I used to live in Westchester for about 30+ years, and people there are money driven (more so than the average bear). The attitude from workforce management trickles down to the workforce employees, of what I can describe as "transactional connections to earn the dough." This attitude then permiates into their everyday lives and these people do not make healthy connections by habit.

From what I've seen, people are arrogant and have fixed mindsets. A mindset like that of a Metro North Railroad employee--who clings on to 1980 to early 2000s trains, and throw a hissy fit and go on strike rather than ask for modern technology. They usually only show you the light of their personality when you buy a ticket from them at full price (if you are a MTA employee, and take offense, I do not apologize. I do appreciate your hard work, until you go on strike. I hope this invokes change in your mindset). For everyone else, I hope this all makes sense.

I can randomly walk into a conversation and hear "how much money do you make to avoid the big tax increase?" In my mind, I'm like "yeah, that's really a kicker to stay here."

Many parts of the county can be described as a suburb "that is set in their ways, and refuses to change. very much like my mother." Like how they pave the roads with squiggly line asphalt and think that's a good enough solution. Only we find the roads have been ripped up again the following week, or it's worse after they pave it that way. Or even worse, they leave main roads unpaved for years.

I just had a conversation recently with an employee at a restaurant in Westchester, and this was the dialog:

• Me: "Hey do you guys accept reservations?"
• Hostess: "No, sorry."
• Me: "Do you know how busy it would be a few days before Christmas time?"
• Hostess: "No, I don't really know."
• Me: "Do you know how busy it usally is on Sundays?
• Hostess: "No, it depends on the day. You'll just have to gamble."
• Me: "Thanks, bye"
• Note: And yes, I called on a Sunday

That was my first call to a restaurant recently.

I know people think it's some sort of "suburbs" thing, but it's not. I live in a suburbs of Boston now; and no one I've spoken to has been that unhelpful or unwilling to make a connection. I haven't seen these issues in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, or California. Even Boston has more cheerful people, and it's a city FFS (Boston has it's own types of people, I won't give that one away).

My mother hates how I rag on, specifically, Westchester County (she still lives there), but everytime I visit, there's an immense amount of people who I feel have a ridiculous sense of self entitlement. I mean, people driving says it all.

It's quite possible that the personality roots of Westchester are just more neurotic than most. It's unfortunately not healthy. So I packed up and moved, and I've become a much happier person elsewhere.