London vs New York City

Let me put this disclaimer forward before continuing - I have never lived in New York, I've only visited. And boy, what an eye-opener that was...

Today I was discussing with some colleagues the differences between London and New York (I know, we're such an erudite crowd), and someone mentioned how much more polite and civilised New York was when compared to London. Now, at the risk of being unpatriotic, I had to beg to differ. Their argument was that when people in NY get into an elevator they all greet one another, say things like, 'Excuse me.' and 'Thank you.' whereas in London you're greeted with a stony silence.

N.B.

Don't talk to strangers in London. They'll think you're weird.

Now, back to the discussion at hand - my colleague continued to say, 'Ah, but yes, if you hit the wrong button or hit all the buttons or touch anyone there is a flurry of, "What the fuck do you think you're fucking doing?!" and things like that...'. This is when I realised that a fundamental big city break down existed, and wouldn't it have been nice to be told this one basic thing about London.

I expanded on my mental eureka aloud, 'Well, that's because in London there is a veneer of politeness and social order - break it and you're regarded as a freak. New York, however, has a veneer of friendliness - and that's actually a lot worse. You get comfortable in this idea that people like you and in fact they're ready to kick off because you did the wrong thing. In London, you know where you stand with people. If they like you, they're your friend, if they don't like you - they're polite to you and move on. Very quickly.'

Now, this was agreed upon by all in the conversation. London exists based on its own funny little quirks and how the mass behaves in regard to itself. New York is really a mute point, we could have been comparing London to Paris or Madrid or Tulsa, Oklahoma. The point is, London is, at its core, a very polite and civilised city. Don't make the mistake of believing politeness is friendliness. (As in America where friendliness is politeness - confusing for those of us who are genuinely friendly towards people we like and polite to those we don't like.)

In the end, it's good to have your eyes open going into things. One system isn't necessarily better than the other - it's a matter of taste. Me, I'm a Londoner. I'm no Carrie Bradshaw, I have no great romance with New York, maybe I could have been in an alternative universe. Unfortunately for my folks back out in the wild plains of the great American prairie, they accidentally raised a tea-drinking-Monty-Python-loving Brit, ergo I moved to be with my own.

And the rest they say, is history.