Least Friendly State in the US?

[Taverner]

Poll question: Least Friendly State in the US?

Had to be done....

[Roon]

1. New York

bunch of rude fuckers up there.

[fight4my3sons]

8. being a native New Yorker,

I agree, but every time I move out of the state miss it :-)
I often wonder how can people be this nice all the time?

[darmok167]

11. That's odd...granted, I have only visited NY but...

...I didn't notice anyone that unfriendly. Granted, no one would have given a shit if you were bleeding in Times Square from the jugular, but I didn't notice anyone being intentionally rude or mean.

[laheina]

36. Hi darmok167!!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Liberalynn]

76. I used to work for our local parks and recreation department

and our boss told us that when she went to a nation wide conference, one of the speakers showed a picture of a bumper sticker she'd seen in NY State, it said: "Welcome to NY State! Now go home!"

We all thought it was funny but our boss said it was serious and we needed to help change that image.

As an Up State New Yorker, I promise we are very sweet and loveable and welcoming. :grouphug:

We are a blue state after all. :)

[patcox2]

20. You misunderstand them.

I find New Yorkers to be off-puttingly easy to approach and talk to. Stand next to one in a store, sit next to one in a bar or restaurant, they think nothing of engaging in conversation with complete strangers. I have had New Yorkers fight with each other over who gets to help me figure out the subway.

Its just that they have a gruff and forward and in your face manner. But they are not mean.

I have lived in the South, too, and New Yorkers are much more friendly than the two-faced butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth ultra polite southerners who will never really welcome you into their society for about three generations.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

21. You are so dead on

All of the northeast is that way.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

28. so true.

i would take rudeness over polite coldness any day

[Kathryn STone]

62. i agree with you oh so much here

"But they are not mean.
I have lived in the South, too, and New Yorkers are much more friendly than the two-faced butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth ultra polite southerners who will never really welcome you."
my friend calls it the southern veneer.

[fishwax]

71. I agree. I think they don't waste time

and sometimes that's taken as rudeness. I've found New Yorkers to be very helpful, friendly, engaging, and to the point.

[Karenca]

60. NO....WE ARE NOT RUDE!!!!!!

:spank:

[LeftyMom]

2. Ohio

Wow, people there are nosy, judgemental curtain-peeping fundies. At least in the rural area where my kid's dad grew up, maybe the cities aren't so bad.

[johnnie]

6. Not all over Ohio

Cuyahoga county is mostly liberal. And there are a lot of pretty cool people here. I never really had any problems.

[SteppingRazor]

3. Having grown up in California, and currently living in Florida...

I gotta go with Florida. We're some mean MFs down here.

[RockaFowler]

4. I stated Florida, too

I have lived here for 20 years and I gotta tell you, it gets worse every year. Plus, I think we have the worst drivers anywhere. They are so rude!!!!!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

70. I have lived in Northern Fl for almost 30 years

and was born and raised in NJ. When we go back there, we usually get flipped off about five minutes after crossing the state line! I have found Florida folks to be laid back and very friendly. But then, I live in the north of the state, not down where the snowbirds have migrated.

So I vote for NJ as the rudest state. But I still love 'em. I'm fifth generation NJ.

[laheina]

37. Me too.

I grew up in CA and lived in Florida during the early 90's, when there seemed to be a rash of tourist killings in southern FL. It may have been a little unfair that that was the first thing that I thought of, but having been a military brat, and having lived all over, I don't think that there was anywhere else that I've been that was as unfriendly. And it does seem to just get worse.

[Yollam]

39. Another vote for Florida here.

I don't know what it is about that place. I lived in Miami for 4 years ending in 2004, and it was horrible. Rude service everywhere you go, people drive like psychopaths, nobody gives a damn about anything but their own nihilistic pleasure and conspicuous consumption. With the exception of the fairly nice beaches, I despise Florida.

[DS1]

5. Florida is home of the most frequent fucked up news articles in the

country.

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Michigan...except for the wonderful DUers I have met most people

would step over you if you were dying in the street. :hi:

[AllieB]

9. Florida

I was just there, and not only are most people rude, they're a bit dense. Maybe it's because there are so many transplants from other states. :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. Florida

Floridians can legally shoot you if you look at 'em funny. Even if they don't, the fact that they have that law makes it very unfriendly indeed.
:scared:

[laheina]

38. Yes!

And you can't even sue them if you get caught in the cross-fire?! WTF?

The NRA is supposed to be trying to get that law passed in other states in the near future.

[Oeditpus Rex]

42. The NRA won't be happy until

gun owners are the only ones left.

Then the gun owners will battle it out for supremacy.

Then the surviving gun owners will battle it out for supremacy.

Then...





Until finally...

