There was a simple lesson on cultural differences in this chapter in the different way bot...

I lived in Manhattan for 20 years, and I'm originally from somewhere in the area of the south, not saying where. I always found New Yorkers to be the warmest, kindest, and most helpful people anywhere in the entire United States. I will take New Yorkers over the inhabitants of the place I grew up any day. I much prefer frank open conversations that include getting out your feelings and opinions and quickly getting over it, above the cold polite smiles of my upbringing where a single difference of opinion can make someone shun you forever. Otherwise what you said was very nice and I agree. I'm just defending New Yorkers because they do not deserve any kind of unfriendly or cold reputation. Try living in the eastern part of Washington state if you want unfriendly. Also, regarding hugging, when I came home and stayed for a while, people acted like I was weird for hugging so much. New Yorkers hug more than most.

Indeed and agreed! I live in Puerto Rico. americans from NY and Cali are the more exposed to latins, middle easterns/arabians, and other lively ethnic groups, than the rest of USA. I did find americans cold/dry no matter where they were from. I've been to various states and white americans were equally cold/dry be NY, Penn, CT, etc. And I mean white americans, because irish and italians are lively as us latins.

Europeans are a little more touchy-feely. When I lived in Northern Europe many people would greet someone they had only met once or twice with hugs. Dancing in nightclubs almost always seemed to involve the partners touching the whole time (no matter how fast/slow the music) In pubs, strangers would invite others to join them for a drink ... etc. It all just seemed so welcoming.

I happen to be a New Yorker, so it is East Coast for me all the way :D but about 10 years ago, my family moved to Texas, and the cultural differences between the two states was like getting hit with a brick, not in a bad way per se, but the differences are stark. Multiple studies have also shown that the Southern States are definitely friendlier than those in the East/West Coast. Ironically, people in states that are more open and friendlier tend to be poorer, conservative and less educated, while people from the unfriendly or less friendly states tend to be liberal and college educated!

I've always made the argument that New Yorkers are very stressed out and move at an accelerated pace and we are also hyper conscious about respecting peoples' personal space and time, and those are big influencers in the perceptions people form about New Yorkers, something that people in the Southern states are less concerned about, and therefore, they are perceived as being more open and friendly. However, there are salient differences between the various cultural populations within New York, which balances things out. NY is one of the most diverse States with a very high concentration of everyone and everything (all ethnicities/all countries) and the level of warmth or friendliness will vary depending on whether you are White or not and on whether you approach the typical Puerto Rican, African American, Italian or White American. If you were to find yourself in need of help, the typical Puerto Rican would probably invite you (a total stranger) to their home, an African American would give you a helping hand on the spot and a White American would most likely not notice you standing there because they are too focused looking straight ahead in a hurry to get to their point of destination. Another big factor is racial attitudes across states. The empirical data indicates that White Americans are more fearful of non-White people/strangers, and therefore, are less likely to act friendly or offer a helping hand if you are not White. So I do agree that New Yorkers do not deserve the unfriendly bad rep, but there are definitely salient cultural differences; In general, White Americans are less expressive and less open than other cultural groups, so emotional openness and friendliness or being touchy feely are typical characteristics of Non-White New Yorkers and Non-Whites in general.

I know that it is a cultural shock for Latin Americans interacting with White Americans for the first time, and vice-versa; I think it is very important to recognize the differences among cultural groups, but just as important to understand that those differences are not indicative of character flaws, or that it makes them "bad" people., I understand that it is tough on both sides. For Latin Americans, aloofness is a interpreted as a slight, and for many, no matter how much they recognize that it is a cultural thing, they can't avoid automatically perceiving it as rejection. It's different when you're born in the States and you learn to live with the differences or because you have become highly acculturated, but for those visiting the US, they tend to share in your perception.

Not coincidentally, many countries in Europe follow the economic Nordic Model, which foments a more laid back, less stressed and open culture/society, in contrast to the hyper-competitive capitalist model of the United States, which foments chronic stress because most are trapped in the rat-race or extreme poverty. It makes sense that a relaxed and stress-free culture would be more conducive to friendliness and/or emotional expressiveness in general. Conversely, the concept of "siesta" is anathema to capitalism, a custom that is very hard to understand for many Americans, but still in practice in the old countries (Mediterranean and Southern Europe) and most of Latin America. However, causes of cultural variations are more complex than that. But I would tackle the argument that if we incorporated the "siesta" in the US, we Americans would become less stressed, and therefore, happier, friendlier and more touchy-feely (≧∀≦)