Facing a problem? Annie has answers. Ask away!
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Dear Annie,
Is it rude to sit in a cafe and not buy something? I love studying in cafes but I can’t keep buying a Starbucks drink daily. I feel weird sitting in a cafe and not getting something but at the same time it is a public place.
If anyone cares,
Zero money
Dear Zero money,
Lights up on a young Ernest Hemingway writing at Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris, France. A waiter arrives. Hemingway orders a dry martini.
Even Hemingway, as a starving artist in Paris in the 1920s, knew that to work in a cafe, he had to buy a drink. The etiquette hasn’t changed in the past century. While anyone can walk through a coffee shop’s doors, it’s a place of business with limited spots. Anyone who’s been to Tatte on a Sunday morning can confess to searching anxiously for a table and glaring at anyone with a finished drink hogging two seats. Besides, even Hemingway knew that you need a drink at the cafe for the full experience.
If your pockets are hurting, try studying somewhere other than a cafe while considering what you like about such environments. Is it the ambient noise of other’s conversations, the whir of a milk frother and their Top 40 mix playing subtly from overhead speakers? YouTube has tons of coffee shop audios, if you can tolerate the occasional ad interruption, blast these in the background, and it will whisk you away to any of the finest coffee shops in the District or even a Parisian or New York cafe full of writers hard at work.
If the audio doesn’t quell your coffee shop addiction, find cafe-like places to study on campus. As GW students, we can access buildings like the University Student Center, the Science and Engineering Hall and the District House basement. Our tuition pays for us to use these buildings, so we don’t need to worry about looking rude if we show up with tupperware or tumblers. Most of these buildings have an open, cafe-like floor plan, and, unlike Gelman, you don’t have to worry about being quiet.
Perhaps you prefer to study at coffee shops because it allows you to escape campus. Leaving Foggy Bottom lets you feel like part of the wider D.C. community and you don’t have to worry as much about running into any familiar faces. Look into other free spaces across the District to study. While this requires advanced planning, you can register for a DC Public Library card or reading room access at The Library of Congress or the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Maybe you’re so far gone into your cafe addiction that nothing else will scratch that itch. In fairness, as Hemingway himself might tell you, there are worse things to be addicted to. In that case, consider ways you can still study at the coffee shops while saving money. You could opt for tea rather than an extravagant latte, schedule specific days when you can study at coffee shops or join rewards programs. These small savings might add up over time.
Studying at a coffee shop is luxurious — a want rather than a need. While these alternative options can give you a dose of the experience with a lighter price tag, if you want the treat yourself experience every day, you have to pay to play.
Latte responsibly,
Annie