One of the most unique aspects of New York, more striking than even the most spectacular monument or the grandest skyscraper, is the attitude of the people who live there. When you first experience it, the New York attitude can seem rude but, if you take the time to understand why they adopt this tough external shell, you will come to see that it is not rudeness ... or, at least, not exactly.
New York is a tough place to live. Few places on Earth are as competitive at every level of society - simply getting from one end of a street to the other can be a challenge in this busy, overcrowded metropolis. New Yorkers live at a frantic pace because, for them, every second genuinely does count. For most people, their rent wipes out a frighteningly large portion of their monthly earnings, forcing them into a continual game of catch-up and, buddy, you'd better not get in their way.
You will come across the brusque New York attitude in practically every situation in which people interact with other people. New Yorkers themselves, when you query them on it, tend to see the typical attitude of their city as being a mixture of toughness, bravery and plain-talking, all mixed in with a dash of being overworked. They will reluctant admit that they can see how visitors might, just possibly, perceive this as rudeness but they find it hard to believe that anyone would prefer the sunny West Coast attitude, which they perceive as being horribly fake and insincere.
