RetroFed Forum
Your home away from modern life.
How long do you have to live in a place for you to be considered from there?
Post Reply
AuthorMessage
return2ozma lemmy.world return2ozma@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
Quote

Example, moved to NYC to be considered a New Yorker.

25   Original
spicy pancake lemmy.zip janus2@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2023-06-27
#2 · Quote Reply

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

14
ski11erboi lemmy.world ski11erboi@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-06-09
#3 · Quote Reply

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.

10
BassTurd lemmy.world BassTurd@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-03
#4 · Quote Reply

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.

4
postnataldrip lemmy.world postnataldrip@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-09-30
#5 · Quote Reply

I feel like it's pretentiousness-dependent, some places you'll never be a local in the minds of your new neighbours.

9
AngryCommieKender lemmy.world AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-02
#6 · Quote Reply

The moment you defend the local homeless population from asshole tourists.

18
nymnympseudonym piefed.social nymnympseudonym@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-08-25
#7 · Quote Reply

I live in a small New England town. Families that have only been here 3 generations are "new"

11
slacktoid lemmy.ml slacktoid@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2021-08-18
#8 · Quote Reply

If they can't kick you out, you can say you're from there.

4
swelter_spark reddthat.com swelter_spark@reddthat.com
Joined: 2025-03-06
#9 · Quote Reply

To me, being from a place means you were born there.

6
mystrawberrymind piefed.ca mystrawberrymind@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-12-11
#10 · Quote Reply

Well, it doesn’t matter where I go. I’ll always be a Californian. Or if living abroad, I’ll always be an American. These locations are what’s shaped me and after a certain age, that’s just not gonna change.

2
DrSoap lemmy.world DrSoap@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-16
#11 · Quote Reply

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.

8
DrSoap lemmy.world DrSoap@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-16
#12 · Quote Reply

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 t...

Oh yea! And welcome. Wanna join a book club with me? I'm trying to branch out more socially.

4
KingGimpicus sh.itjust.works KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-07-02
#13 · Quote Reply

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 t...

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.

2
DrSoap lemmy.world DrSoap@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-16
#14 · Quote Reply

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...

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.

3
communism lemmy.ml communism@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2024-03-19
#15 · Quote Reply

0 days, who cares. Call yourself from a place if you want to.

3
electric_nan lemmy.ml electric_nan@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2022-01-15
#16 · Quote Reply

To me, being from a place means you were born there.

I'm from a navy base hospital!

1
Octavio piefed.social Octavio@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-07-27
#17 · Quote Reply

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.

2
OrangeSlice Moderator 14specks@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2021-07-19
#18 · Quote Reply

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 ...

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.

1
OrangeSlice Moderator 14specks@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2021-07-19
#19 · Quote Reply

To me, being from a place means you were born there.

I think that approach fails to account foodie a lot of nuance!

1
Post Reply
Back to top