Florida is known for its warm sunshine, pristine beaches and fun theme parks, but the Sunshine State might not have the sunniest disposition compared to other states in the nation.
Nuzzled between Nevada, which ranked 41, and New Hampshire, which ranked 43rd, Big 7 Travel marked Florida as the 42nd unfriendliest state in the country.
“Considering Miami is often voted as one of the least friendly cities in America, Florida has its work cut out for it. Cities such as Orlando and its tourist-friendly initiatives are helping the state big time, but overall its reputation has some catching up to do,” the travel site wrote.
According to Big 7 Travel, the results came its combined social audience of more than 1.5 million people. The criteria included help from strangers to making new friends at bars.
In addition to being ahead of Nevada, Florida also beat out: New Hampshire, Washington, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, Arkansas and New York. The top five were: Minnesota, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming.
Holding Florida back is Miami, which has consistently made lists of the the unfriendliest cities across the nation.
In 2016, Travel + Leisure readers ranked Miami the #1 rudest city in America, beating out former title holder New York City.
“It’s hot here — like, all the time,” Florida-based Christine Austin told Travel + Leisure. “The kind of heat that makes you just want to blame someone.”
Escape Here ranked both Miami and Orlando in their top 15 list of most unfriendly U.S. cities.
Lindsay MacNevin ranked Miami the 6th unfriendliest city, explaining, in part: “Horn honking, people yelling at each other, rude customer service and stuck up individuals who think they are better than you, all of this and more awaits visitors to Miami. This city is thought to be the capital of “me”, where everyone only cares about themselves and makes sure everyone else knows it.”
For Orlando, which ranked 11th, MacNevin wrote, in part:
“It is not certain whether it is the locals who are unfriendly, or just the tourists who are snapping at each other. Either way you can expect a lot of horns being honked, a lot of snappy comments and a slew of crying kids.”
Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
