In a recent survey New York was the most polite city, why is Sydney so low on the list in politness?

Answer 1

I think the survey would probably have been based on people's experiences in restaurants, shops, with public servants, etc. etc. etc. Of course I can't say for sure.

I don't find it that unusual that New York should be ranked at the top, even though the place has a reputation for surliness.

New York is a very ethnically diverse city, a major tourist destination, and as with Chicago and Boston, there is a great deal of a kind of feeling of local pride.

Because of all of this when you go into say an Italian restaurant in New York as a tourist, you will probably get a much warmer reception than your average restaurant in other international cities.

Let me explain. An Italian growing up in New York has a very strong sense of his being a New York Italian. So when a tourist comes to his business and shows a lot of interest in the food, the places to go in the city, just being in New York generally, the proprietor or whoever is working, may take a sense of pride from being able to be this kind of friendly personable representative of the great American metropolis.

Also, because there is often a lot of tension in the every day grind with the crowds, the traffic, crime, etc. etc. if you go into say a butcher shop in New York run by say a typical New York butcher of Irish descent, he is likely to have that same sense of identity, and if you show a lot of interest in his business, the meats, just the novelty of being in a typical kind of New York butcher shop or fish market or whatever, then it taps into a kind of sense of celebrity that people feel just because they are part of a distinctive cultural and social scene.

In a place like Sydney, you don't have the same kind of history of ethnicities, immigrant experiences, defined neighborhoods, boroughs, etc. etc. etc. Therefore in the consciousness of the average shop owner, restarauteur, or whatever, there isn't this feeling of significance as part of a defined community, so when you go into a store and start conversing with the employees or proprietor, you are unable to offer them any kind of sense of deeper appreciation for their unique cultural background, social identity, and they also feel less like you are coming into a particular experience of their life than that you are just a customer.

Just to give you an example in fact of the same kind of dynamic but in a different setting. When I was in Berlin, I would go into stores or restaraunts run by Germans and there would be just kind of an ordinary feeling that I was just a customer and they were just running a business. I would get my food or whatever merchandise I was purchasing and the person helping me would do so in a straight forward ordinary kind of way. There was one particular Turkish restaurant I would eat at though, that was run by a Turkish immigrant, of course, and his brother, and they were very enthusiastic to engage me at a personal level and offer me their own Turkish tea, talk to me about me or let me talk to them about themselves and their deal, etc. etc. etc

Because of this, I think it is not at all unusual that New York should get that kind of recognition, whereas a less ethnically diverse city like Sydney might offer less in the way of "personality."

That is not to say that there are not all kinds of diverse cultural opportunities and experiences in Sydney, only that it is not historically the kind of cultural microcosm that is New York.

Answer 2

New York polite?

Answer 3

How did NY get to be the best??that's the rudest place I've ever been.Don't know about Sidney,never had any problem in Australia or New Zealand

Answer 4

I would seriously check the credibility of the survey....if they listed NY as #1!!!

I'm in Maryland...it's bad enough here!

Answer 5

not to talk on as some do,it was a readers digest unscientific survey. mostly anecdotal