Ppl from Massachusetts are incredibly rude (Boston, Natick: appointed, club, vs.)

[Bluefly]

I think the OP is absurd. I've never seen more courteous drivers in a major city besides Seattle than I did in Boston. Taxi drivers are the only exception.

The OP clearly has a Southern notion of friendly - meaning complete strangers in your business and drawing your energy yet providing no discernible value to your life.

I'm no New Englander, but I definitely appreciated them keeping to themselves until a trust was built.

[Quincy]

I am just catching up to this thread now. I spent almost my entire life in Mass and just moved to Oklahoma one year ago. On the outside people in OK are the friendliest and most helpful I have ever met. However, after being here as long as we have we still haven't made any real friends. In Mass I changed towns a few times and changed jobs with those moves and each time made good friends within 2 to 3 months of taking the new job and moving to the new town. Bottom line-Mass people are more reserved, but once you get to know them are very good people. Southerners outwardly are extremely friendly, but on the inside couldn't care less about you. I think the main problem in Mass is that employees of places like hospitals, the DMV, and other public places, can be rude. I can remember going to a game at Fenway and the whole time a group of policeman stood on the landing just to the front of our seats blocking our view of most of the outfield. We told them this was our one Fenway trip for the whole year and asked them to move and they just said too bad and went back to watching the game (yes, watching the game, not patrolling the stadium like they were getting paid for). This type of behavior is what gives New Englanders a bad reputation.

[missionhill]

From the pen of Jean Baudrillard, European cultural critic visiting the US in 1986...

...they certainly do smile at you here, though neither from courtesy, nor from an effort to charm. This smile signifies only the need to smile... the smile of immunity, the smile of advertising: 'This country is good. I am good. We are the best'... Smile and others will smile back. Smile to show how transparent, how candid you are. Smile if you have nothing to say. Most of all, do not hide the fact you have nothing to say nor your total indifference to others. Let this emptimess, this profound indifference shine out spontaneously in your smile. Give your emptiness and indifference to others, light up your face with the zero degree of joy and pleasure, smile smile smile... Americans may have no identity, but they do have wonderful teeth. And it works. With this smile Reagan obtains a much wider consensus than any that could be achieved by a Kennedy with mere reason or political intelligence... Reagan's credibility is exactly equal to his transparency and the nullity of his smile.

[wenzit420]

I am from Ma. (natick) and have since moved to Fl, NC, and most recently Richmond VA. I miss Mass a lot, the people are like no other. I haven't moved back almost ten years later for a reason. People are just plain jerks in Mass. Most inconsiderate and rude people around. Even worse than NYC IMO. But, this is America and if you dont like something about a place, dont cry move! That is one of the FEW things about America that is still great. if you dont approve than move. If you dont like blacks or hispanics move to Vermont. If you don't like high cost of living than move to Wyoming. if you dont like being bored move to Miami or NYC. So people that b*itch are just that b8itches. I didnt really like the me first attitude of NE so I moved my happy a**. I will always be a m******* though. it's not something you can lose or chose to stop.

[wenzit420]

and btw the south sucks a** and I am moving west.

[crazyworld]

wenzit........sorry for being blunt but it sounds to me as though NO place will make you happy. Maybe it is not the people. IMO

[Bluefly]

Wenzit = you were just complaining about how horrible it is living in DC on another board. Now you're living in Richmond? You don't even live in DC.

I agree with crazyworld. It's not the cities that are miserable.

[MovingForward]

Originally Posted by missionhill

From the pen of Jean Baudrillard, European cultural critic visiting the US in 1986...

...they certainly do smile at you here, though neither from courtesy, nor from an effort to charm. This smile signifies only the need to smile... the smile of immunity, the smile of advertising: 'This country is good. I am good. We are the best'... Smile and others will smile back. Smile to show how transparent, how candid you are. Smile if you have nothing to say. Most of all, do not hide the fact you have nothing to say nor your total indifference to others. Let this emptimess, this profound indifference shine out spontaneously in your smile. Give your emptiness and indifference to others, light up your face with the zero degree of joy and pleasure, smile smile smile... Americans may have no identity, but they do have wonderful teeth. And it works. With this smile Reagan obtains a much wider consensus than any that could be achieved by a Kennedy with mere reason or political intelligence... Reagan's credibility is exactly equal to his transparency and the nullity of his smile.

CLASSIC French projection onto Americans.

[missionhill]

Moving,

Yes, it is. But I read a lot of stuff in the CD forums about friendliness in other parts of the country vs. New England or east coast grumpiness. NE defenders tend to say 'But those friendly southerners (or westerners) will stab you in the back' and 'the friends you make in New England are friends for life.' So this foreigner's comment seemed to bolster the New England (or MA) defense. Certainly people aren't outwardly friendly in France or Germany.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by missionhill

Moving,

Yes, it is. But I read a lot of stuff in the CD forums about friendliness in other parts of the country vs. New England or east coast grumpiness. NE defenders tend to say 'But those friendly southerners (or westerners) will stab you in the back' and 'the friends you make in New England are friends for life.' So this foreigner's comment seemed to bolster the New England (or MA) defense. Certainly people aren't outwardly friendly in France or Germany.

Having lived in France, I see similarities between the French approach and the northeastern approach. You don't make faux friends but when you make real friends you are loyal to them. There's almost a continuum in this respect, as with architecture, politics, class awareness, etc. that goes: Europe---Northeastern US---rest of US. I heard from more than one French person that they were reluctant to befriend me after experiences with Californians who had invited them to lunch at a party on Friday night and forgotten who they were by Saturday.