is everyone really that nice in nc? (live, friendly) - The Triangle Area - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

Anjana · 06-24-2009, 11:11 PM

Ha ha ha, Yea...we are for the most part very nice, polite and helpful... and I didn't always live here, I have lived all over the country.

dansdrive · 06-25-2009, 05:25 AM

Is everyone really that nice? Cracked open ole Webster to brush up on the definition of Nice. Found it to be Pleasing and Agreeable. One showing fastidious or finicky taste. Then reflected back on my close encounters of a 'Nice' and Nearly 'Nice' and not so 'Nice' people of Pa/NY/NC and the various other States and Countries I have been fortunate enough to visit and/or live in. So based on that nicely rounded personal experience I can with little debate and a lot of conviction say the following:

1. No! Not EVERYONE is nice ANYWHERE less here!
2. Most are NICE anywhere including NYC if greeted with mutual respect. Hand
gestures don't count as respect.
3. Slower pace of here is 'nice' unless your on Capital Blvd at rush hour.
4. If the lack of use of car horns signifies a higher level of 'Nice' than its 'nice' here.
5. Having a stranger wave as you pass on foot/bike/car/golf cart is 'Nice' here.
6. Conveying these thoughts on city-data is 'nice' but 'nice' everywhere sort of speak or should I say keystroke.

In summation we are all as 'Nice' as we want to be. We have that right and I for one take full advantage of that right as often as I can!

Jamerican · 06-25-2009, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lottamoxie

No. Everyone is not nice. And everyone is not rude. Some people are very nice. Some are nice unless you ever disagree. Some are polite. Some are rude. Some are in between. You will meet all flavors of people in NC, just like you'd meet elsewhere. There's no such thing as 'everyone' and 'all the time.'

Realistically speaking that is true, but the general mood here is one of relaxation, less stress and a far more friendlier than not atmosphere than that in New York any day of the week, month or year, and I should know ... I have lived and, worked in New York since 1985 before moving here last year June.

Yes, of course no where is perfect and you will have people of all persuasion attitudes, and walks of life including those with less than savory demeanor and outright social handicaps, BUT if you are speaking of the mood and attitude in general, yes people are a lot friendlier here in NC than say the tri-state areas of NY,NJ and CT .... and that is my two cents

. NC rocks! Durham rocks! More importantly the entire triangle rocks!

Bmateo · 06-25-2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbound!

i have been reading the threads on this board for a few months now because i am thinking of relocating to the area and over and over i read about how so very nice the people are in the raleigh area and north carolina in general. i am taking a trip in two weeks with my wife to raleigh and then the outer banks and i am very interested in meeting people and really seeing if this is true. do you think people are really that different and nice because they live in different parts of the country? i find it hard to believe that people are all in great moods all day in raleigh......
i should state that i am from new york city, however i believe people are the same wherever you go. i shall find out very soon.....!
thank you

Replying BEFORE I read the other posts, so that I don't pick up any bias. Forgive me if it is redundant. (I'll read the others next)

I think that in general, wherever you go, MOST people are OK, and some are pretty much jerks. Doesn't matter if it's geography, common interest, or what, at the end of the day, society has a pretty even distribution of people. So if you take the time to meet people, talk to them, and search for what is good about them, you'll find it. If you look for the bad, you'll find it.

I've lived in NC most of my life, and I've travelled a lot for work too. A while back I had a discussion with a native New Yorker about the "niceness" of NYC people. My take (I stayed in Manhatten for a week) is that they people were great. Did everyone wave at me? No. Did everyone have time to stop and chat? No. But peopel were nice. It's a big city with a fast pace, and "nice" takes on a different image, but people were respectful of my space, they gave 'the nod' if you held the door for them, and etc. If I was lost, or looked out of place, people were generally helpful, if not a bit abrupt. It's just how it is, and I took no offense.

Each place has it's own quirks, and NC is no different. I've lived here most of my 41 years and I like it. But I love meeting people from other regions, and love finding out what makes them great. NC is no better or worse than most places.

Now I'll see what others had to say.

