By: Emma Sikes
What does it mean to be a Savannah local? Are college kids allowed to be locals? How long do you have to inhabit this town to be considered a local? Are people really “honored to be in the presence of so many…locals”? Lady Gaga apparently is, but I quite frankly, am not. #downwiththelocals I am only joking but please note that this underlying sass/”bringing pitchforks to one of the many town squares' ' energy will be carried on throughout this article. (only locals will get that one #cityplanning)
I know you’ve seen the many headlines “How to Blank Like A Local” and thought “Why do I need to learn to blank like a local, I’m just visiting this town and I want to be treated as such”. And I’d totally agree with that sentiment, but alas, people wear the title of “local” like a badge of honor and I’m here to understand why. Let’s first get on the same page about the many definitions of “local”, then we can start to understand the public's obsession with masquerading as one.
I know that there is no shame in utilizing all the resources available to me in order to be the most well rounded and knowledgeable person ever! So! I raced to the ever dependable Urban Dictionary to confirm my suspicions that “local” might be another example of us Gen Z rascals throwing yet another jab at those poor millennials. It’s not our fault for clowning them, they are just constantly “doing the damn thing” and we are fucking hating them for it. #ididathing Being a local, something staunch millennials revel in, is defined by Urban Dictionary as another way to say “normies”, they are people who live in your city that have no personality. They’re basic, they like anything that’s mainstream, and things that are popular right now, for all my devoted readers who are sports fanatics, a band-wagon. It is all starting to make sense, the Savannahians who seem to be attacking college kids in this mostly college town line up perfectly with that definition. Ok, my millennial bashing is over and I can recognize all the problems that the college kids bring to a certain area, we’re loud, we’re angry, and we just wanna be asked for directions! Just once I wanna be mistaken for a local who has directional awareness, and send a group of whooing tourists in the complete wrong direction. (The closest I ever got was approaching a seemingly very stressed MOH (Maid of Honor) and telling her that the Tiki Bar down the street would totally “fit their vibe”. Give me a break I was drunk on 2 margaritas and trying to help a maid out.)
I guess this is my official application to be a Savannah local. I feel that I have sufficiently learned where all the one way streets are and I know for a fact my street gets sweep every Thursday night. As of this year I will have been living, loving, and voting here (absentee ballot) for about 3 and ½ years, and that’s the longest relationship I ever plan on being in. #forthestreets4ever There are a lot more local college Savannahians who love our little town, and want to make it a better place, than there are kids who are just passing through and trying to break shit. I realize that older generations don’t like words like gaslight, and gatekeep, but y’all- it’s what you’re doing to the younger generation who mostly just want to find a local bar they love, and that one street that looks familiar so we can find our way back home
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