Newark Named World’s Most Unfriendly City – Where’s the Rudest Place in Jersey?

What a shock to find that, according to Conde Nast Traveler, Newark was named the “world’s most unfriendly city!”

My first impression was, “I never thought of Newark as a destination for international travelers.”

A place to change trains, maybe. A place to deplane and grab a cab to get into “the city!” (Manhattan)

A little shocked to find the “Brick City” so low on the totem poll of friendliness!

But then again, while Newark holds this dubious distinction, I’m sure there are other places in Jersey, that while not on Conde Nast’s radar, could qualify as Jersey’s nastiest!

According to this:

According to the informal, unscientific survey of 46,000 readers, Newark is more unfriendly than Islamabad, Pakistan (#2); Oakland, Calif. (#3); Luanda, Angola (#4) and Kuwait City, Kuwait (#5).

Adding insult to injury for the Garden State, readers rated Atlantic City the world’s ninth-most unfriendly burg.

At the other end of the spectrum, the survey found Florianopolis, Brazil, nicknamed “the island of magic,” the world’s friendliest city, followed by Hobart, Tasmania, and Thimpu, Bhutan, if you can find it on a map.

“Newark is best known for being the site of an airport near New York, and for many of our readers, that’s the only reason to stop there,” wrote the editors of Condé Nast Traveler, owned by the Newhouse family, which publishes The Star-Ledger.

The editors quoted one unnamed reader as saying he or she “would not recommend this city for anything.”

The Ironbound did get credit for its Portuguese food, but that apparently wasn’t enough to offset brushes with the “local crowd.” One reader reported she “ran into a lot of rude people there.”

Newark’s overall reader rating: 13.4 out of 100.

Those who live or work in Newark, of course, had a thing or two to say about the survey findings.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), a Newark native who swiftly rattled off a list of friendly city amenities, including the city’s bustling colleges, its annual African-American heritage parade and its semi-famous Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park.

Maybe it’s a matter of dated national perception, mused the Rev. David Jefferson, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church. But the Newark of today is clearly not the Newark of yesterday, Jefferson said, adding that violence is down and amenities are up. Jefferson offered a guided tour to naysayers, suggesting they might be surprised.

“What they’re probably not aware of is that we have people who are wanting to return to Newark,” Jefferson said. “It’s no longer a place people speak of being from. It’s a place people want to be.”

Stephen Bracco is one of those people.

Three years ago, the 50-year-old proofreader and his girlfriend moved from New York City to the Ironbound, where they found a more affordable home and what Bracco described as a vibrant neighborhood.

“Calling people unfriendly here is really laughable,” he said. “The city has economic problems. ... But I’ve never had a problem with anyone being unfriendly.”

Maybe visitors need to make a stop in the performing arts center. John Schreiber, NJPAC’s chief executive officer, said he found the survey findings “unbelievable.”
“We have 400,000 people come through the doors every year,” he said, “and everyone seems to be happy to be in Newark.”

I’ve heard it said that the most unfriendly place in Jersey is the parking lot of the Wegman’s in Manalapan.

I can vouch for that. Although the workers inside are some of the most courteous.

If you had to rate the most unfriendly place in Jersey, where would it be? Feel free to elaborate!