The 15 unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020 indicate that we have a growing problem of intolerance in the country. In a country where the great Donald Trump is president, you would expect nothing less. His election as president may be one of the most unfortunate events in history in terms of race relations. Once closeted racists now share their hatred in the open, with a feeling of safety that hasn’t been seen for a long time.
Some Trump supporters blame illegal immigrants for our problems. The source of our problems isn’t illegal immigrants, though they exacerbate the problem. The problems started in the 80s. Corporations started thinking only about their shareholders and the stock price. In order to increase their profits and boost their stock prices they started moving their operations into Mexico, Canada, and other overseas locations where they could hire employees at a fraction of the U.S. wages. Profits and stock prices skyrocketed over the last 40 years, whereas real wages stagnated and jobs disappeared. Here is what one of our readers wrote to us summarizing how we got here:
“Just ask any of the millions of people who had to move out of the Midwest to find work. I moved out of Illinois nearly 42 years ago because the tree huggers closed up the coal mines and Cat and IH and all the companies working for and supporting them started shipping jobs out of the country. In the mid 70s my dad had 30,000 members just in his union local in East Peoria. Now I doubt if you could find anywhere near that number of union employees in Cat throughout the country. A lot of people bash President Trump but he saw what was happening and he is the only one who is trying to do something about it in 40 years. I was a Democrat until the turn of the century but like a lot of marriages that relationship was over long before I made it official. Now I’m an Independent and told that scumbag cummings (intentional little c) before he died that I would never vote for another Democrat as long as I lived for the way they have treated President Trump. I don’t support him for some of his methods. I support him for what he saw was happening, coming, and now here (begging China for PPE) and trying to change it.”
So, our middle class was hollowed out and can’t find jobs that pay decent wages. Yet, now they have to compete with illegal immigrants for the minimum wage jobs. No wonder they are anti-immigration, feel trapped, and turn to racism. I am certain if we bring back American jobs from Mexico, China, and all the other places, most of the racism will go away.
Racism is just one facet of an intolerant and unfriendly society; plain rudeness can also be seen as a sign of unfriendliness. Someone not replying to your ‘Hello’ or simply pushing past you in an attempt to get somewhere can be considered unfriendly. If you’re curious about the rudest city in the world, it will perhaps not surprise you that Paris often wins that unfortunate race. However, at the end of the day, attempting to specifically define the term ‘unfriendliness’ is an exercise in futility.
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Keeping in mind how America is getting considerably divided, studies pertaining to the most unfriendly cities in the US have stopped, in order to focus more on improved relations between people and building harmonious relationships. Or at least, that’s the official reason presented by Conde Nast Traveler, which is the premium survey conductor on this topic. Hence, most of the studies are at best a couple of years old, forcing us to rely on them. If you want a more global perspective, you should head on over to the 10 unfriendliest cities in the world. On the other hand, if you’re curious about the nicest cities in America, or perhaps the kindest city in America, moving to the South may be just what you need.
Now, for our rankings, we have considered the last survey conducted by Conde Nast Traveler, which had hundreds of thousands of respondents, which we have combined with a similar survey conducted by Travel + Leisure, another popular website for travelers from all around the globe. Initially, we decided the highest ranking for cities which appeared on both the lists. After that, cities appearing on Conde Nast Traveler’s survey were given preference due to the fact that the survey was more extensive. To complete our article and make a final list of 15 unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020 we have included crime statistics with the help of the FBI, thinking that high crime rates make a city quite unfriendly. Interestingly, a large number of the cities in this list also appeared our list of the most racist cities in the United States. We hope you agree with us! Go ahead take a look at the least friendly cities in the US this year:
15. Providence
Perhaps the reason behind Providence being deemed unfriendly is that visitors found the residents too geeky and aloof, even though the city has a reputation for being welcome to LGBT people.
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14. New Haven
While there isn’t much to see in New Haven admittedly, that would explain why it’s one of the most boring cities, not one of the least friendly. But perhaps, this indicates the subjectivity of the people who were included in the studies on the unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020.
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13. Hartford
While the culinary scene of the city improves, many people describe it as dreary, and perhaps a significant change is required to improve the ranking of Hartford.
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12. Atlantic City
Crime is the main reason why Atlantic City found its place on this list. Also, the residents of this poverty-stricken city have little to cheer about, and even less to be friendly about.
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11. New Ark
This city in New Jersey has earned the ire of the Conde Nast survey takers for years, more often than not taking the number one spot, which makes it surprising that it wasn’t in even the top 15 of the list compiled by Travel + Leisure. The city known as the car theft capital of the country has unsurprisingly failed to win many admirers.
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10. Seattle
When a city has a specific term (Seattle Freeze) to describe how hard it is to befriend residents of the city, it’s not surprising to see it among the unfriendliest cities in 2020.
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9. Los Angeles
While many tourists love visiting Los Angeles, especially on the off chance that they can meet celebrities, many people are turned off by the city due to high rates of crime and bad traffic.
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8. Dallas
While Southern hospitality has seen many Southern cities ranked as some of the friendliest, Dallas, unfortunately, does not make the cut, mainly due to its people being slightly more hostile than their neighboring cities.
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7. San Francisco
The cost of living in San Francisco has skyrocketed, and as a result, many of the people living there are quite snobby, which has been off-putting for everyone else, of course.
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6. Chicago
A city which is generally considered a popular destination earned a place high on this list of unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020, thanks to its rampant crime and gang wars.
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5. Las Vegas
It may be the entertainment capital of the country, but apparently, the people who visit the city aren’t too pleased with the behavior and antics of those present in the city.
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4. Orlando
While it may be home to Disneyland, apparently that’s not enough to redeem Orlando and hence, it earns a spot in our list of unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020.
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3. Oakland
While the readers of Conde Nast Traveler made it clear that they despise Oakland and everything it stands for, some people (namely Oakland residents) aren’t pleased that their city is ranked so low on this list.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Baltimore
Ever since The Wire, it’s been hard to get rid of the image of a poverty-stricken city with rampant crime. Perhaps it is this image which has seen Baltimore find a place on this list.
Pixabay / Public Domain
1. Detroit
Ever since the auto industry abandoned Detroit, the city has fallen from one low to another, now topping the list of 15 unfriendliest cities in the US in 2020. A city which was once famous for its industries is now famous for the gang wars, which have claimed hundreds of lives in the last few decades. Add in the noisy traffic and bad drivers, and you have the recipe for the unfriendliest city in the US.
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