Haters to the left

There’s nothing like coming to a new city, setting down your bags, taking a deep breath and immediately starting to whine about the place. Unfortunately, that’s a sad reality about hosting big-city folk that Haligonian lifers put up with from time to time. Not always—some of my best friends are Ontarians—but sometimes. This goes for you too, local folk who had an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING summer abroad—watch it with that stuff, lest you annoy the shit out of your old buds.

Sure, we may not have depanneurs and lenient drinking laws and pop-up bone- marrow tasting bars on every corner, but we have plenty of stuff that we think you like. Yoga, for instance! And cocaine! And those really tall rubber boots! And frozen yogurt! You like that, right? What’s that? You’re over it? Well, that’s a shame.

It’s easy to kid about this, but being the insufferable visitor (whether you’re here for school, business or pleasure) making backhanded compliments about the quaintness of our little town—and let’s not get it twisted, it’s a little town, that’s what we all signed up for—is a surefire way to never get invited along to the truly amazing experiences that make living here worthwhile. The beach bonfires, the bike trips to the lake, eating a pizza for breakfast while gazing out at the Atlantic Ocean—all perfectly Instagrammable activities to make your friends back home (or your German bffs from last month) jealous.

Don’t fly home to shop at every opportunity, even if mom and dad offer. We have some cool stuff here. If you’re nice we may even show you. 

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This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2014.