20 Tattoos That Show Off Hometown Pride
Thanksgiving is approaching, and with the harried making of grocery shopping lists comes the harried making of travel plans. It's one of the most traveled days of the year with people heading to the homes of friends and family and frequently returning to hometowns. Homecomings can be filled with nostalgia or fraught with anxiety. For some, hometowns inspire such fondness a tribute piece definitely goes on the tattoo bucket list. But a hometown doesn't just have to be rooted in, well, roots, hometowns can also be the town of one's choosing or even one's aspirations. A hometown can be anything that tugs at the heartstrings. Any place can have a home in the heart and as we're about to explore, a place on the body in tattoo form.
Be it a small town, large city, state, or vacation spot, a tattoo can be a permanent way to show the world that this specific corner of it has left a mark on the heart. Specific places have a way of drawing us back over and over again. Even if we can't return there physically, we return in nostalgic daydreams and by imagining future plans. For all the times when a quick jaunt to a favorite place is impractical or even impossible, carrying a tattoo reminder is a great to take a mini trip in the mind and stave off homesickness. Getting a hometown tattoo can even help make connections to others in a community, even far from home. If I were anywhere in the world and saw a Liberty Bell, keystone or Gritty (see slide #2) I would instantly know I had found my people, specifically people that also pronounce "water" like "wooder," fellow Philadelphians bringing a little bit of their hometown everywhere they go. Hopefully, these tattoos help keep nostalgia at bay and inspire one to represent those favorite places.
Skyline Tattoo
The outline of a skyline is a beautiful way to pay tribute to a favorite city, like this watercolor-infused Barcelona skyline. Just make sure there's room to add in new buildings to the tattoo, should that fave city have a lot of upcoming construction projects.
Map Coordinates
Map coordinate tattoos are a classic. They are a small and subtle way to shout out a place that is near and dear to the heart. And because most people don't have map coordinates memorized, people inquiring about the location is a great way to start conversation.
Locals-Only Reference
Had I not had family in Michigan, I would have never known that they refer to their state as The Mitten and indicate where they're from on their hands as makeshift maps. When figuring out how to pay tribute to a favorite spot, cute insiders-only references like these are the perfect way to denote a specific place.
Postal Stamp or ZIP Code
A postage stamp tattoo is a cute way to show where someone is from and look like a piece of stamped mail, but in a good way. As a bonus, they're also a great BFF tattoo idea.