A significant factor that goes into the moving process is the type of environment you want to move into. Will your neighbors be friendly? Will people smile at you on the street when you walk past? If general friendliness is what you're looking for when choosing your state of residence, do your best to avoid these ones.
1. New Mexico
KRQUE, a local news station in New Mexico, conducted a study that showed that their own state was the one that drew up short when it came to livability and friendliness.
New Mexico performed poorly in several areas, including having the highest percentage of the population living in poverty, the lowest income growth, the lowest population aged 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher, and has the highest crime rate.
Strike one, strike two, strike three……strike fifty……..strike one hundred…..okay yeah you're out.
2. Arkansas
Arkansas has developed a rather nasty record of only being friendly to locals. Big 7 Travel had this to say about Arkansas, which ranked 49th on their friendliest states list: “Arkansas is a friendly state if-and emphasis on if-you're local. Visitors might feel like they don't quite fit in and are unwelcome.”
Ah, brings me back to the days of high school cliques. Do better, Arkansas.
3. New York
New York has a reputation of having gruff citizens who have little patience for outsiders. However, it is a melting pot of many different cultures, and if you manage to stick it out long enough, one of the boroughs will inevitably start feeling like a community to you.
You might have to make a few measly sacrifices to the various borough gods, but after that, they'll welcome you to the cult-I mean community- with open arms.
4. Michigan
The magazine Best Life released a list of all 50 states ranked from nicest to rudest, and Michigan landed on number 17 on the list of unfriendliest states.
Detroit came in as #1 for the rudest city, which is a nail in the coffin considering its sky-high crime rate.
5. West Virginia
World Population Review states that West Virginia comes in fourth-worst in the U.S. and World News Ranking.
Nevermind that their infrastructure is in shambles (nearly 1/3 of the roads are in terrible condition), but the people are miserable as well!
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Their population change in the last decade is -3.3% and their unfriendly index comes in at 97.66, according to Best Life.
6. Delaware
Delaware might be a small state, but it has a big personality (and that's not necessarily a good thing).
It earned it's ranking by the general public allegedly thanks to it's reputation as being boring-does that apply to the people too?
7. Massachusetts
The residents of the not-so-great state of Massachusetts apparently have a habit of displaying overall indifference towards newcomers and tourists, which may seem fine, until you ask for directions and are met with that “I don't care, figure it out yourself” attitude. That's cold, man.
8. New Jersey
Don't shoot the messenger, the masses have spoken. There's no way to sugarcoat it, New Jersey is just full of rude people.
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People from New Jersey are known for their in-your-face personalities (maybe Jersey Shore wasn't too far off after all…).
They'll lull you into a false sense of security by pumping your gas for you, but keep your guard up at all times. It's the wild wild East, after all.
9. Washington
I know, I know. “How could Washington possibly make the list? They're kind to the environment so they must be kind to others, too.” WRONG.
Even though Washington consistently ranks highly on surveys about environmental friendliness, it seems as though that's the only place those niceties are extended.
If you're a tourist, you can expect what is described as a “polite but unfriendly” vibe. You can also refer to this vibe by it's villain name, the Seattle Freeze. Muah ha ha.
10. New Hampshire
Now these folks may just be misunderstood. Locals are notoriously fiercely proud of their beautiful state, and that can apparently come off as arrogance towards outsiders.
Between the stubborn locals and spread out civilization, it can be hard to make friends. But hey, on the bright side, it's harder to make enemies too.
Maybe we can give these proud New Hampshire-ans a second chance, eh?
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