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I grew up on Long Island as well; maybe that's why I've never noticed "New England unfriendliness" people mention.
I grew up in Connecticut, but went to school in Western Massachusetts, as you know. People in Western Mass are definitely "nicer" than Connecticut. For example, they hold the door open for strangers, and will stop at a crosswalk to let pedestrians walk. But I don't think they are any more liable to make causal chitchat.
This thread is full of New England stereotypes...of course, there are some people that fit the stereotype but MANY others do not. I wouldn't go by anyone's assessment, especially since it's so obviously full of generalizations. I found New England to be very friendly and had no problem talking to people there. It may not have been as friendly overall as Atlanta, but it was still not as bad as some people are saying it is.
We went to a lighthouse in or near, not sure which, Jamestown, R. I. I am native to North Carolina and if I see you I speak to you. We saw a group and wondered if it was a class reunion because they had pictures of the people of the group displayed on a table. Not one person in the group would even say, "Hi." We came away wondering if maybe they spoke another language. Needless to say we found them rather strange. Bet they thought we were rude. It intrigued us that they were out together on a day in such horrible weather.
They probably knew you were not part of the reunion and wondered why you were barging into a private convocation. Most likely had nothing to do with being friendly or unfriendly.
Also, there are so many people in New England from out of state, it's hard to find native New Englanders anymore. Of course, this is also true of much of the south. North Carolina must be loaded with out of staters from all over by now.
They probably knew you were not part of the reunion and wondered why you were barging into a private convocation. Most likely had nothing to do with being friendly or unfriendly.
Also, there are so many people in New England from out of state, it's hard to find native New Englanders anymore. Of course, this is also true of much of the south. North Carolina must be loaded with out of staters from all over by now.
Holly, while there may be lots of transplants from other states in your neck of the woods (i.e., East Bay of RI) and the beach towns, the most populous communities in RI that comprise a vast majority of the state's populace (i.e., Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence and Woonsocket) are overwhelmingly homegrown, although that may be changing with increased immigration from Asia and Latin America. Rural, low-population towns like Foster, Glocester, Burrillville, North Smithfield, etc. probably see more crossover from neighboring CT and MA towns.
It looks like what some people on this thread consider to be rude in New England really has more to do with living in a dense urban/suburban places versus rural places. New England has some of the densest states in the Union. For example, do you really expect people to constantly wave hello to everyone they meet in a high density area?
It looks like what some people on this thread consider to be rude in New England really has more to do with living in a dense urban/suburban places versus rural places. New England has some of the densest states in the Union. For example, do you really expect people to constantly wave hello to everyone they meet in a high density area?
Are you saying that other regions don't have dense urban/suburban places? I assume you know that they do...I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but I think people are simply stereotyping New Englanders unfairly.
It looks like what some people on this thread consider to be rude in New England really has more to do with living in a dense urban/suburban places versus rural places. New England has some of the densest states in the Union. For example, do you really expect people to constantly wave hello to everyone they meet in a high density area?
New England also has some of the lowest population-density towns in the nation.
My bad for not mentioning that we don't necessarily fit the stereotypical Texan image considering that were both Libertarian, I'm an Atheist and she's into new age religions. Some people in Texas actually wonder if we were from the North because of our more 'proper' dialect. Regardless, were not slow speakers, Republican extremists or very outgoing but we do carry the 'suspicious' kindness that New Englanders are (from what I've read so far) not so fond of. I'm pretty sure it isn't that bad though, or it might just my optimism. We do have a huge fascination in history and heritage and I've read New Englanders love their own ancestry. We are actually considering New Hampshire for residence and Massachusetts for work so I'd love input from folks in Manchester, Nashua and Boston.
TL;DR:
I thought it would be worse, but from what you guys said, I think we'd fit in rather well.
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