New Yorkers - friendly or not?! (Greenwich: apartment, neighborhood, buying)

[Elvira Black]

Counter to what one might "expect," I find people in my Bronx 'hood are for the most part very polite...

As I've said elsewhere, it's when I get to the more "privileged" enclaves that I tend to encounter more rudeness.

My particular area has a lot of small stores, and it's nice to get to know the shopkeepers...most are very nice indeed.

However, the streets are crowded, and though I don't drive, I feel like I'm maneuvering a busy highway...have to pay close attention since there's crowds, including small children, dogs, etc coming at you from all directions.

But I do think mugging someone is rude lol...but other than that, most (not all) people in this area seem very polite.

[Ep-]

I went to NYC the other week with my friend to check things out before she moved there and was surprised at how nice people were. We had to ask several people if we were on the right subway car throughout the day and anyone we asked helped us out. When we were standing on the street looking at our map we had people come up and ask if we needed help finding anything.

[analyticalkeys]

Originally Posted by Elvira Black

Counter to what one might "expect," I find people in my Bronx 'hood are for the most part very polite...

As I've said elsewhere, it's when I get to the more "privileged" enclaves that I tend to encounter more rudeness.

My particular area has a lot of small stores, and it's nice to get to know the shopkeepers...most are very nice indeed.

However, the streets are crowded, and though I don't drive, I feel like I'm maneuvering a busy highway...have to pay close attention since there's crowds, including small children, dogs, etc coming at you from all directions.

But I do think mugging someone is rude lol...but other than that, most (not all) people in this area seem very polite.

I agree with you completely. Whenever I've been to the less desirable places to some in the Bronx, I've found the people to be MUCH more courteous and polite than in other areas.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by Ep-

I went to NYC the other week with my friend to check things out before she moved there and was surprised at how nice people were. We had to ask several people if we were on the right subway car throughout the day and anyone we asked helped us out. When we were standing on the street looking at our map we had people come up and ask if we needed help finding anything.

What I think you'll find is that our reputation tends to be a little off-base. (You'll also find that lots of New Yorkers don't care what anyone else around the country thinks--it's their problem, not ours!)

[MagicTs]

As someone who has only visited NYC several times on holiday I have always been delighted with the service I have received and also how willing the majority of people have been to help with directions or chat about the best things to do or how good/bad the Yankees are playing !

I think it is a terrible generalisation that New Yorkers are rude as certainly in my experience it is NOT the case.

[ctgirl36]

You said it beautifully! My husband works right in the heart of Times Square and he says it is annoying to make turns with his car down the street and into his parking garage because of the dawdling tourists blocking the crosswalk/sidewalks! They don't realize that not everyone is on vacation...people need to get to work!

Incidentally, he is one of the many CT commuters you mentioned! LOL!!

Originally Posted by seque5tra

I have a theory about 'rude New Yorkers'.

It's not REALLY actual New Yorkers that are being rude to all the tourists from the square states. It's harried NJ (like me) and CT commuters. Tourists most often converge on places like Times Square/theater district, Herald Square, Madison Square Garden and the WTC site. All of these locations are major commuter transportation hubs: Port Authority, PATH and Penn Station. I think even without hordes of saucer-eyed tourists walking 4 abreast at 5 feet per hour, the sidewalks would be frenzied. I know they are in these areas to have fun and marvel at all the bright lights & sights, but the commuters around them are in commuter mode--impatient, worried about missing that train/bus, pissed off about what happened at work, etc. etc.

I am guilty of scowling, rolling my eyes, muttering and sighing loudly at people in and around Times Square, Herald Square and around the PATH down by the WTC. People probably thought I was your typical 'rude New Yorker', but SURPRISE! I'm a rude New Jerseyan.

(Sorry, NY, that you have to be the fall guy for my rudeness. If it's any consolation, my punishment is that I live in NJ.)

[Nafster]

I found New Yorkers to be extremely polite and courteous, but lacking in the conversation department.

Meaning, people held the door for me, helped me when I dropped something, but when I asked for directions or asked questions at a restaurant or park, I was rushed.

Understandable though. New York is much faster paced than Chicago, where we actually have time to have conversations with people!

[livelifetothefullest]

nyc'ers are NOT rude! this is a small-town opinion from what i call "fluffy" people! There's nothing wrong with fluffy people or small-towners, but they go at a different pace, are communal, are connective, and have different priorities and perceptions because the atmospheres are different.

