Brooklyn is pretty cool these days, but it wasn’t always so (and old school Brooklynites are still getting used to its newfound popularity). Some respond to the influx of hip youths with vitriol, some with pride, but most still react with utter confusion.

Thanks to all the new shows, new styles, new food, and new residents, it is getting pretty tough to convince a born-and-raised Brooklynite that you love Brooklyn for what it has always had, and not just for what it has become.

Here are a few ways to prove to your average G-train-riding, stoop-sitting, Bodega-crawling, Lucy-smoking resident of the most populous borough in America’s most populous city that you actually give a damn (and inflate their ego while you do it):

1. Tell them that the omnipresent stink surrounding their Vinegar Hill loft doesn’t smell half as bad as the holier-than-thou farts of SoHo.

2. Or if they are all lumbersexed up, tell them that you think they could totally cut down a whole forest with that beard.

3. Tell them that the only thing more impressive than their salsa moves is their old school Uprock routine.

4. Or that you would rather meet them at Prospect Park than Central Park, any day.

5. Tell them that their mural in Bushwick belongs in a freakin’ museum.

6. Or that their ‘zine proves that print is an art form — and it’s going to be the reason the printed word makes a comeback.

7. Or even that their subway “showtime” routine never bothered you, and you have no idea why Police Commissioner Bratton had to go and shut them down.

It's Showtime! #NYCSubway #NYCSubwayDancers #JTrain #Brooklyn #Williamsburg #Photography

A photo posted by CocoDandridge Photography (@cocodandridge) on

8. Tell them that you have always wanted to see Coney Island’s Circus Sideshow (and would love it if they took you).

Coney Island Circus Sideshow!! ❤️ #coneyisland #circussideshow #coneyislandcircussideshow

A photo posted by Aimée (@aimee_o_reilly) on

9. Or that their Bushwick Country Club membership is most impressive.

10. Tell them that their board graphics are super dope.

Breaking in the new board with my first ticket in NYC.. Dont skate in the subway kids!!! #nailedit #skatebrooklyn #SBK

A photo posted by Andrea Fischer (@andythekiddd) on

11. And that Brooklyn Lager tastes better than your mother’s milk.

12. Tell them that a relationship with them is worth crossing the East River on the L and waiting for the G train.

13. And finally, that their view of the city beats any view in the city.

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