Visitors say L.A. is the rudest city in America. Do you agree?
Maybe it's all those frustrated people stuck on the freeways -– honking horns and flipping the bird. Or maybe it's the notoriously annoying lines through security and customs at LAX. Whatever the reason, visitors voted Los Angeles the rudest city in America, according to a recent Travel & Leisure magazine survey.
Yup, that's right. Ruder than New York.
The survey measured a number of different categories. Out of 35 major cities, L.A. also ranked dead last in public transportation and pedestrian-friendliness.
But take heart, Angelenos, it's not all bad. We ranked in the top 10 for luxury stores (No. 4), big-name restaurants (No. 6) and weather (No. 8).
Do you agree with the results? Is Los Angeles really that rude? According to the survey, which provides rankings by both visitors and residents, the city is not very friendly. Even residents put it at No. 34 -- that's one spot away from the bottom. Give us your thoughts below.
-- Kimi Yoshino
Photo: The view of downtown Los Angeles on a clear day. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Who says we're rude? Who is it? Well, screw them! Now get off my computer!
Posted by: Shaun Mason | January 20, 2011 at 04:19 PM
Yes I agree..BUT! the locals cool... it's all the fools that have moved here from someplace else that have ruined it. The Wedge rules..stay wet
Posted by: Stu Schauer | January 20, 2011 at 04:49 PM
where the hell are my previous comments?!
was that rude enough?
Posted by: joe | January 20, 2011 at 05:01 PM
I've lived in AZ, MN and VA. I find LA accepting and tolerant. People want to get to know you and your culture. I find the opposite in AZ and parts of MN (excluding Twin Cities). Fairfax,Springfield, Alexander Virgina are similar to LA.
Posted by: jennak | January 20, 2011 at 05:51 PM
i moved here from Michigan 2 years ago... and i HATE the people here... they spit, smell, LITTER like crazy, and will just as soon walk into you tham move to to side to let you by. I really hate living here.... but i have to because of school. i hope after i move out of cali it falls off the map... end of story
Posted by: NOTA LAKERSFAN | January 20, 2011 at 06:21 PM
No, I Dont Agree that Angelinos are rude!
LA is a wonderful paradise of people. They are Always
cordial when given proper respect. I Love LA!!
Posted by: EnigMaa | January 20, 2011 at 06:23 PM
The locals surely are full of themselves. And don't get me started on those that don't want to speak english.
Posted by: BLM | January 20, 2011 at 06:35 PM
I have been to all but two states and all the major cities. I was born and raised here, however, I would agree with the findings. The people of NYC are very human, friendly and helpful. I have been going to NYC for 40 years. On our last trip, my wife suggested that we ride the subway to JFK. We had so much luggage. I was not really in favor of it. I am glad that we did it. People were so helpful. Three different couples told us where to get off and how to take the last leg. When one couple got off, another couple told us not to worry--they would make sure that we got to our destination. There have been similar experiences in NYC. I have not had comparable experiences in Los Angeles.
Posted by: Michael P. Russell | January 20, 2011 at 07:08 PM
Very True, having lived 20 years there and 20 years here and yes Angelinos are much ruder.
Posted by: Ted in California | January 20, 2011 at 07:14 PM
I agree that LA is rude. Its a difficult place to navigate, people are aggressive and lack manners. People in general in LA don't seem happy at all, like existence is mere work and annoyance. I go to LA and Encino a lot, and sometimes is just so frustrating driving on the streets up there. I can't help but wonder what foreigners think when they see Hollywood, so called land of dreams. The city is a dump. Its like you have 3 types of stores, hooker stores with platform shoes and ugly wigs, head shops, and shoe stores. There are gems tucked away in the mire up there, but you sure have to want to go there to deal with getting there. And then you have the Scientology folks, like they replaced the Hari Krisners, pushing their products and movies onto visitors. When I go I do so with the intent to not linger, as I want to get what I came to get, and get the hell out of hell. I feel sorry for delivery drivers up there. What a nightmare.
Posted by: justina | January 20, 2011 at 07:30 PM
my home town of la isnt rude this place is selah washington come here and check it out they are rude stupid and a bunch of wannabes and they think they know everything NOT CANT WAIT TO GET HOME TOO MY RUDE PEEPS
Posted by: snettacy mclean | January 20, 2011 at 07:32 PM
They missed the ruff period and are bitching about chalk board rules.
Posted by: Be thankful | January 20, 2011 at 07:34 PM
I had a dinner party for some friends once. They never showed up. I called the next day and they told me they were invited to better party, "Nicholson was there." And couldn't understand why I was upset. Nuff said?
Posted by: Robert | January 20, 2011 at 07:35 PM
The people that say LA is rude, are probably from other countries and when they come here, they act the same way they would in there country and wonder why it's not excepted. The USA has bent over backwards to accomodate foreigners, but those very same foreigners don't respect the American way and continue to practice their own methods of social behavior. If they would even try to assimilate into the American culture, they would see that Americans and LA are not rude. When you try and force your ways on anyone, you will be met with resistance. If we were to travel abroad and acted the same way that is acceptable in LA, we wouldn't get very far before someone said you can't do that in this country, it is against our customs. I have travelled abroad, and people from other countries have their way of life and when they see you being different fron what is exceptable, they let you know it. They want to be able to come to the USA and still be who they are, and when it comes to someone letting them know that what they are doing is not acceptable, they consider it rude. The USA has an acceptable way to live,
regardless of where you came from, and if you assimilate, you will be welcomed
Posted by: john howard | January 20, 2011 at 07:38 PM
No, I don't agree. Visitors are just accustomed to a particular type of stupid in their hometown or other stupid places in the world. We're not rude and rather kind in many ways... however, maybe we're more smart than what the stupid visitors are accustomed to.
