I had quite the opposite experience to yours. I found them extremely helpful. Just stop for a few seconds and look puzzled and somebody will ask if everything is ok or if you need help. NYC changed dramatically after 911 and is much more friendly than other world-class cities. If you fall down and don’t get up you may be mistaken for a drunk or panhandler, but somebody will eventually check you. If you clutch your chest or trip, as you are falling you will likely be caught by alert stranger; I trip over my feet quite often on slick pavement and can attest to this.
That is good to know! Thanks! It has been before 9/11 since I have been to NYC.
Many years ago we lived for a year in Conn. and I remember people being unfriendly and when someone would find out I was from Texas I was slightly ridiculed, (where is your horse, you aren’t wearing boots etc.)/ Maybe they were joking but I remember it made me feel like the outsider that I was. I came away and I had not made a single friend and that is not my nature.
From Conn. we moved to Virginia and it was totally different, more like home.