Dear Urban Diplomat: My Hamiltonian sister keeps claiming to be from Toronto

Dear Urban Diplomat, My sister moved to Hamilton, and she’s constantly crowing about how great it is. Quality of life, prices, traffic—it’s all just so much better than Toronto. But, when we recently went to Europe together, she introduced herself as a proud Torontonian to everyone she met. I confronted her, and she brushed me off. She said that no one in Europe has heard of Hamilton (true) and that no one cares (but I do). Then we went to Edmonton, and she boasted about being a Hamiltonian again. I want to tell her to stop fine-tuning her city affiliation to maximize her cred. Any advice? —Hammer Down, Markland Wood

While your sister’s flip-flopping loyalties may be annoying, they’re not egregious enough for confrontation, especially since it seems like she claimed to be Torontonian for expediency’s sake. Consider that she may be so vocal in her Hamilton-boosting because she’s compensating for everything she’s missing now that she’s left Hogtown. While Hamilton is fast becoming a very livable city, it’ll never offer everything Toronto does—and she knows it.