No Sugarcoating: Illinois is One of the Least Polite States

You might say 'please' and 'thank you' but do you hear it back? Turns out Illinois is one of the least polite states in the nation. 

When you think about the United States, you assume the most polite residents are in the center of the map. New Yorkers are stereotypically rushing through life and can't be bothered to say 'excuse me,' or 'you can have this cab...'

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On the other end of the country, you'll find California residents who are stereotypically 'fake nice,' while they might seem polite, we just assume they're not.

So that leaves the Midwest filled with polite people right?

Apparently, not so much.

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According to a new study from Preply, Illinois is actually one of the least polite states in the nation, ranking 26th out of 50!

How did this happen?

COVID didn't help. Somehow in our masks we stopped interacting with strangers casually and Preply doesn't think that's coming back anytime.

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The big reason Illinois is on the lower end of this list is because I forgot about the fourth section of the country, the South.

Politeness is still strong in the Southern half of the country with Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennesse taking the top five polite spots.

What counts as being polite? 

• Giving your seat to someone in need
• Cleaning up after yourself in public
• Holding the door open for someone
• Being a courteous driver

Ok, maybe I understand now. I usually equate politeness to saying 'please' and 'thank you...' if you've ever taken public transportation in Chicago, you'd likely agree that Illinois is not a very polite place to be.