Surprising Missouri Town Called One of Nation’s Friendliest

I don't want to offend the kind citizens of this Missouri place, but I was genuinely shocked when I saw their fair city mentioned among the most friendly in America. Let's take a deep dive and see if we can figure out why.

What makes you feel like a place is friendly?

That is a valid question that not everyone will have the same answer for. I've always believed the tell-tale sign that a place is friendly is when people who live there will say hello to a complete stranger. That's exactly the measurement that AM/FM Treatment used when they came up with their "Great Streets" list. They asked more than 3,000 travelers what cities/towns in America made them feel most comfortable with strangers saying hello. Only 1 Missouri place made the top 20 and it's a shocker.

What Missouri town was named among the most friendly in America?

Congrats St. Joseph, Missouri - the #14 most friendly town in America allegedly. What's the reason for my surprise? To be fair to the citizens of St. Joseph, it's been years since I've traveled through that part of the state and I don't recall any bad experiences. However, if you look at crime rate data, St. Joseph is often not on the good side of those lists. Area Vibes gives St. Joseph a big fat F for crime. Violent crime has been a real problem there if you look at the numbers.

Instead of diving deeper into why I'm shocked at the friendly honor for St. Joe, let's celebrate it. This kind of mention shows at least a good portion of the people there have a good heart and are outwardly friendly to strangers. There are few things I know of that are a higher compliment than that.