Living in a Tourist City Without Being a Tourist: A Local Perspective

Have you ever lived in a city known around the world as a tourist destination, only to realize you know very little about the places visitors come to see? That realization caught me off guard recently, and it was more uncomfortable than I expected.

I have lived in Brisbane for decades. Like many long-term residents, I move through the city on autopilot. Work, errands, familiar routes, familiar places. Tourist attractions rarely cross my mind. That routine was interrupted one day in the city center when two tourists from France stopped me to ask for directions to a specific destination in Brisbane.

To my embarrassment, I had no idea what they were talking about.

What made the moment linger was that English was not their first language. They struggled slightly to explain themselves, yet they clearly knew the place well. They had researched it, planned their visit, and traveled across the world to see it. I lived here and did not even recognize the name.

That encounter stayed with me. A few days later, I walked into a bookstore and picked up a guide to tourist destinations around Brisbane. As I turned the pages, the gap became obvious. I did not know even half of the places listed. Some were well known landmarks. Others were tucked just beyond the boundaries of daily routine. All of them were part of the same city I believed I knew.

It made me think about how familiarity slowly dulls curiosity. Living somewhere long enough can make remarkable places feel ordinary, simply because they are always there.

Since then, I have decided to explore more deliberately. Not in a rush, and not like a visitor ticking boxes, but gradually over the next year or two. These places are not disappearing. And along the way, I may write about some of those experiences here.

Sometimes discovery does not require travel. Sometimes it begins by seeing where you already live with fresh eyes.