[zanne]

53. A few years ago, I visited my brother in Florida...

He told me it was the perfect place to come for a vacation and relax, because the lifestyle was so "laid back" there. Approaching Miami and surrounded by drivers going 85 mph, I had a feeling my brother was wrong. Striking up conversations with my brother's neighbors was tricky because they were so paranoid that northern visitors were trying to find free places to stay on their next visit! (I never went back).

[Left Is Write]

12. I can't say, because I haven't been to all 50.

I have, however, been to each state in your poll.

Edited...take that back. I was never in Massachussetts. I guess it didn't register when I read the poll the first time.

[Taverner]

13. I'm surprised no one has mentioned my home state of CA

People here can be downright snotty and rude...and live in their respective bubbles.

[Patiod]

54. People in San Diego are pretty awful

Went to a party with my SO's cousin, and all they talked about was Real Estate and surfing. I interview people for a living, and can usually get ANYONE talking, but these people were beyond me.

Having said that, we met some really creepy, vile people in Gillette WY, and yet the folks in Saratoga WY were wonderful. So I think it varies pretty much by state.

Philadelphians and Pittsburghers are pretty nice people - a travel magazine did a study in something like 10 different cities, and had staffers do things that regular tourists might do, like ask for directions, drop stuff, need help with doors, etc, and Philadelphians were the most helpful. But I've gone into taverns in the hinterlands of Central Pennsylvania, seeking lunch on the way to visiting friends from Penn State, and we're talking a serious Deliverance vibe. So it's tough to characterize a whole state...

[hfojvt]

14. do you mean to live, or to visit?

I have not lived in, nor visited, all 50 states, but I think Iowa is the least friendly place to move to. Basically because, almost nobody ever does it. So almost everyone living there has lived there all their lives. It is not that they are mean-spirited, but that their lives are already filled with family and friends they have known all their lives. They have neither time, nor interest, in making new ones.

[Strong Atheist]

15. I said "other" because native Hawaiians are know for not liking

mainlanders...

[pitohui]

27. they did seem a bit crusty

just thought it was a mannerism

[Strong Atheist]

43. Nah, they don't like all the tourists coming in and trashing the

place (I mean, who would?) They just want their money, lol ...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

16. Easily Virginia

Northern Virginians are assholes. Southern Virginians are fake, bigoted assholes. I am not a fan.

[tjwmason]

17. Other.

England - albeit that we're just a vassal rather than a full state (thus far). ;)

[CBGLuthier]

18. Just cut to the chase and say ALL of them

Just save some time because within an hour or so I would expect every state to be mentioned at least once.

[patcox2]

19. Pennsylvania, please, everyone knows that.

The official slogan of the city of Philadelphia is "what are you looking at?"

They boo everyone, they boo their own teams, the visiting teams, they'd boo mother Theresa.

[pitohui]

24. pennsylvania gets my vote too

not sure if i'd say that abt philly but whew some areas of that state sure fit that description

[Patiod]

56. As I mentioned above, some of central PA is SCARY

My college roommate and I walked into a country tavern on the way to Altoona for a friend's wedding. Creepy, creepy Deliverance vibe. We left before ordering lunch.

Plus areas like York produce a ton of Klan-type folks - the state has the largest number of hate groups per capita of anywhere in the country, and they all come out of the middle of the state. My dad's one aunt was married to a Klansman back in the 30's in central PA.

"Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in the middle." - James Carville

[Patiod]

55. As I posted above, a travel magazine found differently

One of the travel magazines did a "study" a few years back. They sent staffers to various cities with a list of tasks - ask for directions, ask for a quarter, drop stuff, need help with doors, etc., and tallied up how often someone helped vs. refused help with each task. Philadelphia won.

Their sports fans might be assholes from years of losing all the time, but the average Joe on the street is great.

I myself admit to being an evil fan -- one night, after sitting in front of screaming, cursing, obnoxious Mets fans for a full nine innings, we were driving home through the city. A car pulled up and asked directions to 95. It was our screaming cursing Mets buddies! We smiled sweetly and gave them directions to the worst part of town, assuring them that we knew what we were talking about, and they would have no problem finding 95 if they followed our directions.

[shrike]

67. That was my experience

I was in Philly to visit a sick relative; had to use public transport to get around, and found the residents, almost without exception, friendly and polite.

[shrike]

68. That was my experience

I was in Philly to visit a sick relative; had to use public transport to get around, and found the residents, almost without exception, friendly and polite.

[mitchum]

75. I found the middle-aged "white" women of Pennsylvania to be the rudest...

most bitter seeming people I have ever met. All other people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, were, for the most part, very friendly.
A Black coworker with whom I was traveling had noticed the same thing and assumed that it was a racial thing directed at him. Apparently not, since I'm about as WASPy as one can be.

