What's the moment you realized you were a real New Yorker?
Was it the moment you saw a rat scurry across the sidewalk, and you were not only unafraid, but also unsurprised?
Was it the moment you, without fear, pushed past the emergency exit on the subway? (You know those doors don't actually have alarms.)
Whatever your moment is, every New Yorker has one.
We all have a moment that we knew, with unwavering certainty, that something so absurd, something so New York City, had happened to us that we were officially a real New Yorker.
For more stories about New Yorkers coming into it-- the true New Yorker status --check out our very own YouTube video below and see plenty of New Yorkers share their moment they knew they were a true New Yorker.
Then, ask yourself the same question: When was your moment?
1. The moment you became obsessed with your bodega
thevincentbyrne Bodegas are the best!!!! #bodega #nycbodega #getouttamydreamsgetintomycar #bodegasarethebest
People that aren't real New Yorkers don't get it with the whole bodega situation. They don't truly understand that bodegas have some of the tastiest food in the city, served at the chillest prices, by the chillest dude.
So maybe the moment you realized you were eating sandwiches from your local bodega just about every night for dinner was the moment you realized you were a real New Yorker.
[anad]
Maybe it was the moment when your bodega guy told you he had a dream about you because he'd accidentally given you the wrong cheese.
We think all of this is wrong, though. We think the moment you turned down perfectly civilized dinner plans because you'd spent all day craving your bodega hero ... that's the moment.
2. The moment you conversed in three languages ... before 10 a.m.
instagramnyc Sunrises and Sunsets over NYC are the best. What do you think? Photo by: @tsetan_c #instagramnyc #igersofnyc #seeyourcity
So yeah, people are always blathering about how NYC is the most linguistically diverse city in the world and everything, but how often is that statistic actually put into practice?
For some of us, that answer is often. For some of us, our aptitude to converse in multiple languages was an abstract laugh before we moved to NYC.
So you had a conversation with your coffee cart guy in Spanish. You chatted in Hebrew with a guy at a bodega where you bought a breakfast sandwich. Then, you chatted in English with your pal on the subway.
Before you realized it, you'd conversed in three different languages, all before you even got to work. Real New Yorker status?
3. The moment you'd never stop for anything on the sidewalk
travelsavvytv It's a rainy day here in NYC. We applaud those of you with normal size umbrellas 👏 #banthegolfumbrella Photo courtesy of @susonyc
There's a guy flapping fluorescent papers in your face? You're unfazed. A guy shuffling back and forth in front of your subway station just waiting for the moment he can intercept your trail to ask you for money?
You walk a foot away from him and stare toward your destination, and he doesn't approach you. Your diverted eyes have communicated your real New Yorker status.
[anad2]
Once you've perfected the resting scowl known to sit on the faces of all real New Yorkers, once people finally think you look too mean to ask directions from, that's when you truly become a real New Yorker.
4. When you don't have to check a map to get somewhere
garyhor There's nothing more iconic than the New York City subway map, designed with a single purpose in mind: to effortlessly navigate through the city's tangled labyrinth of subway lines. #fastert #leicacamera #🔴📷
Admit it. When you first moved here, you spent half your time plastered to HopStop (may it rest in peace) or Embark, checking and re-checking directions. Or you got on an uptown train when you meant to go downtown, or on a train that went east when you wanted to go west.
Now, though? Well, you know which trains run local and which trains run express. You know which trains lead to the Bronx and which trains lead to Queens.
You know where all connections happen: how the N, Q, and R connects to the 4, 5 and 6 at Union Square, how the E train connects to the 6 train at 51st Street, how the A and C connects to the B, D, and 1 at Columbus Circle.
When you hear people complaining about how confusing the subway is, you really have no idea what they're talking about. Your train gets rerouted in the middle of your ride and you knew exactly how to go anyway? Congratulations. You're a real New Yorker.
,5. The moment you don't let yourself get bullied
You were trying to hail a cab on the street, completely minding your own business, when a cab stops right in front of you.
"Hey, these people were here first!" a random guy rudely shouts at you, indicating two women standing ahead of you. You decide it's possible they were here first. You give them the cab.
[anad]
Then, that rude guy proceeds to get in the next cab that screeches up.
"Hey! I was here before you," you say to him. You just wanted to make a quip, a jab, just stick up for yourself, and this guy shrugs and gets out of the cab, letting you in first. You never expected him to get out of the cab, but victory is yours, and it's so sweet. You're a real New Yorker.
6. When you know what your local subway busker will sing
If you ride any particular train often enough, you'll start recognizing the musicians and beggars that also board that particular train. You'll also recognize the some-where-in-betweens; the beggars who are also musicians.
You know you're a real New Yorker not when you recognize a beggar or musician, but when you know exactly what they'll say. You've got their speech or set list down cold. You could recite it back with them.
Actually, scratch that. You're a real New Yorker the moment said beggar or musician recognizes you, says what's up, and asks you why you aren't wearing your favorite hat.
7. When your coffee cart guy knows your order by heart
When you stroll up to your coffee cart and your coffee cart guy smiles at you, and without saying a word, whips up the exact type of coffee you want. That moment, for sure. It helps when this coffee cart guy knows your name, knows where you work, and gets concerned when you don't show up for a day.
Plus, his coffee is the most delicious in the city. You gaze in wonder at people who spend $3 for a coffee at Dunkin' Donuts when you can get a coffee that's way more delicious, costs $1, and has a way higher caffeine content than the coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.
[anad2]
Actually, perhaps the moment you really become a real New Yorker is when you go to your coffee cart in the morning even after you've gotten up early enough to have coffee at your apartment because you'd feel guilty skipping out on this guy for a day.
Check out 7 Stages of Getting a D*ck Pic.
[Feature Image Courtesy BetterRecipes.com]