And this brings up the opposite point, people who brag about using technology when it’s more difficult to use than a manual version.
That’s probably the one I hear the most as well. People who sort of brag about how they work overtime, on days off, during vacations, etc…
At first, I thought that they legitimately thought it was something to be proud of, but the older I get, the more convinced I am that they’re really just loudly rationalizing being so afraid of losing their jobs/status that they choose to work like that.
I think you’re confusing pride with complaining.
I worked for a year in NYC and I didn’t experience them that way. Straight-shooters, yeah, but they didn’t seem, on the whole, rude. My theory is that due to its enormous population, the average person will have more rude encounters in NYC than elsewhere because there are more people, period.
That might also explain New Jersey.
I’ve only visited NYC once. My theory is that with the hustle and bustle and mostly public transport, people are not as laid back since they have a schedule that does not easily change. I thing this makes them more direct.
In my 20s, when I went to (large-ish) parties where drinking was involved, I would often be cornered by some young guy who would tell me their story about how incredibly drunk they got that one time…vomiting in the toilet, passing out, etc. Behaving badly, wrecking stuff because it was funny at the time. Kind of boasting, kind of telling a cautionary tale. (NB this was in Wisconsin)
Then they’d tell me they don’t want to see me doing the same thing. Dude, I’m not drunk, just sitting here listening. I guess, reflecting on it now, that they were mostly talking to themselves, but with me as the audience.
I’ve always thought there was an element of self-deprecating humor in that.
The only NYC stereotype that held true to me is that they really seem to think the world revolves around NYC and cannot fathom why anyone would live anywhere else.
I found the city interesting, and the people likeable, but I wouldn’t live there.
Probably because real estate in NYC is so damn expensive, lol.
I always attributed the perceived rudeness in New Yorkers to a lack of filter which developed as a result of stress from living in a high population density area. However, if New Yorkers can be correlated with rats (and…why not?), then (according to the linked study) the effect of density on behavior may be more nuanced than once believed.
New York rudeness never bothered me. I appreciate their tell-it-like-it-is directness. But, maybe that’s because I grew up in an equally rude city—Philadelphia.
My theory is that the belief that New Yorkers are “rude” comes from interactions like this:
Tourist is standing in the sidewalk attempting to photograph something. A New York native bumps into them.
Tourist thinks “That person bumped into me and didn’t even say ‘excuse me’. How rude!”
From New Yorker’s perspective, getting bumped into an everyday occurrence and not a big deal. If you said “excuse me” to everyone you bumped into you’d never get anywhere. And how rude of that tourist to be obstructing the sidewalk like that.
This might sound terrible, but as an introvert I thought NYC would be a nightmare with all those people. But the beautiful thing is, everybody ignores you. You’re not a weirdo because there are so many other people doing more weird things, and everybody ignores them too. It’s fantastic. Whereas in the Midwest where I am from, everybody wants to talk to you. You stand out. You’re noticed. It’s a little uncomfortable.
I saw a bumper sticker for Baltimore that featured a large rat. Which I guess alludes to Baltimore’s rat problem. I thought this is such a weird thing to even joke about that it made no sense.
They say that Mudville used to be slang term for Baltimore but I could definitely see some visitor using it as an insult.
As for New Yorkers being rude, blunt and arrogant, Parisians in France and Berliners in Germany have exactly the same reputation. I’m not quite sure about Londoners, but I expect the same for the UK. I think it’s just a feature of most metropolitan cities around the world.
Was staying at a VERY cute small hotel in Rothenburg ob der Tauber Bavaria, we went down for breakfast. It was interesting to this American that breakfasts in Germany seem to be mostly lunch fair to us. Bread cheese meat and such. But was fine. Beautiful dining room. I think they are used to doing food on the go, a sandwich works on the train, so it’s normal.
Hostess came out to say to the room that if anyone wants an egg (an i) she would make it. One guest asked “you’ll make me some eggs?”. The hostess looked at him and said “maybe”. The sense of humor in Germany was quite different, but we loved it.
“Drinking Around the World” in WDW Epcot. You end up with a lot of drunks and sick people near the Canada pavilion, ruining the park for non-drinkers and kids.
Hint- start at Canada, and start early.
ISWYDT 
Why can’t it be both?
Are there really people that don’t know how to use a paper map?
I’ve certainly met people who say they can’t. Some of them are otherwise smart, some not. I think the smart people would figure it out in a minute. It’s not so much reading the map itself, it’s using the legend, scale and index that momentarily stumps them.