Posted on 06/20/2006 7:51:21 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
World's Politest People? Poll Says New Yorkers
POSTED: 2:20 pm EDT June 20, 2006
NEW YORK -- New Yorkers are the politest people in the world.
Is that a joke?
No way. Residents of the city that's gained a reputation for being rough 'n ready seem to actually have better manners than people in places like London, Toronto and Moscow.
That's according to a poll conducted by Reader's Digest, which sent reporters "undercover" to 36 cities to measure courtesy. Points were awarded for responses, and the results were compared.
Each reporter did three things: walked into buildings behind people to see if they would hold the door open for them; bought small items in stores and recorded whether the sales assistants said "thank you," and dropped a folder full of papers in busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.
More than 2,000 people were put to the test.
New Yorkers turned out to be the best bunch: 90 percent held the door open, 19 out of 20 store clerks said "thank you," and 63 percent of men and 47 percent of women helped with the flying papers.
In short, four out of five New Yorkers passed the courtesy test -- topping the list.
So guess which city ranks last in the politeness poll?
Mumbai, India.
The rudest cities in general were in Asia, where eight out of nine cities tested finished in the bottom 11. In Europe, Moscow and Bucharest ranked as the least polite.
Reader's Digest, which reaches 80 million readers in 21 languages, will publish the results in its July issue.
There's just one hitch with the poll: It's not scientific.
So there's still a chance that a visitor to New York can conduct his or her own poll: to find some rude New Yorkers.
Hello!!
I think we all just think of New York City and maybe assume they aren't as polite or friendly as we southerners, lol.
Asians should try to be more polite (as should everybody). kudos New Yorkers.
NY'ers size up people quickly
As a woman, I would like to say that this gives lie to the entire feminist mantra that men are pigs.
Thanks guys, for being gentlemen despite us. : D.
I understand what you are saying but sometimes first impressions aren't 'the real you'.
I have traveled a lot and have spent a quite a bit of time in all of the major cities. Folks in Chicago are by far much nicer than those in NY or any other top ten in the US.
I've traveled extensively, and I have generaly found folks to be like you are: if you make a sincere effort to be warm and friendly, they will be the same. As for the opposite -- well, no one likes to be treated rudely, and will usually respond in kind.
What a joke...New Yorkers are the most arrogant bunch of you know what around the country....
Exactly. The pace of life is much faster, and many New Yorkers are very pushy and competitive in competitive situations, but they really aren't rude.
My opinion is that it has been unfair to label New Yorkers as rude in the first place. I have traveled a great deal and find that no matter where you go in America people are at least civil (in general). New Yorkers are the best conversationalist in my opinion. They are not rude as a rule, but they will let you know when you crossed the line. I have some friends from there, and I value their friendship.
The three states I find, in my experience, the friendliest in the US are Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota. I don't know where this concept of Southern hospitality came from, but I personally think it is overrated (Please don't reply to that, I really don't care to discuss it).
I live in Denton. You probably know where that is. I was talking to a guy in a bar in Dallas. He was from somewhere up north and out east, don't recall now exactly where. May even have been NYC. Anyway it's his first trip to Dallas and he's going on, and on and on about how nice folks are in Dallas.
We're at a jazz club. It's full of yuppies, out to be seen and yack it up. Most of them are probably there because it's a jazz club (and therefore "hip") but not one person in thirty is paying any damn attention to the music, which was excellent that night, but are doing a fine job of drowning it out. So when the guy finally finishes I say, "Yeah, well I think the folks here are a bunch'a rude, loud, self-absorbed @$$holes." The guy looks at me stunned and says, "where the h%|| are YOU from?!"
With a response like that, I'm not surprised. I'm not sure I'd look forward to traveling with you -- in New York, or Houston -- or Tokyo. You'd probably pi$$ off the natives... '-}
Also note that we have one of the lowest crime rates in America--we lack the worst sort of rudeness.
For a city of your size, probably. Where I'm from, we haven't had a murder in our county since I can remember, at least for over 20years.
Yes, it's for large cities (1 million+, I think). What's really amazing is how far we've come since the 70s.
Last time I was in NYC I encountered nothing but nice and helpful folk.
I guess it took the NYC Freepers to show the rest of the city how to behave!
NYC Chick -- still with us? I have been pinging you on what a nice time I had when I was there and you ain't said nothin'.
Yeah, I remember hearing horror stories about how dangerous just walking down the street was until Guiliani stepped up.
Life reveals our expectations. If you go to New York expecting to meet rude people, that's what you'll meet.
I'm guessing with 36 cities world-wide they got, what, New York and LA in the US?
I suspect New Yorkers are indeed more polite than urbanites in other countries. (I'm guessing Sydney wasn't on their list--Sydneysiders are incredibly friendly--or got marked down for being too casual.)
The usual claim is that New Yorkers are ruder than other Americans. While this has some basis, it's mostly cultural prejudice. Out here in the heartland, you greet everyone. In New York, you greet only people you know. Out here in the heartland, you wave to people. In New York, you only wave if you need to get someone's attention, and don't mind drawing attention to yourself in the process. Out in the heartland, cabbies expect a fare to ride up front. In New York, for security, fares ride in the back behind a barrier. And so forth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.