I’ve never met anyone nice from New Jersey…
Dukes up for a bridge-and-tunnel battle.
Perhaps unsurprising to many, tropical paradise Hawaii has been topped the friendliest state in America, according to a current research.
But in a head-tilting transfer, New York was deemed the third-friendliest behind second-place finisher … New Jersey?
“I’ve never met anyone nice from New Jersey,” Keith Toliver, 74, pointedly told The Post — with a smile — while passing through Penn Station this week. He was among those The Post randomly polled about the scandalous discovering from bespoke journey website Journeyscape, which analyzed Reddit posts, the quantity of guests from abroad, LGBTQ+ equality and “happiness” scores from WalletHub.
“I think New York is a better place to be,” the native New Yorker added.
Sorry, New Jersey, but according to many, New York is the friendlier of the 2.
Keith Toliver isn’t bought on New York trailing New Jersey in the “friendliness” rankings. Tamara Beckwith
“New York gets a bad rap,” said New Jersey commuter Michael Claps, 63, who beforehand lived in the Empire State. “It’s really third? That’s shocking.”
Even though he now lives across the river, he had no drawback defending his former state of residence.
“I think New York people are super friendly,” he declared, including with a snicker, “the ones I know, at least.”
Michael Claps is a big supporter of his former home state.
Tamara Beckwith
However, Devika Kumar, who grew up in New Jersey but now lives in NYC, believes that her current stomping grounds are “just as nice” as her home state.
“It has a bad reputation, but people are really, really kind, you know?” the 27-year-old told The Post. “People are very welcoming and pleasant. I imply, you discuss to me, I’m right here, I’ll provide you with instructions.
“We can have an abrasive front, I think, and come across a little bit hard to approach, but we’re actually nice people in the world,” she continued.
As a former New Jersey gal, Devika Kumar still gave props to New York. Tamara Beckwith
Ex-New Yorker Dylan Layman, 31 — who was visiting from Montana — agreed, including that both states have “had a bad rep for decades” and particularly believes it’s “outdated” to assume the Big Apple and its neighbor are impolite.
He added that the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple is key to its affability.
“I think it helps that they see more people in a day,” he explained. “The more people you see in a day, the more chances you have to be friendly.”
Dylan Layman scoffs at the drained perception that the Big Apple is missing in affection. Tamara Beckwith
Laura, a 60-year-old New Jersey native who most popular not to reveal her last identify, agreed that New York isn’t that standoffish.
“If you’re walking down the street and you smile at someone, they’re gonna smile back.”
However, after a pause, she famous that New York is “probably” friendlier than its neighboring state.
“I think New York’s probably a little tougher, maybe people aren’t as friendly [as] they could be,” she said. “But again, if you put a smile on your face and say, ‘Hello,’ they’ll talk or they’ll smile back.”
“If you’re walking down the street and you smile at someone, they’re gonna smile back,” Laura told The Post with — you guessed it — a smile on her face.
San Francisco resident Shafeeq Ibraheem, 29, was pleasantly shocked to discover New Yorkers very pleasant and helpful during his journey from the West Coast. He even revealed that people helped him carry his baggage through the subway and in any other case helped him get around. (To be sincere, even we’re a little shocked by that.)
He did, however, offer one clarification.
“California is nice but not kind,” he said, “and New York is kind but not nice.”
Shafeeq Ibraheem was the recipient of some generosity of spirit on his journey to NYC. Tamara Beckwith
But let’s be real.
There are pleasant and unfriendly people in every single place you go, according to Jersey man Andrew Fernandez.
“I’ve been around in different parts of Jersey, and you’re going to meet a lot of different people that are more friendly than they are in different areas,” he summed issues up for The Post, including, “And sometimes when you travel to different parts of New York, you’ll meet some rude people.”
Garden State resident Andre Fernandez was diplomatic Tamara Beckwith
Here are the top 10 friendliest states to go to, according to Journeyscape:
Hawaii
New Jersey
New York
California
Nevada
Massachusetts
Arizona
Illinois
Utah
Virginia
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