British anthropologist Robin Dunbar figured out that the human neocortex seems to have a capacity to manage social interaction in societies of about 150 people. Beyond that number, social order seems to break down.
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Very interesting.
I live in a small village, and the social structure broke into cliques after we hit around 100 families.

Similar dynamics in a lot of kibbutz/moshav/settlement communities.

To a great extent, you inhabit the world you create wherever you are.

Exactly. Because no matter where you go, there you are. And you bring all your baggage with you, unless and/or until you learn to leave what you don't need, or have outgrown, behind.

I'd bet that much of LA's rating comes from the experience of driving around LA. Otherwise people there seem fine, though they can be a little wifty.

The rudest city that I've experienced is DC. There's a soul-less quality to the people. They won't make eye contact or acknowledge you, and seem anxious when forced to. I've seen people ignore extended harassment and assaults on women and children in public in DC. There doesn't seem to be any civic culture or sense of community, and the city is stratified in a way that I've never experienced anywhere else. It's like Americas answer to Johannesburg.

Amy's book is great! For those of you who haven't read it, you really should.

I've never been anywhere particularly rude. I find people are generally friendly all around the world. Asshats are everywhere, but they are also exceptional everywhere.

If you look for rudeness you'll find it anywhere, and since LA has everything of course it has that too.

But as your anecdote reveals, this is an incredibly kind and giving place. The people who decided LA was the rudest probably didn't expand beyond the LA they see on TV and ever get north of the 101 or south of the 10 and possibly didn't go east of the 405.... maybe they went as far as Highland.

I'm not saying the Westside is ruder than the rest of the city, it's not. Folks are just as nice in Pomona as they are on Montana Ave, but no one would ever hang out in Pomona looking to slam LA's "beautiful" rude people because they wouldn't think there are any beautiful Angelenos there.

I am no apologist for the shortcomings of Los Angeles and I used to think the inhabitants were rude. Then I was sent to New York City on a series of business trip. LA is a paragon of politeness compared to NYC.

In LA when people say 'Have a nice day!' they mean F.U. - in New York when people say 'FU!' they mean HAVE A NICE DAY! (old one)

>> To a great extent, you inhabit the world you create wherever you are.

Thank you, Amy, for reminding us of that.

I've never been to Los Angeles, but I spent a good chunk of last week in Santa Barbara, and found the people there quite friendly indeed. A little odd sometimes, like the middle-aged ladies hoola-hooping in the park, or the youngsters in astronaut suits (complete with helmet), promoting an indie film, but friendly. Of course, Santa Barbara's not that big of a town, but if SB's any indication of Southern California as a whole, it's a friendlier place than DC/Northern Virginia.

However, I agree with Miss Alkon: Your community is what you make it, and you have to carve it out for yourself wherever you are. With the tools we have today, that may be easier to do than it used to be.

Given that this is a survey of travelers, a few facts should be considered with regards to our ranking. First contact in town for most travelers are cabbies. Our cabbies are mostly Armenian and Russian, and in general, men from those cultures aren't perceived as being polite. So what we really need are a few charm schools for our Armenian and Russian drivers, and suddenly the perception about the politeness level found in our region should rebound nicely.

XWL has a good point -- by and large, I would imagine the travelers surveyed are strangers. Because of that, they won't be in the familiar, comfy coffee house, in a position to hug Miss Alkon's friends Kay and Earl. They may be in the same coffee house, but it's not theirs yet. That kind of familiarity, that kind of comfort, only comes with time. Could it be that travelers who come to Los Angeles a lot, enough to be familiar with the areas they visit, enough to be recognized by the people living there, find the city less rude? I wonder if anybody's ever measured that.

I work in a very odd place. when passing someone in the wall, a brief nod of acknowledgement is almost required. The usual greeting is “hello, how‘s it going”. I have never worked in a place like this but have found it lovely. With 4500 people here it seems like people want to have a positive interaction

British anthropologist Robin Dunbar figured out that the human neocortex seems to have a capacity to manage social interaction in societies of about 150 people. Beyond that number, social order seems to break down.
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Seems to be the upper limit of every primate species ever studied execpt for one.

Cant recall the name of the species, but I was watching some nature show which showed about 5000 of them living on top of a mesa, I think it was in africa, and the voice over guy mentioned that this one species was the only varient of primates ever to be seen living in a group larger than 150

I've spent lots of time in the L.A. area (most of it in Orange County, admittedly) and I've never noted the residents to be any more or less rude than any other place. By and large, I don't even have a problem with L.A.'s drivers; in fact, I appreciate it when the drivers around me know what they want to do and they just do it without any dilly-dallying. It's a lot better than some places I've been (e.g., Dallas) where most of the drivers seem to have no idea what they're doing or where they're going. If you understand a few basic rules about driving in L.A. (the big one being that you've got to drive at whatever speed the traffic is moving at, regardless of the speed limit), then you'll have no problem.

I was born an raised in relatively small town PA, next to cities. I was about 7-8 before I learned how to cross a street in a town. I now live very rural (six acres of property and 2K-3K ft from my nearest neigbor).

I've been in NYC, L.A. and other top 10 cities on a very limited basis. I've been in the outer urbs and other suburbs of major cities. I've been in Seoul, S.K. and any number of large cities in the Midwest.

The city centers and urbs just put me on a high level of watching my front (and back). Most suburbs, I set the alarm on my car, and at least glance to see if anyone is hanging out.

My place -- I will go take a leak on my front lawn. ;-)

It is a level of general relaxation of being where I am. Having to live at a heightened awareness 24/7 is not my style. I think that is what burns people out on the long-term.

I'm also the type of person that can walk into a "five-star" bar or a low-end biker bar and fit in. But I wouldn't try to wear a suit to a biker bar either.

Want to find out how rude people are someplace? Move there, and tell them you're from California.

You'll find out quick enough.