[John P.]

Why do people from New York City tend to be ruder and more assertive and in-your-face about things? I notice this as a customer service representative. Could someone explain why?

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Name : John P., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 28, City : Tampa Bay, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[Hayden]

I grew up in New York City, and I agree: New Yorkers are considerably ruder than people from other parts of the country. New Yorkers are also confrontational and argumentative. This cuts across all races and other sub-classes of people. It also has been true for at least the last 30 years(my entire life experience). New Yorkers are rude, overly aggressive and suspicious because they are used to dealing with other New Yorkers who are just like them. How did this 'rudeness culture' grow in New York? Let me offer some thoughts:

1) New York is headquarters to many of the most prestigious jobs in the nation. People who settle there have a great deal of ambition to get those top jobs, are willing to work very hard for them and are very competitive with each other to get them. This can easily manifest itself in rudeness.
2) The sheer size of the city forces many minor crimes and indecencies to go unpunished (e.g. public drunkenness, retail ripoffs, price-gouging, etc.). Because of this, New Yorkers are always suspicious and on guard to ensure they will not be victimized or ripped off. This also can lead to rudeness.

In my experience, from when I lived in New York, if you are not rude and aggressive there, you'll get eaten for lunch. Many New Yorkers take pride that the city is so rude, and have no interest in changing. Listen to Frank Sinatra - 'If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere. It's up to you...'

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Name : Hayden, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 31, City : Delray Beach, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Technical, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Pedro]

In addition to Hayden's response, which is quite true, let me add the following: New York has a huge population. Moreover, this population is concentrated in a relatively small area. While the overall area of New York City is large, remember, space is taken up by two international airports, very large parks in each borough and large port and indusrial facilities. In other major cities, these are usually located just outside the city limits. People are packed pretty tightly in apartment buildings and in the subways and sidewalks - this ain't an auto town - so sometime tempers get flared. Also, there is a very large immigrant population in the city. Many people come from places where what is considered rude to Americans is not looked at twice - for instance, pushing your way onto the subway. Still, as a native New Yorker, I can tell you that one-on-one, we are some of the nicest people you'd ever meet: willing to help you in a bind, generous to the needy and a surprisingly peaceful lot when you realize how often we are forced to brush up against strangers every day.

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Name : Pedro, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 33, City : Easton, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Telecommunications, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ak28788]

I met a family from New York that I was friends with for about 4 years. They were cool but pretty controlling, took people's money when possible and when asked why about certain things they would reply 'because we're from New York.' Just that attitude pissed me off that they thought they were better because they were from New York. Riverhead, NY to be exact. Anyway, the friendship ended over money. I apparently didn't pay them enough money for the stay (food) when i went to visit them. I'm trying to keep an open mind about New Yorkers because a lot of them move here to Florida, and talk about how much they hate it and how New York is the best. Why not move back then?

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Name : Ak28788, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 18, City : Portage, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : college, Social class : Lower class, 

[E-Evans]

I grew up in the Los Angeles area in what is called the South Bay, near Torrance. I have been going to school in upstate New York in Troy for the last six years and I have spent cumulatively a month as a tourist at different times in NYC. I have always found the people there to be very friendly and helpful, across different ethnicities and classes. They are forthright and will go on at length about a favored topic, though. People in Los Angeles on the other hand, are deeply suspicious of strangers and quite unfriendly. Wealthy Angelenos literally won't give you the time of day. If you're ever there and need help, ask a Mexican-American, they're usually generous and friendly.

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Name : E-Evans, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 24, City : Troy, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Database Developer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[P.]

I feel the media overhypes New Yorkers being rude and unfriendly. I just think that it is a VERY busy city and people don't really have time to stop and smell the roses. Everyone is moving at such a fast pace, I think a lot of times people from some other parts of the country mistake that for rudeness. When you are in a very competitive atmosphere, you tend to be a little more anxious to get things done. My first visit to New York, I didn't really have any major problems. I enjoyed the city so much now I want to relocate there. New Yorkers will help you if you need to ask for directions or anything of that nature, BUT they just have a lot to do and they are in a hurry to do it. So don't expect for them to sit a spell and have a long conversation with you.

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Name : P., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Non-Denominational, Age : 29, City : St. Louis, State : MO Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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