Who Loves Starbucks? I do!

This post is a bit related to writing. Namely, what gets me in the mood to write – and please share below what works for you!

My long affair with Starbucks started when I was in high school. My mom, as a treat after a lesson of Aikido, took me to one of their locations nearby, and said the magic words: “take your pick.” I had my first Caramel Macchiato that day, and though I’ve tried many of their drinks since, it has become my favorite and usual.

Any city I’ve lived in, I had three or so typical Starbucks locations I would go to and become a regular. I loved the quietness of it, the Wi-Fi, and the crowd – mainly adults/business people, or introverts who kept to themselves, and not noisy bunches like you’ll find in Tim’s or McDo’s.

I’m not trying to offend anyone with my assumptions, just saying based on what I’ve experienced. I’ve lived in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and all three cities, Tim’s and McDo’s locations are full of rowdy teenagers, babies, etc. I have nothing against these crowds – however, if I want to write, I’ll stick with Starbucks.

So all that being said, my usual routine, since I work a regular 9-5 job, is going into a Starbucks either before or after my work, and sit down for a couple of hours, blasting music, and writing whatever comes to mind.

I believe the privacy Starbucks offers is hard to find in other coffee shops – unless you stick with a library, and even then it’s a hit and miss.

Being able to sink into a comfy chair, sip my coffee for hours (no kidding, sometimes I’ll stay for up to 6 hours!) on end with no one coming to tell me to leave, is a luxury I love paying for. Some people snort and scoff and sneer at my $5 coffee. But I pay the price for the quality and mental escape it gives me.

My next thing to try out will be one of the Starbucks locations in Toronto that serves alcohol – wines, mostly – and try that while writing. :)

Does anyone else have a favorite place they love to write in? Or do you usually do it at home?