America's Rudest Cities

I recently read this article on America's rudest cities. http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-rudest-cities As someone who has lived in or frequently visited a few of these cities I found these rankings to be very interesting, although strange to me. I noticed Chicago ranked in at 15. I thought about it for a while and I really feel like that's a pretty fair ranking. Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the U.S. so to only be the 15th most rude doesn't seem that bad. Overall I found my experience with most people there to be quite enjoyable. The typical person was pretty polite and helpful if needed. While I definitely had some negative experiences with people there I feel as if that's only to be expected in a city so large where people are simply not concerned about you.

Atlanta I found to be surprisingly rude for a city that one may think would have some southern charm/hospitality. Still what surprised me most was the ranking of Memphis as more rude than Chicago. Once again, I never found Chicago to be an overly rude city as some may expect. Obviously mannerisms are different there than they would be in the South. The casual smile I'm accustomed to giving to and receiving from strangers as a southerner was definitely not the norm. However, I didn't accredit this to rudeness just a difference of regional cultures. I would occasionally feel slightly offended when I would smile at a passer-by or hold a door open for someone, as I more often than not do, and would not receive any kind of gratitude or smile back. Not initiating the exchange is one thing, but once someone goes out of their way to be polite the least another person can do is to acknowledge the other person. I never stopped smiling at others nor did I stop holding doors open for other people, I just began to accept the fact that most of the time, not always, but usually, I wouldn't receive a smile or nod or thank you in return.

Now I've never lived in Memphis so maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I've visited more than a handful of times. I have never found the people of Memphis, not that I've met them all obviously, to be rude. In fact, I've always had nothing but positive experiences when interacting with locals. I've always found them overly kind, helpful, and even downright cheery. Even the homeless in Memphis, I know this sounds odd to say, were supremely polite to me. A homeless man even offered to give me his joint and his beer because it was my birthday. If that's not hospitality I don't know what is!!