The moment you defend the local homeless population from asshole tourists.
this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2026
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I think it depends on the place and also what stage of life you moved at
the gist I get from fellow New Yorkers is that we don't give a shit if you've been here 3 weeks and call yourself a New Yorker, as long as you don't say "I'm from [borough]" cuz that's for natives only
I live in a small New England town. Families that have only been here 3 generations are "new"
I always assumed the answer was as soon as you moved there? Just moved to New York? You're a New Yorker now. Just moved to Texas? You're a Texan now.
I feel like it's pretentiousness-dependent, some places you'll never be a local in the minds of your new neighbours.
I think you're "from" whereever you went to school the most in or better put, whereever you grew up in and spent your formative years that defined your worldview.
I'm from NYC and as a native New Yorker, we don't see anyone as a New Yorker who hasn't at least gone to high school in nyc. I'm from South Brooklyn specifically. Its a game we play with other natives and we compare schools and talk trash. I won't see anyone truly as a New Yorker otherwise.
But to not natives, it really doesn't matter. Be it a month or ten years, it's the same shit. You know your neighborhood and you keep your head down and do what you need to do to survive. Any other transplant gatekeeping on you can kiss your ass. You wanna be a New Yorker, you're a New Yorker.
Oh yea! And welcome. Wanna join a book club with me? I'm trying to branch out more socially.
You're as native to New York as the horses that came over on the Mayflower. As a native American, its always a trip to see immigrants looking down on shiner, newer immigrants. Talking about natives and non natives like that means anything in a gateway city like NYC, SF, or LA is laughable.
You can be a South Brooklyn chump all you want. It doesnt mean youre any more "new york" than an Amish kid who came up to the city on rumspringa and never left.
I wasn't trying to be rude to you or your heritage, I was just giving someone insight to the mindset of a local while also trying to make a friend. I'm really sorry if I offended you. I'm not a horse. I'm people. I'm hurt by your use of immigrant. I'm a war refugee and a lot of my family died before we were lucky enough to land in nyc. I'm lucky to be alive and I consider myself lucky to count myself as a South Brooklyn chump.
I think this interaction was unfortunately abrasive, but both sides make sense here. I would like to see NYC culture do a better job of confronting that part of it's heritage, just as much as I want that for my [west coast] city.
Obviously you were just saying a typical perspective of today.
To me, being from a place means you were born there.
I'd be more inclined to say it's the place you spent your formative years, if that's not the same place. I was born in Virginia, but moved to Ohio before I turned 2 and grew up there. I always say I'm from Ohio. I have no memories of Virginia.
I think that approach fails to account foodie a lot of nuance!
I'm from a navy base hospital!
If they can't kick you out, you can say you're from there.
I think the moment you live in a place or have citizen ship in a place, you can identify as being one of them. As far as where you're from, I think that can be gray. If I was born on a military base in Germany, but moved to Florida as a baby, I'd probably tell people I was born an Germany, but I grew up in Florida, or just say in from Florida depending who was asking.
0 days, who cares. Call yourself from a place if you want to.
Well, it doesnβt matter where I go. Iβll always be a Californian. Or if living abroad, Iβll always be an American. These locations are whatβs shaped me and after a certain age, thatβs just not gonna change.