Re:Why Tokyo Works
by ramraj07 on Saturday November 06, 2021 @10:12PM
(#29135896)
I’ve lived in two places that were described as “everyone is nice and friendly to you”, Montreal and Texas. In Canada it is actually true I think. Most people were genuinely nice. But they showed that with actions not words (viz. a car almost always stops if they even think you might cross). In Texas for sure everyone smiles and is all •howdy” but boy have I rarely met someone who truly meant it. I’d much rather live in Canada (if they start paying better lol), but I’d rather choose to live in NYC than Texas. At the least in NYC people show what they mean and are actually friendlier in actions than Texans.
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Re:Why Tokyo Works
by throwawaysea on Sunday November 07, 2021 @12:51PM
(#29141690)
I’ve had the opposite experience, despite my biases expecting otherwise. People in rural areas and the south have been genuinely warm, welcoming, and helpful. People in urban areas like NYC or west coast cities have been rude, apathetic, or at best falsely polite in the sense that there’s nothing really behind that politeness. YMMV I suppose.
I think it's also an American rural vs urban south thing.
In general, everyone in urban southern areas is "busier" and more brusque than their rural neighbors. However, southern politeness still demands a token hospitality even to strangers, so you get a weird twilight of warmly-greeted, but coldly-helped.
More rural, and people have (or take) more time. Someone will have no complaint talking about local trivia with you for an hour or more.
Re:Why Tokyo Works
by nazgulnarsil on Saturday November 06, 2021 @10:42PM
(#29136058)
Similar dynamic in that Canadians will tell you that their famed politeness is in fact passive aggressive.
Same is true for Minnesota