Do you find New Yorkers courteous or rude?

@ajadedidealist aaha was thinking of posting this myself. I know New Yorkers have a reputation of being pushy, brusque and rude but honestly you are right they can be much friendlier than the English. I was once yelled at in a bus in London for not giving up my seat to an older Englishman and this has never happened to me on a NYC bus or subway. I usually do give up my seat when I feel it is required but at that instance I was daydreaming and not paying attention to my surroundings.
New Yorkers I feel are on the whole quite friendly and helpful.. I remember once when I fell flat on my face on a sidewalk in my neighborhood , I was immediately helped up by concerned folk around me. In fact one kind woman even offered to walk me home. Similarly the strangers who I meet in the NYC public buses or subways are often happy to chat unlike folk in some other cities around the world.

I lived in Miami for a while, and though I am a Florida native, I am not a South Florida native. Whenever I complained to my family about how rude the city of Miami is, they would always say, "Oh, everyone down there is from New York." However - New Yorkers are not near as rude as everyone gives them credit for in my humble opinion.

Everyone on my block is really friendly and I see the same neighbors every day and hellos are always exchanged. I agree with Uraniumfish that New Yorkers may appear rude and they are definitely always in a rush, but this city has nothing on Miami by way of rudeness.

Germans, for example, seem cold and heartless and brusque to Americans, because culturally they find small talk weird, and don't understand how small talk is part of the social code and necessarily shows a degree of politeness. I think New Yorkers find everyone else slow and inefficient. Like that letter I had to mail back in Barcelona, which took an hour even though I was one of only two people in the place--the clerk just didn't understand the concept of hurrying, apparently.

I don't know @hhusted. When someone is just standing there in the middle of a crowded corridor, being completely unaware of his or her surroundings, I think he or she rather deserves a good shove (although I'd not do it myself).

And yes, @bbroadwaybk - it's so true! My English boyfriend hates - HATES - London precisely because of its congested foot AND car traffic, but found NYC a welcome respite...I personally think it's that we have height (in the form of skyscrapers) so people sort of...diffuse upwards, whereas in London, everyone tries to fit into tiny tiny houses, and thus it's more condensed. No scientific proof of this, of course, but nevertheless...

@everyone speaking of manners , this thought came to me when I was about to board a NYC bus yesterday. When I arrived at the bus stop there were a bunch of people already waiting in line. When the bus arrived it stopped right next to me and after allowing one or two people to get on ,I got on myself. I was wondering is there some kind of protocol or do you just adopt a first come first served stand. The reason I ask because at some other bus stops people wait and allowing the people who were in line before them to get on first while some others just barge ahead without waiting at all?

Sorry JenMac, you feel that way. I have friends who live in LA, who actually lived in NYC, and they told me the people are much nicer, friendlier, and better there than here. I actually went there for a couple of days and must admit, no horn blowing, people were courteous, and pleasant, and people were nice to me when I asked for directions.

Far cry from the attitudes of people in this city, who would rather give you the middle finger than help you out. At least that has been my experience with many people I come across. Those who were really nice to me were from out of town.

I'm not saying every New Yorker is mean, arrogant, obnoxious, or have attitudes. But I am saying there are many who do.

@hhusted and @DBlack my experience shows that the old timers who have lived in the city for yonks are the ones who are most eager to chit chat with strangers. On Wednesday on my way home on the M15 bus I met an aged couple who were seated next to me they started asking about Trader Joe's ,(yes I had my bags with me)... they had lived in NYC on all their lives and had been married for over 60 years but hadn't yet been to TJs which they had heard was very reasonable.. they were extremely chatty and wouldn't really stop chatting until I got off at my stop. This is not the first time that this has happened though.. I think many older people in the city live on their own and are pretty lonely so they relish a bit of human contact with a stranger on the bus...

@Uptowngirl and @Uraniumfish, your experiences may not be common but unique. I have met many older people in the city and they were nasty. My girlfriend told me they might be having a bad day. I think maybe they were just senile. Who knows. I'm glad you had great experiences, and continue to do so.

Completely agreed with the friendly oldies. The older crowd in my neighborhood are very involved in what's going on in and around the hood. They always say hi and know my dogs' names. A couple of them are grumpy. But, overall, they're really nice.

Last night I went out in the downpour, and I started out with an umbrella that the wind promptly destroyed while I was still in Brooklyn. I took the train into the city, and was walking to my destination without an umbrella when a sweet older man spotted me and walked with me until our paths separated, at which point he gave me the extra umbrella he had in his bag. And that's my courteous New Yorker story for the week.

@Everyone I had my first unpleasant New Yorker experience on Sunday when I was at the Home Depot store on sixth avenue.. I was waiting in a long line to pay when one of the Cashiers told the lady in front of me that she was opening up a register in the dispatch section. Behind me was an older Asian lady who tried to scurry past me to get to the register. She plonked her two long rolls of whatever on the register even before the lady who was ahead of me had finished paying. Ordinarily I wouldnt have cared but I had a raging headache and I was dying to get home so I voiced my objection. She rudely tried to say that she was in line before me but I told her she had barged in and then she suddenly went very quiet. The staff who had witnessed everything were apologetic they were not at fault.. it was this nasty , aggressive old coot who had a selfish 'me -first ' attitude who ruined it all..

Hahaha! Just shows the difference between how men and women perceive movies. (My boyfriend loves "Legally Blonde" and is convinced it's a brilliant and witty satire on the role of beauty in American life, and not at all a chick flick....he also thinks "Top Gun" is about gays in the military...)

Top Gun pretty much is about gays in the military. What's with the oiled up volleyball scene? So weird.

@JenMac: Which Top Gun. If you are referring to the one which starred Ton Cruise, that wasn't about gays in the military. That was about two pilots who decided to try out for the military, and were training to be fighter pilots. Kelly McGillis starred in it as the trainer, who Tom Cruise's character fell in love with.