City of Brotherly Love? Ha!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 05:00PM According to the Travel & Leisure’s latest poll which was just released, Philadelphia was rated one of the least friendly cities in America. Again.
Unfortunately, I have to totally agree. You may be shocked to hear me dis my city like that, since I am usually such a cheerleader for our little “the city of brotherly love”.
But it is true. We are unfriendly, cold and rude. But before eveyone starts tsk-tsking, I will say that most cities you venture into will seem unfriendly, especially if you don’t live there. It’s the nature of the beast in many ways. When you are surrounded by so many people all the time, you just tend to blank them out. I would never get from A to B if I had to nod or say hello or even make eye contact with every person I pass along the way.
One of my first experiences after moving to Albuquerque taught me just how conditioned I was living in a big and unfriendly city most of my life. It was my second day in New Mexico when I walked into the local taco place, went up to the counter and gave my order, “Yeah. I’ll have one soft taco, one hard taco and a small diet Coke please.”
After ordering, I began rooting through my wallet to get my money when I heard the woman behind the counter say, “Oh no you won’t.”
Huh?
I looked up, seeing her for the first time.
There she was, standing with her arms crossed, but smiling. A huge smile. She leaned onto the counter and gestured for me to move in closer. “You must be from the East Coast,” she said. I nodded, “Philadelphia.”
“I KNEW IT!” she yelled, slamming both hands on the counter, causing the entire place to take notice.
Still smiling, she gave me my first lesson in non-city life. “Well, you’re not on the East Coast now, honey. So relax! Smile! See, this is how it works around here. First you walk in and ask me how I’m doing. Then I say I’m doing fine. Then I ask you what would you like. Then you tell me what you want. Then I go and get it. Then we wave good bye to each other and all that kind of stuff. We’re nice and friendly around here.”
By now I was smiling and laughing at her spot on observation. But still, in many ways I felt like I was on Candid Camera or something, especially when the guy behind me tapped my shoulder and told me he had been to New York once. Then the girl sitting at the next table smiled and asked me how long I was in town for. Then the cook pumped his fist at me, stating the Phillies will go all the way this year…
Finally, my food was ready. I gathered my bag, smiled at everyone, bid my good-byes, waved, thanked the woman profusely and left.
And eventually I learned how to smile at passersby, look people in the eye, chit chat in line and all the other things people do on a daily basis in a small, friendly town.
In fact, I learned too well. By the time I returned to Philly, I was an outsider from the minute I stepped off the plane. I walked into the airport Starbucks, smiled at the young woman behind the counter and asked how she was doing on this fine summer day.
“What do you want, I haven’t got all day,” she said with a blank stare.
I was about to repeat my question when I heard the guy behind me heave a huge sigh. The kind of sigh that reeked of I’ll-never-get-out-of-this-place-with-this-bozo-in-front-of-me. So I just rattled off my order instead.
Meanwhile, the girl at the next table never once looked up.
Home sweet home.
Philadelphia, city life in Yadda, Yadda, Yadda
Reader Comments (4)
Yeah, Philly can kind of suck. But I always like to play devil's advocate and relate the time when I was 18 that I got stuck at 30th Street Station after 11pm and the Penn campus van communication system somehow got borked up and my ride never came.... and I didn't have cash for a cab. A cabby noticed my plight and drove me up to my dorm without charging me a penny, and the whole way to 41st Street we talked about how people think Philadelphians suck.
So, the exception that proves the rule, I think...
I've never been....but at least I have a heads-up now.
http://www.booshy.wordpress.com
-->You are SO right about Philly!! When I was in college, I would travel from Virginia to see my then boyfriend who lived in Center City and I was so turned off by the rudeness and bluntness. I absolutely couldn't stand Philly and the bad attitude. My best friend witnessed someone showing a businessman in front of the metro one day. No surprise it happened in Philly.
Oh well, it makes us appreciate The South and in your case, the Southwest.
~deb
http://www.websavymom.com
I'll take honest and curt over the fake obligatory social graces any day. There is nothing that irks me more than people being chatty and smiley because "that's just what they do in these parts"