I love the way nyc is and hope it stays that way. ....constant changing, full of life, and ready for challenges as well as giving challenges! If i were an intolerant person, i would say that most places in the u.s. outside of nyc behave like cookie-cutter cartoon characters. but, i know that they are different and like it that way....you know, everyone knowing everyone and the sense of -cohesiveness whether it is a reality or not! So, instead of slighting them, i just say that they are different. it just seems more tolerant and less insular.

nyc'ers are the best. they are real, straight up, busy, business oriented. but, when the need arises will fight any human rights battle. to me, they are real people with no pretenses. i can respect that! as far as customer service, i would much rather have a csr rep give me accurate and factual information that is useful from someone focused with a business mind than information that may not be what i asked for but comes at me in a "fluffy" or "empathetic" way. basically, i don't care what the bedside manner is as long as the service is superior! but if the bedside manner is "fluffy" and "empathetic" but the service i'm getting is useless, well i consider that to be bad customer service. and, as long as the core of nyc'ers mean well and their "abruptness" is not rooted in anger (which it is most certainly not) then i don't take it personally. but, i have met many people in smaller towns who talk sweetly but it is rooted in anger. one can tell the difference.

why am i writing? because i am sick of people outside of nyc talking about the rudeness of nyc people, and other negative comments as well coming from people who have never set foot there, "visited" by driving through, or maybe spent one day there!

tolerance is the key!

[tomonlineli]

Originally Posted by Valentina86

I'm new to the forum and thought I'd start of my first post about an argument I had with someone about New York people being rude. lol. I grew up on Long Island, then moved into the city (Greenwich Village) a few years ago.

My brother had some friends visiting from Chicago and before they left I was asking them how they enjoyed their time here. They said that they found New York people to be extremely rude - everyone from police officers, to waiters, to hotel employees, etc. They said that people seemed annoyed when they had questions and did not seem friendly overall.

I am shocked. Am I biased because I am a New Yorker, or is this the true experience that people have when they visit the city?

Tell your brother's friends to stop pulling people off the side of the street while they're walking home after their 14th hour in the office and they will get a better reception.

[marcat]

Originally Posted by livelifetothefullest

nyc'ers are NOT rude! this is a small-town opinion from what i call "fluffy" people! There's nothing wrong with fluffy people or small-towners, but they go at a different pace, are communal, are connective, and have different priorities and perceptions because the atmospheres are different.

I love the way nyc is and hope it stays that way. ....constant changing, full of life, and ready for challenges as well as giving challenges! If i were an intolerant person, i would say that most places in the u.s. outside of nyc behave like cookie-cutter cartoon characters. but, i know that they are different and like it that way....you know, everyone knowing everyone and the sense of -cohesiveness whether it is a reality or not! So, instead of slighting them, i just say that they are different. it just seems more tolerant and less insular.

nyc'ers are the best. they are real, straight up, busy, business oriented. but, when the need arises will fight any human rights battle. to me, they are real people with no pretenses. i can respect that! as far as customer service, i would much rather have a csr rep give me accurate and factual information that is useful from someone focused with a business mind than information that may not be what i asked for but comes at me in a "fluffy" or "empathetic" way. basically, i don't care what the bedside manner is as long as the service is superior! but if the bedside manner is "fluffy" and "empathetic" but the service i'm getting is useless, well i consider that to be bad customer service. and, as long as the core of nyc'ers mean well and their "abruptness" is not rooted in anger (which it is most certainly not) then i don't take it personally. but, i have met many people in smaller towns who talk sweetly but it is rooted in anger. one can tell the difference.

why am i writing? because i am sick of people outside of nyc talking about the rudeness of nyc people, and other negative comments as well coming from people who have never set foot there, "visited" by driving through, or maybe spent one day there!

tolerance is the key!

Great reply. I agree with you fully. I was born in New York City, raised in the Bronx, and relocated when I was 36 to Columbia, Maryland. Now living in the "burbs", I can see that suburbanites (at least in this area) seems to be far less friendly than New Yorkers!! I go back and forth to New York (can't get it out of me) to visit family and friends and enjoy the city, and I never have a problem striking up a conversation with people there. Yes, we New Yorkers are usually in a hurry, and have things to do, and are to the point, but under less harried conditions, we're no less friendly than anywhere else.

New York ROCKS!!