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New York doesn’t exactly have a reputation for congeniality. Eye contact is often considered rude, saying “hello” takes up precious spare time in a day, and knocking over someone’s $1 cup of deli coffee is an unofficial crime.
A new report from StreetEasy and its sister brand Zillow, however, found that New York is in fact the friendliest city in the United States.
Nearly a third (31%) of New York City homeowners surveyed by the listings sites said they’re close friends with some of their neighbors, compared to 27% of nationwide respondents, and another 53% said they occasionally chat with them. Renters are slightly less neighborly, with 24% saying that they’re buddies with nearby residents, but that’s compared to 21% nationally.
The report also found that in a city of 8 million people living on top of each other, a little space might be healthy. StreetEasy reported that 60% of homeowners in single-family homes and townhouses said they’re close friends with their neighbors, versus 30% in large buildings.
That being said, existing in such close proximity to each other could be helping New Yorkers relate to each other, the report notes.“Whether we like it or not, New Yorkers do our laundry together, ride the elevators together, get our mail together, and squeeze by each other in narrow staircases and hallways,” it says. “It seems likely that all these opportunities for connection and interaction add up, making it easier for New Yorkers to bond with our neighbors than for Americans living elsewhere.”
That’s also not to say that the five boroughs don’t have their fair share of grumps. Of the homeowners surveyed, 3% said they completely avoid their neighbors in New York, compared to 5% in the rest of the country.
And for renters, the amount of social interaction depends largely on how long someone has been living in their digs. One in 10 renters who have resided in their apartments for more than a year reported having no interaction with nearby residents, but that’s still down from 14% nationwide.
Among the New York renters who have lived in their home for less than a year, 16% don’t interact with neighbors, compared to 20% of that group nationally.
If you’re wondering which is grouchiest city in the country, the StreetEasy/Zillow report doesn’t answer that question, as it focuses only on New York data. On its 2016 “Rudest Cities in America” list, however, Travel and Leisure gave that title to Miami, and placed New York at third.