Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can be "a New Yorker" but still be "from" somewhere else. I don't think there's any science to it. I would probably cringe if I heard someone who had just arrived within a year or two calling themselves a New Yorker, but if the person had come here, stayed some amount of years, really put down roots, and assimilated to whatever sub-culture he/she is part of within NY, then sure, it's ok for that person to say they are a New Yorker if that's how they feel.
Also, I think the term "New Yorker" tends to be used more when referring to others as opposed to being self-referential. I rarely if ever hear someone saying "I'm a New Yorker" but I often hear the term used in reference to others, like "New Yorkers really enjoy Central Park at this time of year" or "New Yorkers are really rude" or "You must be a New Yorker if you don't think this apartment rental price is crazy"
I suppose "I'm a New Yorker" could be used if someone elsewhere asks you where you are from, but I would expect the normal answer to instead be either "I'm from New York" or "I grew up in X but now I'm from (or live in) New York."
You can be "a New Yorker" but still be "from" somewhere else. I don't think there's any science to it. I would probably cringe if I heard someone who had just arrived within a year or two calling themselves a New Yorker, but if the person had come here, stayed some amount of years, really put down roots, and assimilated to whatever sub-culture he/she is part of within NY, then sure, it's ok for that person to say they are a New Yorker if that's how they feel.
Also, I think the term "New Yorker" tends to be used more when referring to others as opposed to being self-referential. I rarely if ever hear someone saying "I'm a New Yorker" but I often hear the term used in reference to others, like "New Yorkers really enjoy Central Park at this time of year" or "New Yorkers are really rude" or "You must be a New Yorker if you don't think this apartment rental price is crazy"
I suppose "I'm a New Yorker" could be used if someone elsewhere asks you where you are from, but I would expect the normal answer to instead be either "I'm from New York" or "I grew up in X but now I'm from (or live in) New York."
You're right about that. Natives usually will say the borough that they're from, except for Manhattan natives (fewer with each day especially below Central Park) who usually say the neighborhood. For instance I will say "From Brooklyn, but live on Staten Island." but at the same time my dad will never say that he is "from Manhattan" or even "from Lower Manhattan" he will always just say "from Alphabet City" or "from Avenue D" same with his dad who moved here from Italy as a child and said "from Great Jones Street" (used to be part of Little Italy, it's in Chinatown/Soho now).
I was just on the phone with my mom and asked her, and said that if you pronounce the "R" in York, you aren't a NYer. New York rhymes with "Blue Talk".
I suppose "I'm a New Yorker" could be used if someone elsewhere asks you where you are from, but I would expect the normal answer to instead be either "I'm from New York" or "I grew up in X but now I'm from (or live in) New York."
When you're from NY most people in your circle outside of work are NYers so it's usually no need to identify as such. Also if you meet a stranger and they are a NYer as well you won't ask or have to announce you are a NYer, you can just tell. Only people from some place else will ask. You would just answer not really thinking about it. However which way you answer it. I agree that most people say I'm from _______. They already know that I know they're from someplace else, or I would not have asked. Most of the time I don't care, I'm just getting to know them better. It's not about where they come from. It's about them.
You're right about that. Natives usually will say the borough that they're from, except for Manhattan natives (fewer with each day especially below Central Park) who usually say the neighborhood. For instance I will say "From Brooklyn, but live on Staten Island." but at the same time my dad will never say that he is "from Manhattan" or even "from Lower Manhattan" he will always just say "from Alphabet City" or "from Avenue D" same with his dad who moved here from Italy as a child and said "from Great Jones Street" (used to be part of Little Italy, it's in Chinatown/Soho now).
The Bronx and Queens natives will state the neighborhoods also. There was a thread sometime ago on how people in uptown Manhattan just say they are from uptown, but I think now more people say Harlem,
East Harlem, Inwood etc.
Would you consider someone who wasn't born or raised in NYC, and moved here in adulthood to be a New Yorker? Even if they move here at 21 and stay till they die at 80?
Yes. I have a relative who moved here to be a social worker. It required her to travel to many different low income communities frequently so she mastered the subway. She's had to deal with all types of concerns around public housing programs and the people that come with that. She's definitely seen a side of NYC that you wouldn't see unless you had to. I consider her more of a New Yorker than me!
There are people that are quintessential "New York" and associated deeply with New York yet weren't born or raised here. Examples:
1. Tony Randall (birth name: [COLOR=black ! important]Arthur Leonard Rosenberg): born & raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma
2. Jack Klugman: born & raised in Philadelphia, PA & went to college in Pittsburgh, PA.
3. Frank Sinatra: born & raised in Hoboken, NJ
4. Ed Koch: born in the Bronx but was raised and grew up in Newark, NJ
Or look at Bill and Hillary Clinton. Bill was born and raised in Arkansas and Hilary was born and raised in suburban Chicago and yet they moved here after his presidency ended and she got elected U.S. Senator representing New York State.
[/color]
So, according to all the transplants replying to this thread, the answer is a definitive, 'Yes'.
Personally, I'm not so sure.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
