It's that time of year again! And if you didn't get a chance to check off all of the travel destinations on this year's wish list, it's about to get even longer. Airbnb just released their top 20 travel spots, and the list has something for both international and domestic travelers alike.
So, whether you want to experience Victorian-era architecture on another continent or enjoy some of the most beautiful beach-fronts the U.S. has to offer, we've got you covered.
1.Bilbao, Spain
Photo by Shutterstock
Located in the north, this city began to draw significant tourist attention after the opening of its Guggenheim Museum in 1997. Since then, there has been a burst of creatively designed museums, hotels, and restaurants that reflect its cosmopolitan vibe. If the architecture isn't enough to pique your interest, Bilbao boasts over 40 Michelin-starred restaurants, rolling green hills with beautiful scenery and in 2020 it'll be a host city of one of Europe's most popular soccer competitions.
2.Vanuatu
Photo by Shutterstock
A perfect destination for people who love to go off the beaten path, Vanuatu is just a few hours from Australia's eastern capitals and is made up of about 80 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The island nation features unique natural experiences like hidden sea caves, volcanoes and some of the most beautiful marine life you've ever seen. The local cuisine uses a mix of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish to create signature dishes.
3.Ubatuba, Brazil
Photo by Shutterstock
Did somebody say beach? This city located on Sao Paulo's North Shore is the epitome of paradise. With over 100 beaches to choose from, gorgeous trees and lush waterfalls, this is certainly a getaway to remember. Other activities for those who love the outdoors include bird watching, surfing and hiking. You can also find some delicious seafood dishes by the waterfront.
4.Malindi, Kenya
Photo by Shutterstock
You could spend your entire life attempting to discover the beauty of Africa and you'd still need more time. But this bustling beach town should definitely be at the top of your list. From its historic ruins dating back to the 13th century, to its Swahili culture and natural wonders, Malindi is both stunning and special. The port town is a melting pot with beautiful beaches and a plethora of unique marine life.
5.Eugene, OR
Photo by Shutterstock
Just two hours south of Portland, this Pacific Northwest city is a hip spot with a potpourri of activities for people who love food and fun. It's affectionately called "Tracktown USA" because it has historically been home to one of the most famous track and field destinations in the world. Visitors can enjoy canoeing or hiking along the river, take a stroll in the Owen Rose Garden, or partake in the hometown craft beers paired with one of their farm-to-table dishes.
6.Cape Canaveral, FL
Photo by Shutterstock
Home to the Kennedy Space Center and Airforce and Missile Museum, this popular cruise ship port is a great destination for families. Enjoy a variety of activities from surfing and fishing to local brewery tours. If you're looking to relax, there is 72 miles of beachfront land that is perfect for tanning. Next summer, Cape Canaveral will be the site of NASA's Mars 2020 Exploration Program.
7.Cali, Colombia
Photo by Shutterstock
Medellin and Cartagena are great cities with a lot of flair, but if you're looking for a Colombian experience that stands out from the rest, Cali is it. This city is not only the "salsa dancing capital" but it has rich Afro-Colombian history and caleno culture. A must-see landmark is the Cristo Rey statue of Jesus Christ that resembles the one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
8.Les Contamines-Montjoie, France
Photo by Shutterstock
In southeast France, there is a charming French village perfect for a winter ski getaway with that special someone. Lovers of the outdoors who want to skip the usual ski resort destinations will find this place a romantic and cozy getaway. The quaint wooden chalets and beautiful natural scenery are truly breathtaking.
9.Tokyo, Japan
Photo by Shutterstock
This July and August, some of the world's best athletes will take part in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, making it a worthy destination on this trending list. The largest metropolitan area in the world is making sure that the summer games are energy efficient and that large crowds are as manageable as possible, so needless to say the Olympic Games will be a huge event. This popular city is known for its great food, unique transportation system, religious temples and tech culture.
10. Milwaukee, WI
Photo by Shutterstock
Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, this Midwestern city is many times overlooked because of its proximity to Chicago, but it actually is a gem in its own right with an influx of great breweries, restaurants and entertainment. Sites like Pabst Mansion and Villas Louis are some of the many interesting stops that give you a peek into the city's history. In the summer of 2020, Milwaukee will be home to the Democratic National Convention.
For the full list of Airbnb's 20 destinations to visit in 2020, click here.
Featured image by Shutterstock.
Did you know that xoNecole has a podcast? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to join us for weekly convos over cocktails (without the early morning hangover.)
