Connect by Sharing Experiences of Being NATIVE New Yorkers

This meetup is for people who have lived essentially their whole lives in NYC (or nearby).

We will connect by sharing conversation topics including:

• Do people ever look at you funny when you tell them you've never lived anywhere else?

• Do people just assume you're going to retire to Florida one day, and find it odd when you say no?

• What's it like when most of your friends eventually end up leaving NYC?

• When you have out of town guests or if people ask you for advice, where do you take visitors or tell them to go in NYC?

• Have you ever wrestled with whether to move away?

• Have you ever had to choose between living in NYC vs. suburbs?

• How has NYC changed, and is this better or worse?

• What is something that only real New Yorkers know?

• Have your feelings about NY changed over the years, and why?

• How do you think you are seen by non-New Yorkers?

• Do you prefer MetroCards or subway tokens?

• Do you have a car?

Apart from this meetup for Natives, you may have noticed that I am hosting a meetup just for NYC Newbies the following week. As a gift to the newcomers, and to generate some positive energy, I ask each Native to bring a short list of hints to the Native meetup—anything from where to find the best pizza, to practical advice. Sign your list at the bottom! Then I’ll compile the lists and distribute to the newcomers at their meetup the next week.

Further, to enable both Newbies & Natives to see things from each other’s perspective, I will compile some notes on each meetup and distribute Native notes to the Newbies and Newbie notes to the Natives.