Another day, another crappy list that Las Vegas somehow ends up on. But this one strains credibility to the nth degree. Travel + Leisure, as part of its annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, asked readers to rate cities across the country based on 54 aspects—everything from restaurants and romance to residents’ personalities.
Apparently Las Vegas ranked high on readers’ assessments of the least-friendly locals, placing 8th on the list of rudest cities (Los Angeles and New York took places 1 and 2, respectively). Thing is, there was no criteria listed for what constitutes “rude” or “unfriendly.” I mean, we all know flipping someone off from your car is rude, and that yelling at a waiter in a restaurant is rude, but I have yet to see that happen in Las Vegas, on the Strip or off. And who exactly were survey respondents thinking about when they said Las Vegas is rude? Were they talking about tourists, rushing about and sometimes shoving one another to get to the next casino? Or were they talking about our local citizenry?
Because if the answer is the latter, let me be the first to say this list is full of crap! I’ve lived in Las Vegas for eight years, and they’ve been eight of the most pleasant years of my life. In fact, I’ve gotten to know more people here than I did in 20-plus years in California. I’ve gotten to know my neighbors (not a jerk in the bunch), I talk to the checkers and bag boys at my local Albertsons every time I go in (good eggs—the people, not the produce), and I’ve felt welcomed every time I go to social events.
Sure, we have aggressive drivers here—not gonna argue that point. But is that really the definition of “rude”? I suppose some would argue yes, but the more people I talk to here, the more I realize their aggressive driving is the result of adapting to their surroundings—be aggressive or be killed, basically. So no, I don’t buy into the stereotype that lead foot=asshole. And yeah, I have bumped into the odd person here that doesn’t return my smile, but so what? You don’t judge an entire city based on a few sour faces.
So, to the readers of Travel + Leisure, do Las Vegas a favor—be nice when you visit, because Sin City doesn’t really care for rude people. Partiers, definitely.
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