New Yorkers do have the reputation of being rude, but it's more correct to view them as direct. They dispense with pleasantries, but they're actually quite helpful. As a young student fresh out of college, I found myself stranded in the airport in the middle of a snowstorm in New York. The flight couldn't get out, but a bunch of people realized that they could rent a car and drive to our destination (which was just a few hours away). They asked me if I needed a lift (which I accepted gratefully) and took me along. The entire exchange was very helpful (they even refused me trying to pay for my part of the car rental) but very direct. There was no sympathy in the fact that I was stranded. Instead, they offered solutions: "Hey you, you need a ride? Yes? Let's go." That changed my opinion of New Yorkers.
The economic damage is made worse due to human development. Before, when a storm ravaged a natural plains, there were little damage to the population. But now that the area is jam-packed with houses, then of course the same storm would cause tremendous amount of damage.
The best part about Car Talk is that it manages to resonate with regular people, not car enthusiasts. One of my favorite parts of the show is Stump the Chump, where they revisited problems that they've helped troubleshoot to see if their advice was correct or not.
As a young student fresh out of college, I found myself stranded in the airport in the middle of a snowstorm in New York. The flight couldn't get out, but a bunch of people realized that they could rent a car and drive to our destination (which was just a few hours away). They asked me if I needed a lift (which I accepted gratefully) and took me along. The entire exchange was very helpful (they even refused me trying to pay for my part of the car rental) but very direct. There was no sympathy in the fact that I was stranded. Instead, they offered solutions: "Hey you, you need a ride? Yes? Let's go."
That changed my opinion of New Yorkers.
One of my favorite parts of the show is Stump the Chump, where they revisited problems that they've helped troubleshoot to see if their advice was correct or not.