Is Boston Really That Rude?

We're not rude, we're resilient.

Apparently so, according to Travel + Leisure magazine readers, who voted Boston the fifth rudest city in the U.S., behind Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, and the King of Curmudgeons, New York City.

Whatever.

Actually, the attention-grabbing headline, “America’s Rudest Cities” is really a twisting of the survey results, which asked readers to rate which city had the friendliest people. Boston was ranked fifth from the bottom. I guess “nice people” doesn’t sell subscriptions as well as “insolent louts.”

It’s also interesting to note that this is a small part of the entire 2011 America’s Favorite Cities survey, in which Boston ranks in the Top Five for “sports-crazed,” “4^th of July,” “intelligence,” “classical music,” and “historical monuments.”  We apparently suck at “barbeques,” “driving ability,” and “winter.”

Is any of this a surprise? Isn’t Travel + Leisure smart enough to figure out that bad weather, congested traffic, and paltry grilling prospects would make the nicest person in the world just a bit crabby?

Give me a break.

It’s true that New Englanders are known for frankness more than friendliness. But having lived here for over twenty years now, I must say I’m quite impressed with how considerate we can be, given the hassles we have to deal with on the roads and in the forecast. If you take a close look at the survey, four of the Top Five friendly cities are warm in more ways than one: Charleston, Savannah, Nashville, and Honolulu.

Wouldn’t everybody be more buoyant and carefree if they could wear shorts in January? Just look at what happened to New Englanders on a day like yesterday: the temps hit a near-record 56 degrees and people headed outdoors in grateful appreciation. Some likely even broke out the grill for a celebratory steak after the Patriots’ win at the NFL Playoffs.

We’re not rude, we’re resilient. If the weather’s cold, we chill. If the traffic’s bad, we deal. We’re honest and forthright in our words, not phony and fake. That’s just the way it is. I happen to prefer it that way.