NeoPatrick

One thing about New Yorkers that really doesn't set them apart from everyone else. Many of them make absurd generalizations as if ALL New Yorkers are the same, but that's the same kind of false generalization that people from everywhere else make also.

Particularly absurd in the list. Earphones. Really, I would venture to say that way more than half (perhaps as high as 80 or 90 percent) of all New Yorkers do NOT have earphones in their ears all the time. A quick but honest look around can tell you that.

And I've had nearly as much trouble passing some real New Yorkers on the sidewalk or even the subway stairs who stopped short to chat with someone or react to their phone or text or whatever as I have with tourists. True, most of them are in a hurry, but lots of them are not at any given time, particularly when talking on their phones.

isabel

What is your definition of a 'true' New Yorker? Born there? Grew up there? Currently lives there? Two or more of the above? If currently lives there - how long have they lived there?

Which one is a 'true' New Yorker' - some one born and grew up (through HS) but no longer lives there - or - someone who moved there at 25 and currently lives there two years later? Both? Neither?

vjpblovesitaly

This is pretty dumb overall

IMDonehere

Can't hear you Neo, have my earphones in.

NeoPatrick

So you're one of the 10 to 20 percent!

IMDonehere

The number is ever increasing. It used to be just kids but now adults are doing it too and when you add in the idiots with phones the number skyrockets. And we live in a neighborhood with a lot of kids, and they are always plugged in.

nytraveler

How does one define a New Yorker?

Some people whose families have lived here generations never make it - never left Queen or the Bronx - or been to The City or seen major sights.

Some people are here only a few weeks and are well on their way.

New Yorkers are, on average, different from the average american in several ways:

We walk a lot more

We are MUCH less likely to own a car - even if fairly high income (due to $800 per month for a spot in a garage)

We prefer freshly cooked food to buffets of any sort

We are usually fairly tolerant (due to the huge diversity here) but not outwardly warm and fuzzy friendly (you can't say hello to your neighbors if there are 5 thousand people on your block instead of 50 or 100)

But we usually will help out tourists - if they are not being terminally irritating

And we don't give in to anyone or anything (not Sandy, not 911 terrorists - not even that ridiculous tea bag Congress)

Oh yes, and we are the bluest state in the country

IMDonehere

Oh yes, and we are the bluest state in the country
_______
We have had twenty years of Republican mayors before de Blasio and upstate NY New York can be quite conservative.

And in recent memory we have had one of the stupidest Senators in Al D'Amato.
_________________________________________

I was born here and there is not one defintion of a NY'er. Is a Pakistani born Muslim cab driver less of a NY'er than 7th generation Irish?

obxgirl

The only thing missing from this thread are the "NYC Tourists" who apparently aren't weeping with gratitude in response to the unsolicited advice pitched by the smug effwits who've self-identified here.

NeoPatrick

You do realize also that as the number of New Yorkers with earphones increases, so does the number of tourists with earphones. I still don't get this idea of trying to pretend that all people in New York fit into one particular category and it is somehow important to identify which one they fit into -- brilliant local or bumbling tourist from the sticks.

IMDonehere

The only thing missing from this thread are the "NYC Tourists" who apparently aren't weeping with gratitude in response to the unsolicited advice pitched by the smug effwits who've self-identified here.
____

What advice stinks of elitism?

nytraveler

It's true we have had Republican mayors - but they would have been considered democrats in much of the country - since they were fiscally conservative but socially functional (anti gun, pro choice, etc). And there are quite a few Republicans upstate - but Dems still outnumber them by far.

And yes, a Pakistani born Muslim cab driver can be as much of a NY'er as a 7th generation descendant of Irish immigrants? It's in adopting the city - and the attitude. and while Al D'Amato won no prizes as a senator (he would go to anything - even open a supermarket) at least he was just stupid and venal - not evil.

Fra_Diavolo

I think most of us bumble about, when tourists, wherever we are. It may account for the layered meanings of the term, stranger. Nothing to be ashamed of. And nothing, unless we stay home all the time, to feel superior about.

Nikki

I think those folks in the Bronx and in Queens would be astonished to learn they are not New Yorkers. Try making that announcement at Yankee Stadium.

IMDonehere

I guess you are not from NY nor have spent any significant time here.

There are long rivalries between the boroughs that predates the eveil nickname BBQ crowd by decades. Probably since 1898 when Brooklyn became part of NYC.

And people from the boroughs say they are going into the City when they mean Manhattan.

And like all family fights, you should not get in the middle, unless you know what they are fighting and talking about.

And everyone would understand that announcement at Yankee Stadium and probably after a curse and a jeer not care. It is part of the City culture.

And, of course, there is something wrong The Bronx, it is the only part of NYC attached to the rest of the United States.

kenav

I'm a born and bred and still living in NYC, New Yorker. Born in Brooklyn, grew up there, moved to Queens about 20 years ago. My dad, born in Brooklyn, and never lived anywhere else. My mom born in The Bronx, at age 23 moved to Brooklyn and still lives there.

We are NYers. Born, raised and still living in NYC.

I think the post was referring to those people who live in NYC, not upstate. And, BTW, Bloomberg was a Democrat for most of his life. Couldn't get to run for Mayor on that ticket and so suddenly became a Republican. Then while in office changed to an Independent. He does what he does just to stay in the game. He's very socially liberal. (Stridently anti-gun, pro-health initiatives, pro-green space.)

sanibella

Idk, but I just got back from NYC with my family of 5. It was the 3rd trip for my 10 year old, the 2nd trip for my 8 year old and the 1st trip for my 6 year old. Can't even count how many times my husband and I have been. We try to go every year, with or without kids.

There were a lot of earphones. I wore my wireless buds too.

Seems like we stuck out like sore thumbs everywhere we went in our brightly colored coats. Everyone else wore black, they sure did.

There were a lot of really nice people too.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle and since coming home to slower paced life it has sure been hard (but nice) to adjust back to the routine and quietness of it all. I sure do love all y'all New York-ers. Real and Self-made. Plugged in or not. Cursing or Polite. The blend of it all just makes me feel like I'm a part of it all every time I visit. Thanks for a great weekend.

Now back to your bickering.