OT: Unfriendly?

[tomcat]

Couldn't help but notice that MSN.com posted their annual Readers' Choice Survey rankings of the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the country. Hartford and New Haven made the list of unfriendliest. It notes that Hartford began its decline in the 1980s and has been trying to recover since then, and hints that the attitude of the city reflects that.

I do have to say that I lived in Connecticut for 11 years, commuting into Hartford for each and every one of them, and I never found it to be friendly at all. This was in the 80s and 90s, when it went from a boom town filled with insurance workers hanging out at lunch hour to a ghost town with no retail, no real downtown and no reason to be there unless you had to. We've been back a number of times since and have noted the attempts to bring the place alive. Have not been back in maybe four, five years now, and it doesn't sound like it's worked out. It's just kinda sad, really.

Can't really comment much about New Haven. Went there a few times. Meh, IMHO.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Saw the survey. I think Newark did so poorly based on the airport, and well deserved. Hartford lacked friendliness based on our visits, and a restaurant we went to a couple times in New Haven likewise, but . . . more generally, I just don't think the Northeast is a friendly area. Doesn't mean there aren't individuals that are friendly, just the over all impression is not so much.

Early on in my working career, I was on a business trip to Indy with a co-worker and we had our food in a mall food court. As we walked through the mall, merchants came out and said hello, it was such a different vibe that we were shocked.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I love Hartford and all my friends are friendly

 

[meyers7]

Saw the survey. I think Newark did so poorly based on the airport, and well deserved. Hartford lacked friendliness based on our visits, and a restaurant we went to a couple times in New Haven likewise, but . . . more generally, I just don't think the Northeast is a friendly area. Doesn't mean there aren't individuals that are friendly, just the over all impression is not so much.

Early on in my working career, I was on a business trip to Indy with a co-worker and we had our food in a mall food court. As we walked through the mall, merchants came out and said hello, it was such a different vibe that we were shocked.

Exactly, I think it has more to do with the NE. I always have to re-adjust when I head back "home" to IL. I don't have to worry about people cutting me off while driving, in grocery stores, etc. Just a different mindset in other parts of the country. (this of course excludes any big city like Chicago)

 

[wire chief]

The ranking is based on the fact that summer mornings are colder than those in Fargo.

 

[HoopsFan21]

The ranking is based on the fact that summer mornings are colder than those in Fargo.

Summer mornings in Hartford are 3 degrees warmer than those in Fargo. The average summer morning low temperature in Fargo is 57.3, 60.4 in Hartford, and 63.4 in New Haven.

 

[Beemer]

Maybe our climate has something to do with it. Let's face it, it is tough to be friendly when your toes are frozen and you still have three quarters of the driveway left to shovel

On a more serious note- when I visited in my cousin in Tennessee [yes, I ventured into enemy territory lol] I was taken aback by the warmth & friendliness of everyone I met. So different from back home.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think it has something to do with the fact that so many people use the word "queer."

 

[~*Jen*~]

I remember one time, being at a post office... somewhere in Windham County. And we were waiting for it to open after lunch. There was another guy waiting as well and I started talking to him and he said, "You're not from around here, are you?" I asked how he knew. He said, "People around here don't talk to strangers." ~shrug~ I'm from the Midwest. That's what we do.

Oddly enough, while the south (lived there for years and years) is known for being friendly, I think parts of the Midwest just blow it away.

 

[meyers7]

Oddly enough, while the south (lived there for years and years) is known for being friendly, I think parts of the Midwest just blow it away.

I've lived in both places and found both very friendly. (at least compared to NE or east) But you can find friendly people, and jerks, everywhere.

 

[~*Jen*~]

I've lived in both places and found both very friendly. (at least compared to NE or east) But you can find friendly people, and jerks, everywhere.

True...

 

[Beemer]

I remember one time, being at a post office... somewhere in Windham County. And we were waiting for it to open after lunch. There was another guy waiting as well and I started talking to him and he said, "You're not from around here, are you?" I asked how he knew. He said, "People around here don't talk to strangers." ~shrug~ I'm from the Midwest. That's what we do.

Oddly enough, while the south (lived there for years and years) is known for being friendly, I think parts of the Midwest just blow it away.

