A recent study has determined the overall friendliness of Americans. As well as a list of the states with the kindest neighbours.
There are many factors that will come into determining where overseas you choose to move. Your choice may be dictated by where your new job is located. Or you may be moving closer to family. Your choice might be motivated by a fantastic, memorable holiday. Other sticking points might be affordability, access to great schools and universities, climate, nearness to the airport – but how far up on your list is friendliness?
Neighbours can make your transition to America easier.
How friendly an area is super important. If you are taking the big leap of moving from the UK to America, then you’re going to want friendly people on your doorstep. They can help you unpack, direct you to the best coffee, tell you where you can get the tastiest meal in town, be a shoulder to cry, or someone to purely laugh with. With a move as big as the UK to America, the flight time isn’t exactly brief. So, you really want to surround yourself with warm people who help you to feel at home in America.
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Where can I find the friendliest Americans?
A recent academic survey, led by kindness.org, an initiative that uses science to explore and promote kindness, partnered with Verizon and Nextdoor to reveal the kindest states in America.
Here are the top ten:
Georgia is the kindest state in America.
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- Arkansas
- Utah
- Louisiana
- West Virginia
- Mississippi
- Texas
- Nebraska
Eight of the ten kindest states are located in the South, which is already known for its kindness. Interestingly, all but one has a median house price of less than the American national average of $427,250. States that did not reach the top 25 for kindness, such as New York, Hawaii, California, and Florida, have higher house prices.
But how exactly do you determine kindness? The survey involved 10k people across the USA and asked them a series of questions. Overall, America is a neighbourly place, producing similar results across the country. They had a ‘kindness quotient’ of 86% – which means that they care about their neighbours 86% as much as they care about themselves. When asked what emotion or feeling they associated with their neighbours, the top scoring words were ‘happy’ (63%) and ‘grateful’ (61%).
Further results show:
- 94% of people say that they would return a lost item to a neighbour
- 61% say they would forgive the debt of a neighbour
- 41% say they would adopt the child of a neighbour who passed away
Moving abroad can be emotionally tough. Even if moving overseas is something that you have longed for, it can still present unexpected challenges. But having the back-up of a safe, warm community can make the adjustment period so much smoother.
Ready to make the move to America? Our guide might come in use.
