10 Ways To Blend In When Visiting NYC

New Yorkers have a love and hate relationship with tourists. They LOVE to HATE them. Although, they don’t mind them as long as they're not in the way (literally and figuratively). Most New Yorkers avoid the interaction with them and let them freely roam in their natural habitat. If you're visiting NYC and if blending in is crucial for you, here are the 10 types of "obvious" tourists, who are "perfectly terrible" about following the NYC etiquette.

1. The Central Park Smoker

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A rule of thumb: if you're not seeing anyone else around you smoking, expect to see a "no smoking". Thanks to the former mayor Bloomberg, the public parks in NYC are smoke-free. Read more about the smoking ban here.

How to blend in: Heavy smoking addict? Curbside is a great legal place to smoke (and socialize with the other smokers).

2. The Instant Fans of Pseudo Rappers

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It almost brings tears (of pain) to my eyes to see tourists being forced to support local artists by being abruptly forced to buy their latest demo.

How to blend in: Just tell them you're living here (in NYC that is) and watch them suddenly find a new innocent target and go "My friend!" on someone else.

3. The Lady Liberty Lover

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Cool hat, bro! Let me guess, you're from New York? (!) New Yorkers' relation to the Statue of Liberty is usually not more than giving it a quick glance while on the Staten Island Ferry.

How to blend in: Just avoid all the Lady Liberty merchandise. And by the way, prepare for the worst regarding who might have been in these character costumes. Including the Disney ones.

4. The Reverse Backpack Guy

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Being careful with your valuables is a must but being too obvious about it might make you a target. Don't worry, your belongings will (probably) be safe.

How to blend in: Just wear your backpack you normally would at home. Most New Yorkers still keep wearing their backpacks (the normal way!) even inside a packed subway car and they don't mind hitting others with it.

5. The Fifth Avenue Wanderer

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What makes Fifth Avenue always so popular is... YOU! There's nothing too special about the Midtown section of this busy shopping district.

How to blend in: If you're going to shop for overpriced clothing and couple new toys at the Apple Store, visit the Meatpacking District instead, like a lot of locals do. If you insist on staying in Midtown, then at least go to Madison Avenue for a less touristy experience.

6. The M&M World Shopping Bag Lady

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Only a proud tourist can strut in Times Square in UGGs while rocking this ridiculously bright yellow bag.

How to blend in: If you absolutely have to go and shop at this tourist trap, then bring your own bag. Or better yet, buy the same candy at the airport duty-free, on your way back home.

7. The Chinatown Bargain Hunter

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One definitely doesn't look like a savvy-shopper while buying a counterfeit goods in the most sketchy way possible in NYC.

How to blend in: Go to Chinatown only to eat greasy Chinese food when you're drunk.

8. The Pedicap Commuters

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Are you really sure about choosing this safe (!) transportation alternative?

How to blend in: Ever heard of UBER?

9. The Treasure Map Readers

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Are you lost? No need to make the situation worse by opening oversized map in the middle of the sidewalk and annoy the locals.

How to blend in: There's an app for that.

10. The Sidewalk Cyclist

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Since the arrival of the Citibike, NYC now has more bikes and bikers than ever. NYC is a very bike-friendly city and bike lanes are abundant so this is one no-brainer behavior to avoid.

How to blend in: Use common sense. Never ride on the sidewalk and put the pedestrians in danger. This also automatically means, "never idle on the bike lanes when you are a pedestrian and put the bikers in danger".