Bmateo · 06-25-2009, 06:34 AM

After reading the others, one common theme that I disagree with is the "customer service" aspect of NC. Go to NYC or Chicago, and eat at a nice restaurant, and you'll get a professional waiter who knows their menu and is helpful and attentive. Go out here, and you're likely to get somebody who could care less about being there, and wouldn't know a sauce from a gravy.

Eat at Carnegie Deli, and the 90 year old lady that waits on you might give you some attitude, rush you along, be in your face, or whatever, but she knows her business like the back of her hand, can manage 15 tables like it's nothing, get your order right, and bring it to you quickly without getting flustered or confused, and she's 5x as old as most servers here in NC.

Also, I think respect takes on a different face in NYC, or any big city. THis was part of the discussion I had with the Native of NYC. If you live in a city with 16 million people, then out of respect of others, when the light turns green you go. If someone holds the door you walk through it and give them a nod, you don't stop to thank them, as it will cause a bottle neck. It seems odd to someone who is from here, but that IS respectful. Don't believe me, go ride the subway in Tokyo. One of the most respectful societies anywhere, and they have people who's job is to (politely) push you onto the subway at Tokyo station. Seriously.

Think they have horns in NYC? Go sit in traffic in Dubai, or Kuwait city, or better yet, ride a bike.

In any huge city like that, there has to be some sense of order for things to function. Sometimes that order is not via written rules, but rather by "understood" rules. I think much of what is mistaken for rudeness and brashness in NYC or other big cities falls into this catagory. People are nice, slow and polite in NC because we have the luxury of being able to be that way. It is one of the truly great benefits of living here, but it does not make people better or worse, nicer or meaner. Just different circumstances to make the wheel turn....

lovebrentwood · 06-25-2009, 06:47 AM

Excellent! Well said!

Quote:

In any huge city like that, there has to be some sense of order for things to function. Sometimes that order is not via written rules, but rather by "understood" rules. I think much of what is mistaken for rudeness and brashness in NYC or other big cities falls into this catagory. People are nice, slow and polite in NC because we have the luxury of being able to be that way. It is one of the truly great benefits of living here, but it does not make people better or worse, nicer or meaner. Just different circumstances to make the wheel turn....

lunadesign · 06-25-2009, 01:29 PM

Since NY has come to be the state for comparision ... I'm going to assume that everyone here talking about NY and NYC is referring to Manhattan specifically? Because the state of New York is HUGE and you can't compare someone living or working in Manhattan to someone in Rochester, or even Westchester. Geeze you can't even compare a Manhattanite to someone from Queens! People in Manhattan are by no means "meaner" than anywhere else. They're mostly hard-working, and opinionated when asked but in general like to mind their own business. I guess if you're used to asking someone what Church they attend, people in Manhattan may seem unfriendly or "not as nice." Manhattan just has an energy all it's own, it's incomparable to anywhere else. And if I was still single and childless, there is no where else I'd rather be

DAS · 06-25-2009, 02:09 PM

I am from the NYC forum and visit your area often. I also live in Manhattan. I am not leaving NYC but I am buying property in your beautiful area. I think people are basically the same wherever you go, but it is nice when I'm in NC and I can actually have a conversation with a stranger and they have the time to pause, and really listen to you, and you have the time to pause and listen to them.

Francois · 06-25-2009, 02:19 PM

Quote:

If you live in a city with 16 million people, then out of respect of others, when the light turns green you go. If someone holds the door you walk through it and give them a nod, you don't stop to thank them, as it will cause a bottle neck.

That's odd, because all the times I've said "thank you" as I've passed through a held door (or someone has said it to me), not ONCE has it required "stopping to say Thank You" or caused a bottleneck. People are capable of saying "Thanks" while walking through, even "breezing through".

urbanlemur · 06-25-2009, 04:07 PM

My wife and I visited last year and are making a return visit next month to scout some areas to relocate to. Our visit was punctuated by the over-all friendliness that we encountered by the folks there. Here in NYC, there is a lot of stress, time constraints and an attitude that comes from having to deal with everything on a daily basis. In NC, life goes on but it appears to move at a slower pace, allowing for a more relaxed approach to every day life. We certainly are looking forward to our trip in three weeks!!! Yipeee!!