[hyphenate]

22. For progressives, I would say

South Carolina or Kentucky. Although Utah and Texas wouldn't be far behind.

For regular folks who are extroverts, I would say Alaska.

For states where cattle are more prevalent than people, Wyoming or Montana.

For atheists, agnostics and anyone other than Xtian, probably Kansas.

For people like me with lots of certain kinds of bumper stickers on our cars ("Impeach Bush," "John Kerry for President," Darwin coelacanth, "God Protect Me from Your Followers") I would say most of the states south of Washington, D.C., and as far west as up to the California state border!!

[no name no slogan]

23. Minnesota

because even though we seem friendly, we really can't stand any of you.

Why the hell do you think we keep the place so damn cold all the time?

[pitohui]

25. well friendliness is a perception thing

you seem friendly enough and if you just talk abt us behind our backs then did it really happen?

:-)

[no name no slogan]

51. Why do you hate America?

No, we're really not that bad-- honest! :D

However, MNans have gotten a reputation as being superficially nice, but hard to make friends with, if you move here from somewhere else. But I've also heard that it's very easy to make friends here, too, because we're fairly open and like to meet people from other places.

[LaraMN]

47. How dare you divulge our secrets?

I will now passive-aggressively insult you under my breath....

:hide: :hide:

[no name no slogan]

50. Hey lady-- better watch it, or I'll send more snow your way...

We're getting another 4-8" here today. Funny, because I heard it was sunny and clear up in Duluth this morning... :hi:

[LaraMN]

52. It is! I awoke at 6:15 to a balmy 20 degree temp. reading,

and you guys are getting all the snow! That's back-asswards. I'm not coming to any DU meetups down there until I can be assured that the cities has no more snow than us- it would be too traumatizing.:rofl:

[Patiod]

57. My one girlfriend claims MN folks don't understand sarcasm

She is the sweetest most Midwestern-type person I know, but she can still be a little sarcastic, and she thought it was a riot how often she was misunderstood.

Looking at apartments:
Kathy: "Yeah, that one was great."
MN friend: "Really? You thought so? I thought it was a little, you know, shabby, maybe."

Kathy: "Oh, that was a real smart move."
MN friend: "It seemed pretty stupid to me."

Lack of sarcasm is probably a good thing.

[LaraMN]

59. I HIGHLY doubt that's case...

....you'll just have to trust me on that one...

[Patiod]

64. You would know better than my friend

who is a little dippy. You ever see that insurance commercial where the car's navagational system tells the guy "turn right" and he turns into a storefront? She did that to me once -- I said "turn right" and she took the car into a cornfield. The State Trooper behind us assumed she was drunk, but after a few minutes' conversation, he realized she's just one of the flakiest people on earth. "But Officer, she told me 'Turn here' so I did!!"

So I'll go with your reassurance that Minnesotans do indeed use and understand sarcasm.

Sure I will....

[Jamastiene]

26. North Carolina

Here, we are surrounded by right wing nuts who will shoot us for not hating people enough if given half the chance.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

29. i think color of skin and perceived sexual orientation

makes the difference in politeness/rudeness/friendliness of the state

[gollygee]

30. My parents live in Florida

and I bet every time I'm down there I end up being shocked by some rudeness or other so I'll vote for Florida. But I haven't visited every state.

[Kathryn STone]

31. I say TX because if you aren't a Bush person, you gotta look

real real hard to make friends. I went to paralegal school here and one of the students in the library actually said "liberal media" and told me to listen to a Christian station for *financial advice* (gulp)
I moved here from AZ which is nutty xian too but there are a LOT more new age and native american vibes in AZ. TX is just the armpit of the nation right now (Just ask somebody from overseas...)

[Patiod]

61. I find all the "Don't Mess With Texas" stuff in the airport creepy

I know it started out as an anti-litter campaign, but it seems to have been whole-heartedly adopted as the state slogan, and not in a good way.

Texans seem to think of themselves as a separate country.

Having said that, some of the most delightful people I've ever met have been in Dallas. They got $100 off me for a pair of boots, and made me feel damned pleased to hand over my hard-earned $$$ There's an older lady who works at one of the facilities we rent when we come to town, and she treats me like I'm her favorite niece. I LOVE when Dallas is on my schedule....

[NMMNG]

32. Who are all these people voting for MA?

:cry:

I lived in MA for 26 years, then moved to MD. I am in awe at how rude many of the people are down here by comparison. So much for the reputation of New England as an unfriendly area.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

35. I've only had lovely experiences with MA...

In fact, I really can't think of a whole state that I could call rude. Most people I've met anyplace have been pleasant.

[maveric]

33. MA and NH.

I lived in both states and people there are not pleasant at all.

