This article is an instalment of the MUSE online team’s 2022 back to school theme week.

I look at the GPS on the display screen in the front seat. Only 10 more minutes—not too far now. My dad signals and takes the next exit.

The car slows to a stop at a traffic light and I take a look around. No buildings in sight surpass a couple stories in height. Strip malls and quiet plazas make up most of the expanse. Parking lots are empty, save for a few cars and the occasional pedestrian. 

I calm the butterflies in my stomach. I’d had reservations about moving to Kingston ever since accepting my offer at Queen’s, and finally being here, my anxieties were at all-time highs. I didn’t know if “small town” life would fit me, and what was scarier, if I would fit the small town. 

Moving back to Kingston a year later, I have nothing but love for it. I realize now that living in a place where you can walk everywhere you need to go, you get a certain connectedness that you can’t exactly imitate in a big city. On every street corner is a fond memory.

This article is a homage to those places. 

Last Halloween, I met and instantly hit it off with this group of close friends. I was seamlessly adopted into their group for the night, and we talked and laughed for hours on a living room couch. By the end of the night, we weren’t really done saying goodbye, so naturally, we set up brunch plans at Tommy’s the following morning. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this fantasy of having a go-to diner that my friends and I always visit, complete with red booths, plastic-y silver tables, and frothy milkshakes. Tommy’s has fulfilled that childhood fantasy, and for that reason—and the fact that I’ve gotten to know so many amazing people there—it has to make this list.

Brian’s Record Option is a testament to the abundance of character there is in Kingston. Every time I walk in, the place is filled to the brim with people, perusing old movie posters and records for artists from Taylor Swift to Black Sabbath. My house recently snagged a pop art poster for our living room of a girl smoking a cigar from Brian’s Record Option. Things like vintage record shops are rarities in the commercialized big city, so I always steal admiring glances at it whenever I pass by. 

Toast and Jam is a 6 kilometre, 8 minute drive away from campus, but I promise it is every bit worth the trek. It’s a great brunch spot, with amazing breakfast food and ambience. Overhead are industrial light fixtures and metal pipes juxtaposed with a red brick fireplace and grandma couches, giving the place a stylized but comfy feel. To celebrate the end of Fall exams, my house went there for lunch and now it’s become tradition. It’s only open from Wednesday to Sunday though, and it’s so coveted that you have to sign up for a waitlist before you get there, so make sure you plan accordingly. 

Looking for a chill date spot? Try Mekong. I eat a lot of Vietnamese food back home, so the relaxing, familiar atmosphere of the restaurant and the food made for an amazing dinner. The easygoing environment there is also incredibly conducive to conversation—I remember my date and I having discussed everything from Kingston housemate drama to current affairs all the way on the other side of the world. And it wasn’t just us—everyone around us seemed to be engaged in active conversation too.

You’re craving some food after dancing your heart out at Stages? Walk on over to Osmow’s. The thought of the Osmow’s rice and garlic sauce makes my mouth water immediately, and there’s something about a Chicken on the Rocks on a late night that always satisfies. 

Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete without Brass. I remember my first time going in the dead of winter, where I was dragged to the bar in the freezing cold against my own will. I wasn’t too thrilled at first given the weather and time of day but I completely lost all my prior judgments upon entry. Even if you don’t know the songs they’re playing, the quality of the live music is still so good and easy to jam to. The energy of the room too is beyond, as everyone in the room is laughing, smiling, dancing, and having such a visibly good time, it’s hard not to let the mood get to you. 

All in all, I love you Kingston and I’m so glad to see you again.