We're not grumpy ... this is our home and the sidewalks/subways/etc are not our amusements, they are how we get to work/meetings/appointments.

Ask your tourist friends how frustrated they get in traffic in their hometowns ... that's New Yorkers when we commute (but we're not isolated in our CO2 spewing cars).

Sorry, New Yorkers, but the problem of fast people vs slow people is universal, and not only tourist vs native. I've walked with native New Yorkers who have dawdled, while many out-of-toweners are just as impatient as natives with people who don't observe subway etiquette, have their fare or token ready, block corners, etc. Not all New Yorkers are faster and not all tourists are slower!

And no one has mentioned the issue of walking along behind someone who is talking on their cellphone -- this is often a local -- when they stop dead in their tracks with "NO. She didn't say that!" or whatever. I've literally walked right into the back of people when that happens. If people can't walk and talk on their cell phones at the same time, they should go somewhere and sit while they talk.

Do you talk on the phone when you drive around your hometown?

Bingo.

Live here and <i>then</i> complain.

:)

Marilyn, when you say native New Yorkers who move slowly, are you talking about new york state? Because if you live or work in Manhattan, you have to be fast otherwise you'll get trampled on a daily basis, and one has to be learning-impaired to not learn to move faster within days let alone after a life-time of living here.

&quot;Do you talk on the phone when you drive around your hometown?&quot;

No. Never. But if I did, and jammed on my brakes when someone was behind me because of something I heard on the phone, I'd sure expect to be yelled at whether that person lived here or was a tourist.

What on earth does living there have to do with the &quot;right&quot; to complain about people walking in a crowd and suddenly stopping without reason?
Did someone get up on the wrong side today?

&lt;&quot;&quot;Ask your tourist friends how frustrated they get in traffic in their hometowns ... that's New Yorkers when we commute (but we're not isolated in our CO2 spewing cars).&quot;&quot;&gt;

Gekko, I'll give you my sister's phone number who lives in South Florida and she'll be happy to give you an earful about New Yorkers isolated in their CO2 spewing cars.

Sher:

You were not expected to pay again. And if you gave the guy a $17 tip on top of her $5 tip and the meter total, I would say that driver made out all right.

At what point did the meter stop..at the first stop?

I think the driver was trying to scam you.

The meter stopped at the terminal for Delta.
It was about $30 and she gave him an extra $5. She said to do what I wanted when he dropped me off.
I had offered to split the base fare and we could each tip what we wanted.
He then drove to the US Airways terminal. I think the meter went up maybe $1 or no more than $2.
I gave him $10 and he was very unhappy.

I ended up giving him basically what the shuttle would have cost me.

I want you to understand that I was grateful they picked me up. I was willing to pay my share. But his attitude ticked me off.

After all. He got the full fare of $31 plus $15 originally betweem the two of us. That in and of itself was a hefty tip.

I just would rather take the shuttle. it is $15, tip two or three and they never gripe.

He did very well for himself. Next time just try to tune out those kinds of gripes. It sounds like he knew you were a tourist and was trying to wring some extra $$ out of you.

Just yesterday I was trying to cross 3rd ave with 2 gals standing right at the crossing edge of the sidewalk - chatting - right in the way of 6 people trying to cross the street - what do you do in this instance? You shove past her hitting her w/your shoulder bag yelling EXCUSE ME! and then you mutter obscenities under your breath all the way to the gym.

Sher,

IMO you got intimidated into paying more than you should have.

Some would say, &quot;Welcome to new York&quot; at that point but I certainly don't think all cab drivers in the city are like the one you got.

I suspect some of the same people who are complaining about the difficulties they have in navigating because all the visitors are the only ones who don't follow the &quot;rules&quot; are the same ones who tell you New York is the greatest city on earth.

Wait, it's not?

As many times as I go to NYC, I cannot seem not to be intimidated by the taxi drivers.

I come from a very smal town and we do not have bus or taxi service. So, I guess practice makes perfect and I just have not practiced enough.

I take the subway a lot and so am not familiar enough when some drivers take me from A to B by way of Toronto.

Also, it is difficult for me to put taxi fares into perspective not having a point of reference any where but NYC which always seems so expensive to me.

I am a native New yorker who remembers a time when a person could pause for a moment on the street or crosswalk without being plowed down from behind!!
To the person with the analogy of a car stopping in front of you on the highway.......if you are behind and plow into said car......YOU are responsible for damages as you are required to keep a respectable distance so as to stop in time......Same goes for the street in my opinion. I've never seen any &quot;minimum speed&quot; signs on Lexington Ave.

Reading this thread... wow. Personally, I would not dream of lecturing visitors to my town, or of blaming them if they do not magically understand my rules.

This is exactly why I dislike New York - sorry, no disrespect intended. But I cna only say what I feel.

For background, I have worked in 31 countries worldwide and traveled to many more. New York beats most on rudeness and on presumption that everyone must know the quirks.

I was there just a few days ago (Thursday) and once again got to pay $70 for a taxi to Newark, and the cabbie would not take me to my off airport hotel as that would &quot;double the price&quot;. I guess another rule I failed to magically guess.

I am sure NY is great for those who do not mind being unable to get taxis, being blamed by locals for not knowing all their &quot;rules&quot;. I mean, gee, imagine getting shouted on because you do not know subway turnstile etiquette. Beyond me.

Again, no disrespect intended - I just prefer to go to places where people are friendly.

And where are YOU from mwillems??

Toronto. Well, actually, I was born in Holland, educated in the UK, am Canadian. But I have also lived in Libya, Italy, Hong Kong and a variety of other places.

..and here's a Manhattan shot I took in January:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mvwphoto/363609751/

I think it's kind of funny that some New Yorkers make a big point of the rudeness of visitors who block turnstiles or stop on stairs or whatever, but when it is suggested that locals who abruptly stop dead still when walking at a fast pace causing a major blockage or even a &quot;knock down&quot; incident are very defensive about their right to do so. Would they be quite so defensive if they had never done it, but had seen tourists do that?