Upset about good traffic?

Question

Why do people get upset when you complement their city on having good traffic or little traffic?
its like you are putting them down.
I was in san fran for about a week. and the traffic was amazing compaired to chicago. and I would tell everyone that.
and they looked angry or something.
like if they did not have bad traffic its a bad thing.
are people crazy or what?

Answer 1

As a native Californian (who has lived in other parts of the U.S.), I think it's an outgrowth of the self-centered nature of many in the state. They're miffed that you're not "sharing their pain"...

Complaining about traffic is as Californian as porn stars running for governor. It's just something everyone in the state seems to do, whether it actually is horrible or not. Bitching about the freeways takes on a ritualistic aspect -- a collective exercise in self-pity, if you will.

You'll find the same attitudes in San Diego, L.A., Sacramento... even in little places like Salinas and Santa Barbara. The traffic is always rated as "bad". And the expected response is: sympathetically agree regardless of what you really think.

By saying traffic is good, you're sort of breaking one of those unspoken cultural rules for this region of the country.

Answer 2

I'm thinking you never did the rush hour over the bridge..
and i never saw good traffic in downtown sanfran and i drove in new york city and la so i know really bad traffic.

you may have said something you didn't realize.
people up there are usually very friendly for city folk.

i'd ask one of them to expalin the look.

Answer 3

maybe it wasn't what you said that upset people, but rather how you said it.

Answer 4

Sounds crazy to me! ! !

Answer 5

thats just the way they are there...always angry about something...i guess if i lived there i would be too

Answer 6

you should have worn some flowers in your hair.