Phoenix ranked as the eighth rudest city in the nation (Scottsdale: rental car, transplants)

[Valley Native]

America's Rudest Cities - Articles | Travel + Leisure

Sorry for the bad news, but "Travel and Leisure" published the results of a voter survey, and they chose Phoenix as one of the rudest in the nation ... outranking places like Philadelphia and Chicago. Is this justified, or exaggerated? Personally, I have heard mixed opinions ... some say we are very friendly here, but many others complain about how horrible we drive, so I'm wondering if our potential for road rage might have contributed to this.

No surprise that New York came in at #1. I was a little shocked at how Miami earned the #2 spot for rude people. Perhaps it's all the New York transplants & snowbirds who migrate down there.

[unit731]

The list only states Phoenix/Scottsdale. The rest of the Vally must be fine.

As with all reports such as this where and what statistics did they use?

[observer53]

Originally Posted by unit731

The list only states Phoenix/Scottsdale. The rest of the Vally must be fine.

As with all reports such as this where and what statistics did they use?

Exactly. Looks like some sort of survey of subscribers. Not the most reliable way to get info. It doesn't take very many people responding to really skew the results. And, if you look at the comments to the article, there's not a lot of agreement with the results overall.

[locolobo13]

Yeah, I would like to see the survey too.

As far as New York City goes. I was there only once. I was surprised at how polite people were. Maybe expectations have something to do with it.

[VOC1]

That list is out of whack. It should have been a survey for #2-#10 because anyone that travels extensively will tell you there is no comparison in rudeness to Philly.

I don't see Phoenix in the top 10 at all, but maybe the survey takers mistook some people not understanding English for rudeness.

[slackjaw]

Surveys that attempt to rank (and thus measure) unquantifiable things are pretty pointless.

[ReadyFreddy]

A look at this year’s rudest top 20 reveals one overarching trend: the bigger the city, the bigger the attitude—or at least its perceived attitude.

The article itself stated the obvious. Big cities are faster paced which can be seen as rude.

Also, big cities are tourist destinations, which also lends to perceptions of rudeness. People spend a bundle to come out here expecting it to be a vacation paradise so any slight is likely to be magnified. They're chillin on vacation, we're trying to get to work on time, we clash.

I had to laugh at Orlando on there. If I was the Orlando tourism authority, I would do something about these two gas stations. The closest two to the airport, right off the airport exit, charge nearly double the going rate for gas and are sneaky about it so a lot of tourists returning their rental cars either don't notice or assume that's just the going rate for the area. I didn't see a rate sign and pulled into one in Oct. and about fainted at the price on the pump of nearly $6/gallon! I asked the attendant how far you have to go for normal-priced gas and he said half a mile. It did leave me with a sour final impression of Orlando. I'm all for capitalism but practically holding up the tourists on their way out seems a little rude!

[azgirl85220]

I find Phoenix to be friendly....more friendly than the Washington DC area where I grew up!

[Bondurant]

A horrible list and weak effort all around. A few sentences on each city is not an effort at all.

[PhinsFan1]

I agree - Phoenix is DEFINITELY more friendly then the DC area. I grew up there too, and so many people are rude and self-involved. Blah! I don't miss that place at all. Overall, I find Phoenix to be less rude then most big cities I've been to.