How d oes being called a local or tourist make you feel? This may sound like a silly question but some people can get into heated disputes about whether they get the right to claim they are a local.

Leading me to ask what’s the criteria for being a local; and is that title so much better than being a tourist? But the biggest question of all is, if you are said “local,” do you appreciate the area and see it for its entire splendor, as a tourist does the first time they set their eyes on it?

As a motivational trainer, I go all across the country motivating people to get out, get active, and get healthy #GoDoBe. I help them look at their surrounding areas in a new light and find a passion for the outdoor playground they’ve been overlooking. Although I now call Lake Tahoe my home I am corrected quite frequently that I have a long way to go before I will be considered a local. This is fine by me. I’d rather be somewhere in between like a Tour-cal or a loc-rist, seeing the lake and mountains in awe like a tourist, but working to help preserve our Tahoe environment and lifestyle like a local.

With a lot of my clients I see people getting comfortable in their surroundings with a “been there done that,” and “oh, it’ll be there tomorrow” attitude. Could this be the fate of being local? Since moving here to South Lake Tahoe, I have met a lot of locals who have not lost that spark/fire for the area, but also my fair share of people who just seem to be going through the motions of day-to-day life; being snarky about the abundance of tourists, which happen to be the lifeblood of our economy here.

Maybe it’s time to look back and remember what it was that brought you here, while also embracing what keeps you here. Of all the places that I’ve been, worked, and lived, Tahoe has been the easiest place to wake up every day and say, “wow I live here!”

Why? Because every day you could do the same trail, sunbathe on the same beach, or drive the same road but it’s never the same. Take a look around, breathe that clean mountain air, and pay tribute to being a local and living in this great space by never losing sight of what you have here.

I implore you to revisit Tahoe with a fresh look and be a tourist for a while. Take a tour of an area you’ve never been, or hit up one of our great outdoor activity shops and maybe find a new hobby. All the while reopening your eyes to what South Lake Tahoe has to offer. If you can’t figure out where to go or What to do to change things up take a look at the local papers, hit the events pages or talk to someone new to the area and let them tell you about their favorite spots! Being Local definitely has its perks! Don’t just talk about being one, go out, do the amazing things we have available to us, and be awe inspired! Look out South Lake Tahoe! Local or not .. here we come!

Maralana Fulton Motivational Trainer #GoDoBe, Member of Tahoe Regional Young Professional’s