It feels like meeting someone who was born in New York is rarer than finding a seat on the subway during rush hour. Indeed, most of the people reading this blog are probably transplants and would be surprised to find out that I was born and raised in Brooklyn. A friend of mine that has lived here for 6 years recently asked me how she knows if she is a New Yorker. In light of that, here are ten ways you know you are officially a New Yorker—subway style.

-You ignore the automated announcements, and instead lean over the track to see if a train is coming.

-You have been on the L train while it is above ground.

-You know that the L train goes above ground.

Proof. Courtesy of The SubwayNut

-On your commute, you know exactly where to get on the train as to perfectly align yourself with the exit at your destination.

-You have ridden the subway for some reason other than getting from point A to point B.

-You are too stubborn to get off the subway car with the smelly homeless person because that is where the seats are.

Standard protocol. Courtesy of beelersspace on flickr

-You can take a nap and wake up exactly when your stop is announced.

-One time you didn’t wake up at your stop and woke up at the end of the line.

-You have come to terms with the fact that you will never understand the subway map.

@#$%! Courtesy of danpeters on flickr.

-You get your book recommendations by looking over people’s shoulders on the subway

Did we miss something? Leave a comment!