Perhaps it’s our love of staying on top of trends, or maybe we are a bit aloof, whatever it is, Travel + Leisure’s latest survey ranks Miami as the No.1 Rudest City in the U.S. We’ve left behind the likes of New York City (No. 3), L.A. (No. 4) and Boston (No. 7). In addition to rudeness, travelers also gave us a pretty high snob score.

Okay, so we’re rude. But hey, apparently we’re also better-looking (bam!), better dressed (boom!) and cooler (pow!) than most, with the same travelers ranking Miami No. 1 for Most Attractive People, No. 3 for Stylish, and No. 5 for Hip and Cool in 2015. We also topped the list for Nightclubs and Singles Scene, and came in No. 3 for hottest Beach Getaway and Wild Weekend.

So, perhaps people are just intimidated by the sheer awesomeness?!

Jokes aside, having spent most of my life in Miami, I honestly think that some of Miami’s reputation for rudeness and poor service comes partially from cultural misunderstandings.

When I first came to Miami, I didn't speak a lick of Spanish (I’m fluent now), and I found a lot of Spanish-speaking folks pretty rude. But now that I am fairly fluent and understand the various cultural nuances better, most of that feeling of rudeness has washed away. I just think people’s personalities shine through best in their native language.

On a similar note, our city attracts people from all over the world who bring habits that may come across as rude or odd to Miami or U.S. natives. It’s the small stuff, such as pointing with your nose, dismissing things or ideas with the wave of a hand, using the word "no" even when you ultimately agree, or even worse, shaking your head side-to-side when you mean to express a “yes”. These habits can really rub some folks the wrong way, but once you understand and accept those cultural nuances, the feeling of rudeness melts away.

Now, we Miamians do have some flaws we need to own up to. Regardless of our origins, we have a tendency to cut you off in traffic and ignore you as we stand flaunting our Prada sunglasses and high-heeled Jimmy Choos (ok, not most of us, but you get the point). But, Miami is changing for the better. Us introspective Miamians know we need to do better, and we are collectively working on it. We are cultivating (and importing) more needed brainpower, improving our cultural and arts scene, bringing more down-to-earth bars with less velvet ropes, improving quality of service in general, and demonstrating more culinary creativity, especially in the newer parts of town like Wynwood, Brickell, Edgewater, Design District, etc.

While we may not be the most down-to-earth city in the world, I think that we are going in the right direction to soften things up. In the meantime, where else will you get as much eye candy as you thaw off the winters?

Source: Courtesy of Material Girl