World's Unfriendliest City? Newarkers (Politely) Disagree

An upscale travel magazine created quite a stir in Brick City recently when it released its lists of the world’s friendliest and least-friendly cities.

Newark was at the top of one of those lists -- and not the good one.

In earning Conde Nast Traveler’s dubious distinction, New Jersey’s largest city beat out Detroit, Atlantic City and even Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, a nation dubbed "the world's most dangerous."

The  knock against Newark was gleaned from a survey of travelers who found inhabitants to be rude and the city itself largely unappealing, save for its Portuguese cuisine and its airport, Newark Liberty International.

Since the ranking was published, however, a group of residents have decided it was time to rebut the magazine’s claim that Newark is the least hospitable urban center on the entire planet.

They created and have contributed to a feed on Tumblr, the social media-sharing site, dedicated to showing the world the city’s congenial side. 

"We think that is crazy talk! The people we interact with day in and day out in Newark are some of the friendliest, most caring, interesting people in the world!" the feed reads, inviting more residents to upload their own pictures. 

In the last few days, several have done just that, posting photos of happy-looking folks holding up welcoming or playfully ironic signs -- one grinning young man's reads "Big Meanie" -- conveying the message that maybe, just maybe, Newarkers are actually a little friendlier than advertised.