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> It isn't "rudeness," as so many people like to think of New Yorkers.

I've always suspected the perceived "rudeness" comes not from the residents of New York, but rather the people from neighboring locations that commute into New York for work. New Jersey, I'm lookin' at you.

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I tend to agree with this (lived in NYC 13 years) - a lot of the rudest people are the folks to treat NYC as a transient place. That said - these people bring out the aggressiveness in the die hard New Yorkers, which creates a feedback loop... When you live in a densely packed place, it’s hard to find your peace. What happens, is that you experience one stress, unleash it somewhere else, which transfers it to more people, etc. The daily subway commute is a toss-up whether you will have a wonderful morning- get a seat, headphones, read a book, smiles from a stranger... or, barely making the train, getting smashed into a train full of angry, rained-on people, 2 strangers screaming at each other, your blood boiling inside. It’s hard to not accidentally “transmit” that stressed, anxious, distrusting feeling to the next people you interact with, further contributing to the perception that “new yorkers are rude”

Ah, yes, the classic “no true New Yorker” fallacy.

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