How You Doin’? NJ’s Rudest City is Surrounded By Even Ruder Cities

Question: Are those of us who live here in New Jersey looked at as being rude?

Yes and no. Maybe.

If you live here, I think we see each other as being pretty level-headed, generally speaking. We are certainly not afraid to say what we're thinking and if you ask another person a question, you should be prepared for a rather honest answer (probably accentuated by the F-word four or five times in the same sentence) -- but I don't think we're "rude."

Being rude is defined as offensively impolite, ill-mannered, or having a startling abruptness.

Alright, maybe we are just a little rude. Sometimes.

On the other hand, if you don't live here, I think the stereotype of all nine million of us as having that famous "Jersey attitude" precedes us.

Regardless, if you're driving at or below the speed limit in the left lane of the Turnpike, Parkway, or Expressway, you will see every flavor of anger and rudeness you can possibly imagine.

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So what is Jersey's rudest city?

There are also at least two answers to that question, too. And we're in good company.

Editors at Business Insider recently released a list of the 50 rudest cities in America. New York is tops on the list and Los Angeles is second. That's probably to be expected.

Of the Big Apple, they said,

New York is rated the rudest city by a large majority. But it's nothing new. Manhattan borough historian Michael Miscione told The New York Times in 2011 that New Yorkers have been considered rude since the 1700s.

In 1774, President John Adams said of NYC, "I have not seen one real gentleman, one well-bred man, since I came to town. At their entertainments there is no conversation that is agreeable; there is no modesty, no attention to one another."

Philadelphia is in the top 10

The City of Brotherly Love ranked 9th on their list -- and Eagles fans are to blame, apparently.

One thing Philadelphia is known for is its intense Eagles fans. Over the years they've done some arguably rude things.

And, yes, they mentioned fans throwing snowballs at Santa in 1968. That story will never, ever die.

Ever.

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Back to New Jersey

I mentioned there are two rude cities in the Garden State.

One website looked at the question from a driving point of view. In that case, Trenton is New Jersey's rudest city.

Insurify studied each state's rudest driver based on a percentage of drivers with a violation on their records. In Trenton's case, it's 1.72% of drivers, which is 37% higher than the state average.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Trenton, New Jersey, is a city full of commuters. A whopping 4.12% of Trenton workers have a 'super commute' of more than 90 minutes one way. Long commutes might explain some rude behavior, but poor infrastructure probably doesn’t help.

On the other hand, citing a survey of 2,000 people, Sports1st.com ranked the rudest cities in America and based on those opinions Newark, once voted the least friendliest city on the planet, came in at #13.

Just a stone’s throw away from New York City, Newark has become increasingly popular with tourists and locals alike over the years. Of course, many people still associate it with the nearby airport that serves the Big Apple, so maybe Newark natives are resentful of always playing second fiddle to the more popular and famous big sister?

Hey, Sports1st: Comparing any city in North Jersey to New York City will quickly get you a middle finger and four or five F-words.

Rudeness everywhere

Based on these websites, not only are we rude here in New Jersey, but we are surrounded by bigger, ruder cities as well. And I think we like it that way.