- Vacation Destinations to Visit in 2020, According to Airbnb | Real ... ›
- Milwaukee is the hottest place to travel in 2020 according to Airbnb ... ›
- The Top 20 Places To Travel In 2020, According To Airbnb ›
- The Top 20 Travel Destinations For 2020 | POPSUGAR Smart Living ›
- These Are the Top 20 Travel Destinations To Visit in 2020 ... ›
- Airbnb names Milwaukee as the top global destination for 2020 ... ›
- 20 for 2020: Airbnb Reveals the 20 Destinations to Visit Next Year ›
- Milwaukee is world's top Airbnb travel destination for 2020 ›
- Airbnb: Top trending travel destinations for 2020 ›
- Airbnb ranks top 20 travel destinations for 2020: cities, countries ... ›
RELATED
As I quickly ran down my “Christmas list” of desires, as I came towards the end and then looked him in the eyes (because we were walking), he calmly and simply said, “I can be that.” Chile…CHILE. It took me close to a year of discovering so many cryptic things about him for me to realize that there is a really big difference between what someone “can be” vs. who they actually are — and that oversharing can set you up for dating a character more than a genuine individual. Lesson learned. Lesson freakin’ learned.
I can’t lie, though — when I recently read about a current dating trend known as “floodlighting,” from my own personal experience, that’s probably the closest that I’ve ever come to it. I think it’s because, since I’m so open with damn near everyone and also, since my past pattern has mostly consisted of taking friendships into something more (as opposed to dating people who I barely know), I’ve never really taken the classic floodlighting approach to try and connect with someone else.
I do have clients who have, though — and the trend is concerning enough that I definitely thought that it was worth writing about; mostly as a PSA to not floodlight and also to be cautious if you sense that someone is currently in the process of trying to floodlight you.
And just what do I mean when I say that? Read on, sis. Read on.
Floodlighting. According to Author Brené Brown.
GiphyBest-selling author, podcaster, and professor Brené Brown is a pretty popular person. Since quotes are my thing, that’s probably how I “connect” with her most because I like things that she has been credited for saying like “Maybe stories are just data with a soul,” “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it” and “Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”
And since self-reflection is such a big part of her platform, it didn’t really surprise me when I found out that she is actually credited for coming up with the term “floodlighting.” It would seem that in her audiobook, The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connections, and Courage, she stated this:
“Oversharing? Not vulnerability; I call it floodlighting. ... A lot of times we share too much information as a way to protect us from vulnerability, and here's why.
I'm scared to let you know that I just wrote this article and I'm under total fire for it and people are making fun of me and I'm feeling hurt — the same thing that I told someone in an intimate conversation. So what I do is I floodlight you with it — I don't know you very well or I'm in front of a big group, or it's a story that I haven't processed enough to be sharing with other people — and you immediately respond ‘hands up; push me away’ and I go, ‘See? No one cares about me. No one gives a s*** that I'm hurting. I knew it.'
It's how we protect ourselves from vulnerability. We just engage in a behavior that confirms our fear.”
If that was a bit challenging to follow, what Brené is basically saying is…well, you know how sometimes you will watch a post on social media by someone you don’t know, your first reaction is something like “Ugh. TMI.” and then you may actually say some form of that in their comment section? If others join in with your sentiment, the poster may follow up with a second video about that being why they don’t share their lives — it’s because people only take shots at them for doing so. Yeah, social media? Oh, there is PLENTY of floodlighting that goes on up in there, chile.
Okay, but what would be the strategy for floodlighting if it proves to be such a risky approach to connecting with other people? According to Brené, by sharing too much information about ourselves only to then receive some level of rejection for it — it’s kind of a “hurt you before you hurt me” kind of thing.
Meaning, “I’m not the best at cultivating intimacy and so, if I overshare and you pull back, I can make you be the ‘bad guy’ for rejecting me which makes all of this a test that you failed instead of my choosing to create an authentic connection and owning my part if things don’t end up working out.”
And yes, many people do this because, at the end of the day, they aren’t very comfortable with genuine intimacy. They also do it because they don’t really get that, when it comes to intimacy, another word should be the goal instead of vulnerability anyway.
I’ll explain.
It’s Important to Remember What Vulnerability Means
GiphyAsk pretty much any of my clients about what I think about the word “vulnerable” when it comes to marriage and they’ll tell you that I am not a fan. That’s because I lean into being pretty word-literal (as far as original definitions go) and I am aware that vulnerable means things like “capable of or susceptible to being attacked, damaged, or hurt,” “open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc.”
And y’all, for the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would choose to vow to spend their lives with an individual who they would need to be vulnerable with because, if your partner is susceptible to damaging you or they leave you open to attack or temptation — does that sound healthy to you? Yeah, me neither.
So, what word do I prefer then? Dependent. And what’s so wild to me is the fact that our culture is so used to the word “vulnerable” that many, even when it comes to their close connections, are far more uncomfortable with the word “dependent” — and boy, ain’t that a damn shame. Dependent is all that I want to be with my intimate dynamics because that’s all about “relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.” — and that is what you should do with your closest friends and definitely who you are in a romantic relationship with.
In fact, if the relationship is solid, it should be interdependent: “mutually dependent; depending on each other.” However, the thing to keep in mind with getting to the point where you can rely on someone is it takes time. While vulnerability, on some levels, can be rushed and semi-forced, dependency is an organic experience that occurs from life simply…happening.
