The Most Polite City On Earth

It's New York, actually.

Really, that's not surprising if you've been there in the past 10 or 20 years. Perhaps New Yorkers were rude before or something, or just appeared to be impolite in comparison to their even-more-polite counterparts from the sticks, or just were given the "rude" label by television or Hollywood, but they aren't rude now.

The ultimate test of politeness is found by walking up to a complete stranger on the street, and asking for information, directions, or assistance. I think that New Yorkers take pride in knowing about their city (landmark locations, subway lines, major buildings) and enjoy a chance to show that knowledge to other people, such as tourists, much more than residents from other cities like to do. I would imagine that has increased quite a bit since 9-11 as well.

Additionally, New York city has a sense of comradeship or membership amongst residents... some kind of "we're all in this together so lets try to have a little harmony" mentality. It's not "friendly" per se, but it is... well... polite. New Yorkers keep the television down because the distance from your neighbor is measured in inches, instead of yards. New Yorkers make room for each other in crowded store aisles, and make sure to offer a loud clear apology should even the slightest pedistrian collision take place. New Yorkers don't squabble over stupid stuff, and when they do, they tend to keep it in perspective and keep it civil, because... well... people do get killed in New York when other people lose perspective.

Finally, the test itself was rigged in New York's favor. It consisted of a three "politeness tests" performed throughout the city multiple times: (1) Seeing how often people said "thank you" after you make a purchase in their store; (2) seeing how many people held the door for you when you walked into a building; and, (3) dropping papers and seeing how often people would stop to help you.

Well, (1) is a ubiquitous tradition in America, not moreso than other European countries, but... well... let's just say that it is surprising not to hear it in New York.

I don't know why, but (2) was almost tailor-made for New York. It is almost unthinkable to let go of a door handle and let the door swing shut on another person who is walking up to that door in New York. It just isn't done... ever. True for other cities or not, it is particularly true for New York.

I guess (3) is another one for New York, because it's always windy in New York City, and dropped papers are never more than a few steps away from the nasty gutter, or moving traffic. Everybody has been in that situation, chasing a paper down the street, and I guess everybody is just inclined to help anybody who is having that problem.

So anyway, New York wins. Politeness is indeed a New York City tradition.