Fitting In: Looking Like a Bostonian and Not a Tourist

Sometimes one of the best ways to become acquainted with a new city is to seek directions and advice from the locals. Other times, you may want to adopt a "when in Rome" approach and try to blend in. Below are suggestions for fitting in without becoming so assimilated that people ask you for directions.

Dress in layers

Even on the steamiest summer day, a midafternoon change in wind direction can mean a sharp drop in temperature. You'll be glad to pull on a long-sleeved T-shirt or light sweater. And a spring or fall day that starts with a foggy morning can become toasty after the haze burns off — have something on under your sweatshirt.

Keep moving

Bostonians reputedly walk and talk faster than any other Americans — even New Yorkers. While sightseeing, step to the curb to check your map, count heads, or admire the architecture. Remember that the neighborhoods that attract hordes of tourists are also places where regular people live and work.

Don't exclaim "That must be the Old North Church!"

As you follow the Freedom Trail away from the Paul Revere House, you come to a church on Hanover Street. This is St. Stephen's, the last remaining Boston church designed by legendary architect Charles Bulfinch. The Old North Church is across the street, a block beyond the Paul Revere statue that faces St. Stephen's.

Be in your party clothes early

Bars close at 1 a.m. or earlier, clubs wrap things up at 2 a.m. Going out on a New York, Atlanta, or Chicago timeline might mean that the only admirers of your hot new outfit are the other people at the 24-hour doughnut shop.

Bring cab fare

If you manage to scout out some late-night action, don't expect to jump on the subway when you're through. Sunday through Thursday, the T (Boston's subway) closes by 1 a.m. (Every station posts the time of the last train in either direction.) After that, you're at the mercy of friends and cabbies.

Don't start a conversation with, "How 'bout those Red Sox?"

Boston has alarmingly few casual fans. Unless you're ready to hear the gory details of where your cabbie — or cardiologist or manicurist or friend's grandmother — was during every nail-biting moment of the Red Sox's march to the World Series title, break the ice with a quip about the weather.

Likewise, watch what you say about chowder

This dispute concerns a certain red ingredient in the clam chowder in a big city some 200 miles south of the right-thinking people of Boston. In short, New England clam chowder does not contain tomatoes. Deal with it.

Save the "I pahked my cah" jokes

Everybody has an accent, even you — you just can't hear your own. The Boston accent isn't exactly poetic, but making fun of someone who speaks with one is both provincial and rude. Instead, enjoy it by discreetly eavesdropping (the T is great for this pastime), and you'll soon be wrapped up in your fellow passenger's tale of an "ahnt" who had the wrong "idear."