7 Reasons Why East Coasters Aren’t Rude

Ah, the joys of the East Coast. There’s the tri-state area (where I grew up), Tom Brady fan boys, New York pizza, boardwalk rides, dirty beaches — and in most non-natives’ opinion, rude people. Something about that gets to me. We’re not rude, I promise. Living out in Colorado, I’ve met more rude Uber drivers, store clerks, and daily randoms on the street in a month than I’ve probably dealt with in all my years on the East Coast. I’ve also never been denied service with my guide dog by an Uber driver on the East Coast — in New Jersey, New York, or Florida. So what does that say? Here are seven reasons East Coasters are the way they are.

1. We mind our own business. We’re all about rush, rush, rush. We don’t want to inconvenience you, and we don’t want you to inconvenience us. Nine times out of ten, we don’t care what you’re doing — and we don’t have to. What’s rude about that? I’ll let you live your life, and you let me live mine.
2. There are just too many people. The blind guy walking down the street in New York City, the businessman in a suit, the woman walking home with her groceries, the fifty people in line at Starbucks, the vendor selling hot dogs on the corner — do we really need to acknowledge everyone we pass? Most places don’t grasp the sheer size of the tri-state area. Not being greeted by a stranger isn’t going to hurt you — we’re actually saving you time.
3. We don’t do long stories in tight spaces. I’ll have a conversation with you, I’ll get to know you — for the two minutes you’re checking me out, or the few minutes we’re on the bus together. You don’t need to tell me your whole life story, not because I don’t want to hear it, but because there are other people around who didn’t sign up for it. I was on a bus once in New York and a guy spent twenty straight minutes venting about politics. I finally told him, “Sir, you and a few million other Americans feel the same way. Complaining to me isn’t going to change anything. Good luck.” He wasn’t the only one who didn’t need to hear it.
4. We’re actually considerate. I’ve gotten more unprompted help navigating New York City — people asking if I needed assistance — than in Colorado, LA, Washington D.C., and my hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, combined. Where’s the rudeness in that? Those small moments of people stopping to help have led me to meet some genuinely inspiring people.
5. We’re loud. We’re animated. We’re expressive about everything — the drama in our families, the chaos at work. We like people to know we’re having a good time, and we like them to know we’re not messing around. Protest leaders yell to get a point across. Same idea.
6. Road rage is real — and it’s not personal. It’s just our way of saying “get out of the way.” And if you cut someone off, just go. Don’t hesitate. That’s the move.
7. Weed still isn’t legal here. Might make us seem uptight, but the East Coast is a little behind the curve compared to Denver, Seattle, and Portland.

Most people assume I’m just an ignorant, rude East Coast kid with no friends and too much time to write articles defending home turf. I’ve got great friends, and I’ve wanted to be a radio personality since I was six years old. I love talking to people — I want to be the friend people can fall back on, the voice that’s a distraction from the everyday grind. I’m the guy who might actually want to hear your story, because every conversation makes me more knowledgeable for when I’m on air. Everything we do is built from experience — sometimes the average East Coaster just doesn’t want you to be part of theirs, and that’s okay.