Things You're Only Allowed To Do During NYC Summer

New York is such a big and busy and boasting city that its inhabitants are forced to develop a special type of metropolitan skin that both protects them from getting hurt and makes them not care what other people think of them. I'm officially dubbing it the IDGAF skin type.

When people say that New Yorkers have thick skin, it's not just because they're calloused from being catcalled and harassed and forced to endure public transportation at rush hour with men who have just left the gym. It's also because New Yorkers, by nature, tend to be open-minded and free-spirited. It's the city that never sleeps, after all. What this means for tourists witnessing New York City in the summer months is: front row tickets to the "Don't Give AF Show".

Some of the things you'll see New Yorkers wearing — or not wearing — will literally make you say out loud "only in New York". Because literally, if these things were happening in any other city or season, they would be totally inappropriate. That thick skin allows New Yorkers to do whatever they have to do to stay cool and have fun in the hottest months of the year. These are 11 things that are only socially acceptable in New York in the summer:

Wearing Gym Clothes In Fancy Restaurants

When you find that super great wicking workout outfit that keeps you dry and breezy, you don't ever want to take it off. Every time I worry I'm underdressed for a fancy restaurant, I see someone else inside of it wearing neon shorts and a polyester tank.

Nude Rooftop Tanning

In NYC, we don't really have personal backyards, but we have backyard needs. So, we take to our roofs. They feel private, but they're definitely not. Nonetheless, plenty of New Yorkers are happy to even out their tan lines from the nonexistent privacy of their roofs.

Purchasing Kiddie Pools

If you're ever on a top floor of a skyscraper and look out onto residential streets, you'll notice that hundreds of people have baby pools on their roofs and in their backyards. You don't have to be a kid to appreciate a cold pool of water.

Sleeping With Ice Packs

When you don't have AC because your building is over 100 years old and it's over 100 degrees outside, you have to think about creative ways to cool down. Ice packs typically used for preserving food or nursing injuries can also cool you down when you're tossing and turning in August.

Biking In A Bathing Suit

New Yorkers rely on bikes for transportation more and more. They get you where you're going and give you a work out, which is great, but they also give you butt sweat, which is not great. A quick fix is to swap your usual undies out for a pair of swimming shorts.

Going To Work Braless

When it's really hot, a bra feels more like a prison than usual. New York women will find all sorts of creative ways to get away with wearing as little underwear as possible to avoid having anything tight on the skin.

Buying Ice Water From Random People On The Subway

When it's super hot, people will sell water bottles because it's a sure deal. Tons of unauthorized vendors sell icy water in subways and on streets and we're too hot and thirsty to wonder if it's poison.

Going To Free Yoga Classes In Time Square

Free, large group activities pop up all over NYC in the summer. While you might look at Time Square as a dirty and busy place that you'd never consider to be zen and surely never step foot in barefoot, you might find yourself doing yoga on a closed street because everyone else is doing it.

Putting Your Toes In The Hudson

The Hudson River is so filthy it's deemed to unclean to swim in. And yet when you're sitting on the water and the temperature is just hot enough, you might be brave enough to dip your toes in it. Just for a second.

Using Broken Fire Hydrants As Sprinklers

If a fire hydrant breaks in NYC, there are guaranteed to be at least a dozen kids playing in the water like it was sent from god. It's the city's very own version of a sprinkler.

Staying Inside And Watch Frozen

Because New Yorkers are so good at complaining all winter that they can't wait for summer and then hiding inside with the AC all summer watching movies and wishing for winter.

Images: Dualstar, Giphy