# Newark, NJ - Least friendly city in the world **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171 "2013-08-02T17:11:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/21 "2013-08-07T00:47:12Z")
I have never found Newark natives any less friendly than natives of other cities. I live in that county and usually find myself there several times a year so I’m very familiar with the city. The problem isn’t rude people. The problem is the city is just plain ugly. I’ve never seen a part of it that was in any way appealing. They have a wonderful location that it is only about half an hour from Manhattan yet the city makes nothing of that connection. You can’t even see Manhattan from much of it. Aside from a handful of Portuguese restaurants they also have no amenities – no shopping, unique restaurants or interesting attractions to draw people there. I go through it and all looks like nothing but endlessly ugly big buildings and squat and really ugly private housing with a handful of rundown public parks in between. EWR isn’t any particularly worse than other airports. I flew home through it this morning and we found it very easy to go through. The airport does several things well. For one it’s fairly easy to navigate. You can take a tram between the three terminals without any problems. They have people movers all over the place. For another they have multiple transport connections with NYC and the NJ suburbs that are easy to find and use. I also haven’t noticed any real price differentials between it and JFK or LaGuardia. The three terminals have multiple restaurants in each terminal that allow you to get everything from a quick bite to a full meal. The terminals could do a far better job of showcasing the best of NYC/NJ food options with items like fresh seafood, authentic Chinese and really good pizza. The surrounding area is also quite ugly. State officials leave travelers with the impression that NJ is all that unappealing. I understand why the Times endorsed Cory Booker. He’s done some good work at mayor even if I think Rush Holt is a far better choice for senator. But it’s all that effort and yet the city remains as utterly unappealing as ever. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/22 "2013-08-07T00:59:43Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I have never found Newark natives any less friendly than natives of other cities. I live in that county and usually find myself there several times a year so I’m very familiar with the city. Is the Robert Treat(?) hotel still there off Military Park(?). Does the subway still work? I remember going to one restaurant in the iron bound section and getting paella. It was awful. Never went back to that part of town. edit: just googled the hotel - still there. Seems a lot nicer. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/23 "2013-08-07T02:37:37Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The Airport does suck though. I spent a week there one day. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/24 "2013-08-07T03:32:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Killing you is one thing but you don’t have to be rude about it. Customer: Well I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to shoot you. Owner: Right-Oh, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/25 "2013-08-07T18:12:47Z")
Well, I haven’t been to the town but have had some of the worst airport experiences of my life at the airport. They were _definitely_ not friendly. (Except for the lady at Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs who told me how to get the most out of my airline food voucher and it had been such an awful few hours that I burst into tears because she was nice.) ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171/26 "2013-08-07T18:39:58Z")
I went to college in Newark. Isn’t the worst city I’ve been in, but most of it is ugly. Cities like Philly, NYC, Chicago and smaller ones even are much nicer. > [@deltasigma](#): > > Is the Robert Treat(?) hotel still there off Military Park(?). Does the subway still work? On the plus side, in the last 10 years it’s started to get nicer. The NJ Performance Arts Center (NJPAC) is a gorgeous building inside and out, the new PRU (Prudential Arena) is nice too. The subway is still there, but they replaced the old-style cars 8 or so years ago after they just started to break down way too often. On the plus side, they’ve also expanded the subway system a little with some light rail going to places like NJPAC. As for the airport traffic snarl, that’s what you get when you plop down one of the busiest airports in the world within spitting distance of 4 major highways (I-95/Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, I-78, I-278), and 4 major arterial roads (US 22, US 1, US 9 and NJ 27). Having gone thru it a number of times, all I can say is it is _extremely_ well signed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newark-nj-least-friendly-city-in-the-world/665171.md?page=1)