[trof]

81. Second NH. Lived there for 16 years. 2 examples:

1. We made several good friends that we still keep up with, but they were all immigrants like us. No natives.

2. A year after moving into our rural neighborhood, and meeting none of our immediate neighbors, we threw an open house. Sent written invitations to every single one of the folks on our road, about 20 homes. Served burgers and dogs and a keg of beer. THEY ALL CAME!
Finished the damn keg.

And not a single one, EVER, even asked us to drop by for so much as a cup of coffee.
Yankees don't know how to act.

[Broken_Hero]

34. Other....

Sorry, I know there are some Oklahomans on DU, but in my experience, Oklahoma is the most unfriendly state I have ever been to. I have been to 30 states so far, and that one takes the collective cake, of UNFRIENDLY.

[CBGLuthier]

72. no offense for this oklahoman

As I posted earlier in this thread, by the time it is over every state will be listed.

Hell, I will even throw one out. Nebraska. Why. Becaue I went there and didn't like it and that's all the reason I need.

Are we to 50 yet?

And please, shouldn't we include the territories too, just to be fair. :-)

[Broken_Hero]

78. Yeah, i'm sure every state will be listed...

There are idiots, and jerks everywhere....I wonder if those jerks/idiots are in a union or something, or if they are organized...;)

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

40. There's a reason we call them Massholes.

Although the people in Corrupticut aren't pleasant either.

[AllieB]

49. I thought it was because of the driving habits of the Bay State

:shrug:

I drive from the 'burbs to the city when I don't take the commuter rail, and it is a very scary experience. :scared:

[SofaKingLiberal]

41. Florida. I live here. I'm surprised MA has so many votes.

I have family there and have been there several times.
It doesn't seem unfriendly. Then again, maybe Florida is just so bad that MA looks good by comparison.

[kick-ass-bob]

45. I was recently in Boston, and can understand what they are thinking

when they are voting. No one smiles, no one talks to strangers, and that makes it come off as unfriendly.

We were walking down a street, though, and saw someone's keys in their front door - we knocked and told them they had left them there, and the lady was very nice and friendly, as were people when we asked for directions. It's just that no one will openly engage you, just to engage you.

[kick-ass-bob]

44. Florida, and I'll tell you why...

It brings in the worst of the northerners and the worst of the southerners and mixes them all together.

Not that there aren't friendly people there, but the bad aspects of both of the above groups come shining through.

[El Fuego]

46. I'm friendly, GODDAMMIT!!!

And I'll shoot anyone who says I'm not. I't the LAW.

[AllieB]

48. I agree that it's the mix in Florida

there are a lot of obnoxious Yankees down there, in addition to the local yahoo population. It's not a nice combo.

[fishnfla]

69. Most people in Florida are from somewhere else

My old neighbor is a judge.I asked him about all the weird crimes and etc down here. He put it to me like this: the criminals and assholes are just like everyone else down here: they are from somewhere else. Many of them commited crimes and got away with it in whatever bumfuck lil' town they were from, or if the heat got to much they flee to hide in the crowds down here.

[MrScorpio]

58. Texas, from personal experience

[Kathryn STone]

63. Mr. Scorpio you are right talking from somebody who's been here since 2000

in yee haw Texas-their "friendly" act doesn't seem sincere.
and I even live in the city in Dallas in a nice area. It's just sooooooo many W stickers. Maybe it's because he was gov. and they don't want to be embarassed.

[Digit]

65. Hawaii (Maui)

After my experience vacationing there, I never want to go back.

[1gobluedem]

66. Texas

All the Texans I've met are obssessed with being Texan and have complete and total disdain for the rest of the country. I wish the state would secede; they act as though it's a separate country so make it one.

[Ron Mexico]

73. Kansas.

I had a car break down in that state twice and the people there wouldn't have pissed on me if I were on fire.

[fishnfla]

74. I'd have to say all of New England

the exception being the Hudson Valley region of NY. New Englanders to me are some of the most irritating, obnoxious, rude ,arrogant and condescending people I have encountered. And that grating Yankee twang gets on my nerves, I'd rather listen to Bush talk

[SiobhanClancy]

79. Sorry about that.....

I think we New Englanders are good people,once you get to know us:) I have to say that some of the least friendly people I've met were the transplants from Ohio etc that I got to know when I lived in the Keys. Not the working people,but the "got-miners" who seem to want to turn the Keys into Anytown,USA. After 10 years,I came back to New England and I'm so glad I did.

[speedoo]

77. Maine... very parochial.

The Maine "natives" look down on people who move there and who visit. They think only Maine natives are entitled to enjoy that state's natural beauty. These natives barely tolerate us, and they spoil it for the rest of us, unfortunately.

[MissMillie]

80. How did MA make this list?

If you were going to pick on a New England state, NH is far less friendly than MA.