The question is, what do New Yorkers consider “saying thank you”? Because to most of them, the standard upward head nod - eye contact optional - is enough, and certainly counts as sufficient thanks for holding a door. No New Yorker actually expects someone to thank them *verbally *for something so minor.
Now, if they receive no acknowledgement of any form, I can see them getting snarky.
I’m not from NY and I don’t do it but I THINK it fairly often.
I can’t find it now but in Not Always Right there was a story where someone who was pregnant and pushing a stroller set the stroller aside and opened a door, preparing to exit a store. For quite some time people paraded out without so much as looking at her while the panic was rising within her because her stroller baby was out of reach on the other side of the glass.
Finally someone spotted what was going on and moved the stroller to her to let her go on her way. “Next time I’m blocking the doorway with the stroller,” she vowed.
From NY, have never done it. I have never thought of that as being a NY thing, but come to think of it just haven’t heard it in real life often enough to say one way or another.
A 2006 survey found NY was the most polite of 30-some major world cities. But it was from the social science powerhouse Readers Digest, and there was no more than one city per country, whereas most Americans sticking to the tradition of saying NY is impolite are comparing it to other places in the US. The links to original article seem to be dead.
I’ve never noticed much of a difference in (actual) cities in the US. I’ve noticed differences between more rural areas and cities. I’ve noticed distinct differences in ethnic, racial and age groups in average politeness, but not so much one US city as a whole to another as a whole. NY for example is once again (like it was ca. 1920, though not nearly as much when I was growing up in the 1960’s) a heavily foreign born city. Some people grew up in places (some in the Caribbean, Latin America, etc.) where it’s more common than in mainstream US culture to be warm with strangers. Other people are from places where it’s less common (Russia, China etc).
IME a lot of observations about ‘NY people’ are really about stereotypical white working class NY’ers as depicted by Hollywood and less about the real life city NY.
Life’s too short for that sort of petty outrage.
Yep, same same!
I was going to say: I’m not from New York and I think it or I say it under my breath.
I’ve noticed a tendency for New York to claim ownership of all kinds of things that are done everywhere. My favorite? Apparently they think they own Texas toast.
The original Texas toast my left behind.:mad: