"Someone asked me for directions, so you can call me…

It’s sometimes believed that one isn’t a real New Yorker until he or she gives someone directions. “I just educated 2 people about local and limited busses and gave someone directions via public transportation. I’m a real New Yorker now!” was posted on Twitter by AKA on August 8, 2007. “People asking me for directions. I feel like a real new yorker already” was posted on Twitter by David Vasandani on March 19, 2009.

“You know you’re a New Yorker when… You were able to give someone directions successfully” was posted on BuzzFeed on July 29, 2014. “Someone asked me for directions, so you can call me a real New Yorker” was posted on Seventeen on August 30, 2019.

Not all real New Yorkers can successfully give directions. “When tourists ask you for directions, even if you don’t know, you’ll still point them in a random direction rather than admit you don’t know” was printed in Time Out New York on January 7, 2015.

Twitter
AKA
@caillean
I just educated 2 people about local and limited busses and gave someone directions via public transportation. I’m a real New Yorker now!
6:29 PM · Aug 8, 2007·Cloudhopper

Twitter
David Vasandani
@davidvasandani
People asking me for directions. I feel like a real new yorker already.
11:18 PM · Mar 19, 2009·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Callie Kimball
@calliekimball
Just gave someone directions in the Village. I’m almost a real New Yorker.
5:20 PM · Apr 25, 2009·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Nap Queen Cole
@TheLimerickLane
I feel like a real New Yorker when folks ask me for directions and I’m able to help them!
7:32 AM · Sep 15, 2009·Twitter Web Client

BuzzFeed
61 Ways To Tell If You’re A Real New Yorker
The F train has “F’d” you.
Posted on July 29, 2014, at 2:53 p.m.
Sami Main
BuzzFeed Staff
You know you’re a New Yorker when…
(...)
57. You were able to give someone directions successfully.

Time Out New York
51 reasons you know you’re a real New Yorker
If you’ve experienced at least 20 of the following, you’re well on your way to having that coveted “real New Yorker” credibility
By Time Out editors
Posted: Wednesday January 7 2015
(...)
32. When tourists ask you for directions, even if you don’t know, you’ll still point them in a random direction rather than admit you don’t know.

Twitter
Chelsea Schultz
@chelseaaa618
Officially have become a real New Yorker…. a tourist asked me for directions 😏
5:30 PM · Apr 27, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Emily Ballmaier
@EmBallmaier
Someone asked me for directions I look like a real New Yorker !!
9:17 PM · Jun 22, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Seventeen
25 NYC Instagram Captions That Are Perfect for the Big Apple
“Someone tell Gossip Girl I’m here right now.”
By Tamara Fuentes
Aug 30, 2019
(...)
“Someone asked me for directions, so you can call me a real New Yorker.”