My job involves regular travel to many cities and states all over America and I am constantly shocked how different the people are all over the country. Regional cultures are strong and regular car and airline travel has made me believe that regional stereotypes are very true.

In my experience the nicest people are in the mid sized towns in the Midwest and the South. I find the coldest people are living in the area from Washington DC to Boston MA. People who live in real small towns can be chilly and insular.

What State has the friendliest people? What State has the coldest Service people? And why?

We just returned from California (SF) & found the people very friendly.

We just returned from Mass (Boston) & found the people very friendly.

Coldest: Big Island, Hawaii
Nicest: Big Island, Hawaii

We just returned from [enter state name here] & found the people very friendly.

There are friendly people - and not so much - everywhere.

Troll alert. Anyone recall:

travdis
postwhileworking
travellerquestion
lowell
Justineshapiro
Andytrav
Fatgirl
Bunchargum

obx,

how could you know or assume that to be?

care to throw out 6 numbers from 1-36?

When we were in South Carolina a couple of summers ago, we noted that all but one service person we encountered were extremely nice - definitely "southern hospitality". FWIW, the one who wasn't was the gate guard at the entrance to the "plantation" where the Hilton resort is. This doesn't mean most people aren't nice elsewhere (they are in my experience), but this was beyond my expectations!

This is NOT an interesting thread.

>>how could you know or assume that to be?<<

Different names but posts with the same syntax, same misspellings, same grammatical errors, and the same topics, some insipid but many bigoted.

Why don't more black people ride airplanes?
Why don't more black people go to national parks?
Why are hispanics so unfriendly?

Kind of like the thread the OP just started a few minutes ago:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35133317

Why are there so few African Americans in Museums?

Feed the troll. Go for it.

I think a better question is what state has the most efficient service people.

Why judge them by friendlines - you're not there to make a new best friend - but to get something done.
Is there anything more aggravating then standing on line to buy something ot get soemthing done and the clerk is chatting away with the person they're supposed to be procesing?

As long as they're civil I will take efficiency over a lot of faked smiles and silly conversation any day of the week.

(Which is why the DC to Boston corridor gets my vote as to what service should be.)

I miss bunch!

You would!

This sort of post is so vague and meaningless in my book. You can get a nice or a gruff counter person at the same place in any state any two days in a row. Walk up to one check in person at any airport and get a cold greeting, and look at the people next to you getting a warm and friendly greeting from their check-in person. The luck of the draw in getting a friendly person as opposed to a rude one -- has almost nothing to do with the state, or small town/large city. And what's the point of discussing it anyway? Just to "badmouth" a particular region? Are you looking for a reason to boycott a certain city? Or as suggested by someone else is this just another attempt to sit and dish negative stereotypes?

Phrases like the following are particularly meaningless:

"People who live in real small towns can be chilly and insular." Huh? People in large towns can't be?

"I find the coldest people are living in the area from Washington DC to Boston MA." Is this based on thousands of experiences compared to thousands of similar experiences in Los Angeles or Chicago or what? Meanwhile doesn't this statement seem to totally refute the poster's own comment about people really chilly and insular coming from small towns? You mean "real small towns" like New York, Boston,and Washington? HUH?

The OP may WANT to believe that "regional stereotypes are very true", but the fact of the matter is that about half of all service people you run into will have moved there from some other place -- so what kind of logic is there to such stereotyping in the first place? Do you always ask your service person, "were you born here?" or "how long have you lived here?" so that you are fairly evaluating them?

Sorry, but this kind of discussion is rubbish. Can anyone suggest what possible good can come from such a discussion?

I miss you too, mr. jamg!!

Neo, think we need a "rubbish" alert icon... and trav_conversation (janewarner -- who apparently welcomes spam herself in her own email account) will win a bunch of those, I'm afraid.

Bored people think up chatty or provoking questions to see how much of the forum they can dominate. Either that or school's out.

Well since I live in the targeted area of Boston and

Half the people on this forum, who recognize my screen name think I am really nice, funny and helpful and entertaining,,,,

While the other half, who recognize my screen name think I'm a bitc#

mathematically this question is like playing tic tac toe.

obx
7-23-36-17-6-1

Actually, now that I've clicked on the poster's name and looked at her various other equally silly and prejudicial posts, I understand this post a lot more. She is an obnoxious bore who even had a woman on the plane in front of her turn around and ask if she was going to talk on the whole flight. So now, are we really supposed to question why she runs into so many "cold, distant, and rude" service people? I wonder if it includes the ones who run away in terror when they see her coming.

What do YOU think, Mr. OP Troll?

The OP seems to have a fixation with stereotypes. Strange......