrapper to tell the baker what you’re doing. (Hint: If you have tips to pass on, write them on the bakery order form.)
* Write a journal. I’m working on a writers’ note version of this article and on OSHA 30. My outline for the article describes what I’d like to write about (itis instead of illness) for one year.felds dinner. Instead of excerpts from my journal about the illness and its symptoms, I’m going to write about (socrates instead of\\\\\\\\) my experiences during the past year. So instead of excerpts from my journal about the illness and its symptoms, I’m going to write about (opinions instead of beliefs) my experiences during the past year. So if people want to send me articles about their experiences when traveling, they can use the form below. However, please bear in mind that I don’t always respond to email directly, so if you email me and don’t want my response, please feel free to visit my website. I do read all of the emails.
Mailing list
I’m going to give one more big hug to mailing list. These people have saved me time and money so many times. I don’t have to spool up an entire email to find the articles. All I have to do is go to a mail site and sign up. Mailing lists are usually populated with people that have gone before, just like in the example above. I’m not going to read the 300 emails I get on average every day. However, I do look at all the comments and emails I get and decide which ones I might want to respond to.
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