Yup us Windham Countiers don't talk at all to strangers. Except on internet message boards

 

[wire chief]

Summer mornings in Hartford are 3 degrees warmer than those in Fargo. The average summer morning low temperature in Fargo is 57.3, 60.4 in Hartford, and 63.4 in New Haven.

Not this week.

 

[FairView]

Friendliness is overrated.

 

[sawxfan23]

Friendly? Heck your lucky if you don't get shot at while your in New Haven. That city is becoming an absolute "battle-zone" and you don't want to wander too far out of the Downtown area.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think it has something to do with the fact that so many people use the word "queer."

We get it already. Move along.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Couldn't help but notice that MSN.com posted their annual Readers' Choice Survey rankings of the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the country. Hartford and New Haven made the list of unfriendliest. It notes that Hartford began its decline in the 1980s and has been trying to recover since then, and hints that the attitude of the city reflects that.

I do have to say that I lived in Connecticut for 11 years, commuting into Hartford for each and every one of them, and I never found it to be friendly at all. This was in the 80s and 90s, when it went from a boom town filled with insurance workers hanging out at lunch hour to a ghost town with no retail, no real downtown and no reason to be there unless you had to. We've been back a number of times since and have noted the attempts to bring the place alive. Have not been back in maybe four, five years now, and it doesn't sound like it's worked out. It's just kinda sad, really.

Can't really comment much about New Haven. Went there a few times. Meh, IMHO.

I was in Hartford/Glastonbury on business a few years ago and didn't notice any unusual unfriendliness. Most people in the Northeast are in a bigger hurry than in other parts of the country and this is perceived as unfriendliness, when it isn't. It never leaves your system. I've lived in the South since 3rd grade and I'm still always in a hurry. Doggone slow drivers!

 

[Fishy]

I spent some time in the south a few weeks ago - they're just more friendly than we are in the northeast.

They're friendlier, more pleasant and generally less abrupt.

I don't know why, but it's instantly noticeable.

 

[triaddukefan]

I once dated two women from Hartford (not at the same time) and they were both friendly. Well one was consistently friendly... the other.. well it depended on the day.... or the hour

 

[HuskyNan]

I was in Indianapolis earlier this month and found the city very warm and welcoming. I truly enjoyed the city and the wonderful people. I don't know if it's because I'm a Northerner but after a few days I was thinking I'd just like to pay for my bottle of water without having to tell my life story again. But the interest was genuine, though, so I learned to enjoy the people and their openness.

 

[JS]

Liked the Spanish moss in the South. Liked the open space in the West.

Seven-year Midwesterner as a kid; Lake Michigan is cold.

I don't think of those places in terms of friendly or not.

But then, I'm kind of unfriendly and wouldn't notice.

 

[uconnfan68]

I spent some time in the south a few weeks ago - they're just more friendly than we are in the northeast.

They're friendlier, more pleasant and generally less abrupt.

I don't know why, but it's instantly noticeable.

As long as they know you're just visiting.

 

[Shenandoah]

Maybe our climate has something to do with it. Let's face it, it is tough to be friendly when your toes are frozen and you still have three quarters of the driveway left to shovel

On a more serious note- when I visited in my cousin in Tennessee [yes, I ventured into enemy territory lol] I was taken aback by the warmth & friendliness of everyone I met. So different from back home.

Uh..I lived in Tennessee for 13 years, after spending the first 30+ in Connecticut. People WERE friendly, on the surface, but there was always the "y'aint from around here, are ya?"...
Bottom line, I think, is that people in general are not as friendly as they once were...

 

[~*Jen*~]

Uh..I lived in Tennessee for 13 years, after spending the first 30+ in Connecticut. People WERE friendly, on the surface, but there was always the "y'aint from around here, are ya?"...
Bottom line, I think, is that people in general are not as friendly as they once were...

I can see that. I remember getting that vibe in Georgia. Small town, though. Atlanta and Huntsville were more melting pots. But now that I'm in Iowa and back in a small town, there's just really this amazing sense of community. Everyone seems to know everyone and even strangers are chatty and friendly.

 

[bertieboy]

I lived in Connecticut for the first 40 years of my life and moved to Texas in 1990. Here, and in all the states considered friendly, people who don't know each other nevertheless make eye contact and say hello. We don't do that in the Northeast. It doesn't mean we're unfriendly, though.