According to a Readers' Digest survey, Toronto is the 3rd most polite city in the world, after NYC and Zurich. Yes - NYC!!! Seems lopsided, doesn't it? They also ranked Montreal pretty low on the list, which is the complete opposite of my experience.
As big cities go, Toronto is unusually polite. Zurich I can understand, but we were beaten by New York??? New York????? Give me a break.
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Gitouttahea!
On my lone visit to Toronto I did get a sense that it was a very polite city.
The survey was biased towards western cities. They based it on:
a) whether salespeople said "Thank you" after completing a sale
b) whether people stopped and helped if you dropped a stack of papers on the street
We know a) and b) don't happen much in Mumbai. It's not a rude thing - it's just not part of the local tradition. It doesn't mean they don't appreciate your business. Also, if I dropped something on the street in Mumbai, I don't want anyone touching anything.
Actually I have to support the NYC. I've found it to be very polite. But the situation on the subways is totally different. It's like a different world down there, no one really acknowledges the other person, they all mind their own business.
Yeah - the subways are a totally different world. Some really strange characters down there. It's entertaining for visitors though :)
I thought that New York was known for its rudeness!!!!?!?!? And come on, we're very polite down here in the South!
Bombay is a polite city. It is. People just haven't figured that yet. Too bad I say too bad...
Lafayette, Louisiana is freakishly polite. You'll make a friend at the gas pump.
autogato: never been to Lafayette but if New Orleans is any indication, I'll believe it. I was expecting NO to be up there on the list. Which is why this survey's quickly losing credibility with me.
What fascinated me was the intensity with which the media in Bombay took offence to the rudeness tag by Readers Digest. I happened to read the article - though in rankings they called Bombay the rudest, they had warm and positive things to say about the city, and also explained the cultural differences that went unheeded by these yardsticks of politeness. That went completely unreported.
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