kingston

Dates travelled: July 2-3, 2017; others

The past few years I’ve seen a lot more advertisements to go to Kingston for the weekend. I get it: it’s close, less than a two hour drive, and it’s small enough that for Ottawa folk it could be construed as a quiet weekend getaway for someone who prefers cities and is uncomfortable in nature or a truly small town. But that is not the story of Kingston that I largely have.

I’ve visited Kingston twice somewhat recently, and both times I met up with people in their early to mid twenties who wanted to do things that people in their early to mid twenties would do (drink, be entertained, generally get up to no good). I slept in strange locations with strangers nearby; I wandered while former Queens students told me about how great the city was, all while watching them very slowly realize that living in a place during undergrad is a lot different once you graduate and your surroundings and lifestyles change too.

• 

• 

To be honest, there isn’t much of a reason to visit Kingston, outside of having a fondness for small cities or friends in the area. You could see it all in a day or two; you could stop there between trips from Toronto to Ottawa or Montreal, grab a bite, spend a night if you want to travel real slow.

What I think the real draw of Kingston is these days is that you’re close to other major cities – not close enough to commute every day, though – and it’s cheaper to live. For some people, having the option of being close to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal for various work or social opportunities could be attractive. But all of this remains caveated on being near other things, not being in Kingston itself, which of course is not an extravagant endorsement of the city itself.

It does seem like a nice place to go to school, since so much of the place caters to its students. Otherwise it’s a small city trying to grow its various communities, which is an uphill but admirable battle for those pioneers.