Schooled.

Lesson: Boston natives treat the city like a sibling or close relative. If you have something nice to say, they want to hear all about it. They LOVE family compliments. But if you have a complaint, they look at you like, "You know who you're talking to, right? That's my brother."

I feel like New Yorkers are better with complaints. They share city complaints with a smile, like they're talking about a jerk friend that they still love to death. Even if a tourist complains about something in the city, there's a happy recognition of, "Yeah, he can be an asshole, but what are you gonna do? He's got a good heart."

Anyway, whenever I mention even the most minor complaint about Boston, (I try to never talk about public transportation with her) Meredith launches into little sister defense mode.  

This was an exchange we had the other day.

Meredith: I wish you didn't hate Boston so much.

Me: I don't hate Boston. I just think it's really full of itself. You know those cocky people that always find a way to talk about how great they are? It's probably just because their parents fed that to them their entire life and they truly started to believe it. "Oh, you're so great! Oh, you're amazing!" But it's like, geez, Boston. You must have had some incredibly supportive parents. 

Without missing a beat, and with some serious ever heard of it? tone, Mer snapped back with,

"Well, yes. The Founding Fathers, actually."

It was well played.