Posted by: Swami Xtra | January 20, 2011 at 07:40 PM
Incorrect you smile we smile this La La Land we have days & its a big city go to the right spot & just say Hi i am from so & so nice city & good weather why is everyone smiling ???? It not to bad just have GOOD attitude or leave & try again
Posted by: Quincy Etheridge | January 20, 2011 at 07:43 PM
Welcome to the "attention whore" capital of the world where negative behavior guarantees attention. I've traveled the world and L.A. easily has the most rude people on the planet. In cars and SUVs, cell phone use, in stores, everywhere. I haven't been to a movie theater for 5 years for just that reason.
(P.S. If one more waiter or waitress refers to me an my wife as "you guys," I'm going to boycott restaurants!)
Posted by: Gene | January 20, 2011 at 07:49 PM
Totally disagree. Angelenos are friendly. The visitors are probably basing their opinions on encounters with Hollywood types. If they want to experience rude (and stupid), they should travel to Ohio. Drivers here routinely tailgate during inclement weather. A schoolbus tailgated me! They're so lazy and miserable they can't even walk their shopping carts back to the entrance of the store. Most of the time, they just push the cars into the middle of the parking lot and let everyone else dodge the carts as they pull in or pull out of the lot. I've seen more drivers here texting while driving than in LA. Morons with rebel flags on the back window of their pickup trucks are routine around here. Finally, it's not just about the drivers... John Boehner represents these people. Doesn't that say it all?
Posted by: Tess | January 20, 2011 at 07:55 PM
I was born and raised in the L.A. area and retired six years ago to Texas. I didn't realize how rude L.A. was until I moved to Texas. Central Texas is a more friendly and civil place to live compared to most places in California.
Posted by: Jrwkilleen | January 20, 2011 at 08:05 PM
As a rare breed these days - a Native Los Angeleno - yes, these folks got it right. I am born and raised here and I am sick of the outsiders who come from other parts of the country and who think they can act like movie stars without earning their way in life and in the city.
Many native Los Angelenos - the nice, friendly, helpful to give the shirt off their back types have FLED this city because of the cesspool it has become. The new people coming here from all over have not respected our city by acting like they are entitled to things just because they are present here. This "take, take, take", "me, me, me" and "do not help anyone but yourself" mentality that this city has become is reflected in the false beliefs that the outsiders who have come to make this city their home think that this is the real way L.A. natives are. It is not. As a native Los Angeleno, I can tell you truly that the great people who once called this place home who have fled never espoused the cesspool ideals of the "me, myself and I" mentality at the expense of others. That never was - and still not is - the correct Los Angeleno way of thinking.
Yes - this is right - this survey is right on - sad to say.
Posted by: angeleyes | January 20, 2011 at 08:21 PM
I'm a native Angeleno, now living on the east coast. Recently, I was in New York City, in the bus terminal, looking at the map of the terminal trying to find the ticket office for the bus back to New Jersey. At least three people saw me looking lost and approached and offered directions to the office.
In L.A., I would have been completely ignored.
People in L.A. are so used to spending their lives alone in their cars, they just aren't used to interacting with others.
Posted by: Garth | January 20, 2011 at 08:47 PM
No, Sun City West, Sun City in Arizona is the rudest.
Posted by: Pam Baker | January 20, 2011 at 09:19 PM
Yea, but we have more BMWs, MBs, Armenians, and Democrats, SO THERE! You got a problem with that?.....Make your move!
Posted by: bhaggen | January 20, 2011 at 09:25 PM
why do people feel that they are entitled to some sort of special treatment before they can be happy? Come on, we don't have to talk to them like their mothers would.
I'm originally from LA. I now live in sacramento, and let me tell you, if you don't know what rude is, you should come to this sac town.
Posted by: razzzledazzzle | January 20, 2011 at 10:35 PM
I would think the "Rudeness Quotient" varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. There are areas of LA that are pretty friendly, and some not so. It is generally a City in a hurry, and that can make people seem impatient or rude. Think about this: A great many people in this City came here from elsewhere. If now there is a high level of rudeness, it came with them. Angelenos, the originals, are likely to live-and-let-live. The cultural and ethnic mix and a smorgasbord of nationalities contributes to a lot of misunderstood signals. Visitors are sometimes tourists, and expect magazine -cover experiences, hotel-level courtesy and accommodating locals to make the expense of visiting worth it. Go where ever you do, you will find crowds: and you can not judge people in L.A. as rude or friendly unless you have taken the time to be around a while and in varied situations. Politeness is not the monopoly of any one place: people are rude or friendly, and they will be that way no matter where where they may live.
Posted by: Abhi Buch | January 20, 2011 at 10:38 PM