Rude New York

I just spent a week in New York city: Amazing. The reputation New York has for being full of rude people is wrong. They are efficient. Millions of people, (26,000 per square mile) interact all day, and there is seldom any conflict. People almost collide at every corner, but it is not a problem. People getting off subway trains go around people getting on, but it works. People crossing streets do so at the corner, and they wait for the light, mostly. Cars stop for red lights, and go as soon as it turns green. It is like a giant ant colony, complete with tunnels. We asked for directions, and people helped. One young lady, on the way home to see her dog at lunch, stopped and walked us back to the corner to show us where we should go.
Some professionals were a bit abrupt. There was a line. That is fair.
If I am at a traffic light, and you are in front of me, and the light changes to green, and you don't go, I will honk my horn at you. Here in Richmond, I get nasty looks, as if I am being rude. They are being rude by stopping me, and all the people behind me. People stop in the middle of the road to chat with people. People here seem self-centered, but New Yorkers seem to respect each other. They don't have a lot of fake polite rituals. They just treat you with respect. That is better.