Now keep all of this in mind as we explore how floodlighting reveals itself in a dating situation.
Floodlighting. When It Comes to Dating.
GiphyOnce I processed floodlighting, as far as dating is concerned, it actually made me think of people who have sex very quickly in the beginning of a relationship. I’m pretty sure that at least 70 percent of us know of someone who has raved about a person who they’ve only gone out on a couple of dates with. However, because they’ve already had sex with them and it was really good, suddenly, they believe that they’ve met the one.
Y’all, it truly can’t be said enough that “an oxytocin high” does not true intimacy make — oh, but because it feels amazing, it can have you out here thinking that something lasting and real has transpired when really, there hasn’t been enough moments shared or experiences had to know that for sure. However, since the sex was rushed, it can cause you to want to speed up the relationship too. It can tempt you to be like, “I mean, if we’re great in bed, surely we will be amazing in other rooms of the house too.” Floodlighting is a lot like this.
If you meet someone and you like the potential of what it could be, you might be tempted to want to, like Brené said in her book: OVERSHARE. It could be oversharing as it relates to some personal traumas that you’ve experienced. It could be oversharing as it relates to intimate details about your past relationships. It could be oversharing as it relates to your mistakes and flaws. It could be oversharing as it relates to your sex life. It could be oversharing as it relates to all of the expectations and demands (along with why) that you have.
The reason for doing this? It could be that you’re hoping the person will take it all in without any pushback which will cause you to believe that you both are immediately on the same page or it could be that you are attempting to fast-track the relationship by believing that if you share all of who you are during date one or two (or even four), they will do the same and — ding — an instant relationship.
See, more than anything else, floodlighting is a test. It’s a bit manipulative. It’s potentially stressful. And, more times than not, it ends up backfiring. And then, if it backfires, because it was a test, you can blame them for not rising up to the occasion.
Please tell me that you get how toxic this all is. For one thing, no one wants to be tested like this. Secondly, it’s unfair to expect someone to be “all in” with a person who they are just getting to know. Third, you have layers to you — all of us do — and it can be overwhelming for someone to be expected to learn, retain, and even accept all of the layers at once. Yeah, one thing that I like about the term floodlighting is it has the word “flood” in it. Water? We’re made up of mostly water, so of course, it’s good for us. Being flooded by water, though? That could harm or even destroy us.
In many ways, trying to force intimacy onto another person…it manifests in a similar way. Of course, you should share what makes you…you. A bit at a time, though, while letting time do its thing. Too much too soon is…exactly that.
How to Cultivate Healthy Intimacy in the Beginning Stages of a Relationship
GiphySo, what are some things that you can do to avoid being a floodlighter?
See your intel as privileged information.
Everything about you is special and special things should be earned. That said, as you get to know someone, OVER TIME, you’ll be able to see if they can be trusted with your thoughts, feelings and ultimately your heart — and no, that can’t happen on the first couple of dates. Y’all, it really can’t be said enough that instant chemistry doesn’t mean that intimacy should be expected to happen overnight.
In other words, just because you see the potential for something awesome with another person, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wait to see if the individual’s words and actions, consistently so, can complement the elation that you feel. Share a little. See how they respond. At another time, share a little bit more. See how they react. Rinse and repeat. Patiently and intentionally so.
Stop trying to pull stuff out of people.
There are all kinds of ways to be manipulating and controlling — and deciding that someone should move at your pace in a relationship is a way to be both things. In other words, not everyone is emotionally unavailable or immature simply because they don’t want to share every childhood experience or their relationship stories with you by date three.
No doubt, a lot of people self-sabotage something that could’ve been good because they were rushing someone to move outside of their comfort zone — knowing damn well that they would’ve had a problem with that if the shoe was on the other foot. Chill…what someone wants to tell you, they will. If they don’t? All you can — and should — do is decide if you want to move forward or not. That doesn’t require force on your part to come to that conclusion.
Nervousness is one thing. Being fearful is something else.
If the reason why you’re floodlighting is because you’re scared that people will not accept you or that they will abandon you, it really is best to put dating aside for a season and get into some therapy. Because, while being nervous about a potentially new relationship is completely understandable, being afraid of organic intimacy and then doing things that can hinder or prevent it is something completely different.
Put the tests away.
Listen, if you recall the tests that you took back in school, I have no clue why you’d want to put others through tests now that you’re a big-time adult. Tests are stressful, pressuring and sometimes, no matter how smart you are, you’re not going to perform well on them because you’re simply not a good test-taker (some of y’all will catch that later). There’s no need to “test” someone to see if they can take all of who you are. Again, time will reveal that on its own.
___
Personally, I think that floodlighting is so common that folks don’t even realize that they’re doing it or how problematic it actually is. Hopefully, this helps to shed some light.
Vulnerability tests? Uh-uh.
Seeing if someone can be depended on to care for you as you are? Relax. Time. Will. Reveal.
Now go on your date(s) and have fun. Damn. #winkLet’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by zamrznutitonovi/Getty Images