Annoying New Yorkers

Last night, for the first time, I encountered an Annoying New Yorker. The ANY's are the ones that make citizens in all parts of the country cringe when anyone answers the question, "so, where are you from?" with "New York." The ANY's have always been an enigma to me, I'd heard mad cap tales of them but I'd never met one myself. I also found it very judgmental and rude of others to assume just because I'm from NY that my company is less than desirable. That is until last night, when I met an ANY in the flesh and had to endure the torture of being around her.

It was supposed to be a simple dinner at an overpriced chain Chinese restaurant. (Any guesses on which one?) But, alas it turned out to be two of the more difficult hours of my life. There were four of us at the table. I had been invited by a nice man, whom I do not know well, and there were two other people there that I did not know at all. You'd think that would make for interesting conversation by the sheer fact of getting to know one another. Conversation, however, was almost impossible. The ANY, a woman I had never met, could not stop talking and couldn't tolerate the fact that anyone would want to talk about anything not related to New York. I had answered the obligatory "where are you from" question with the truth and she immediately thought we were two peas in a pod, much to my chagrin. She related every conversation back to NY, dismissed any talk of pleasant local restaurants or entertainment, and often winked at me whenever she said something derogatory regarding our table mates' opinions. More than once I wanted to skulk away from the table never to return. I changed the subject numerous times and tried valiantly to engage my other dinner companions in conversation. She would snort with derision at their answers, offer her suggestion on how they could really get a life if they'd go to NY, and then change the subject back to something that suited her.

Finally, after our plates had been cleared and dinner was done one of the other diners turned to her and asked, "why don't you live in NY anymore? Why don't you go back?" She answered that she would in heartbeat but the cost of living was so high. Proceeding to go on in detail about how it was so much better than any other place on earth except for that. I told her to take it from me that she was missing out on a lot of great experiences in life and she needed to adjust her expectations. To which she replied that she had no desire to do any such thing.

She will certainly miss out on a lot because I for one won't ask her to join me anywhere and I doubt too many other people will either. I can now see why so many people are horrified after an experience with an ANY. But, I'd caution people everywhere not to judge all New Yorkers by those experiences anymore than you'd want us to judge you through an ANY's eyes. Most people love the place where they grew up - it's home to them - and if they are open to hearing all of the wonderful things about your hometown, you should be open to learning about theirs, even if it is harsh, critical, old New York.