What makes a city rude? Let's count the ways.

Surly stares on the streets. Strangers acting all uppity and abrasive. Folks passing by with breezy indifference if someone collapses on the sidewalk.

Guess what?

Not here.

On a recent list of the rudest cities in America put out by "Travel and Leisure" magazine, Coeur d'Alene wasn't anywhere to be found.

Few are surprised.

"You know, I think Coeur d'Alene citizens are just really glad they live here," said Deanna Goodlander, Coeur d'Alene city council member and city native. "It's hard to be rude when you live in such beauty."

Maybe it's because the Lake City hasn't reached the population threshold where folks stop being small-town affable and start being city street savvy.

Or maybe all the lush forests and glittering lakes have a Disney effect, infusing people with a chipper attitude.

Regardless, long-term and new residents concur: Coeur d'Alene is full of ladies and gentlemen.

"When I go into buildings I offer to hold the door for people, and they hold doors for me," said Larry Strobel, who has spent his entire 73 years in Coeur d'Alene. "I just don't think we're a rude city."

No pushy drivers, he added. When newcomers ask for directions, the way is kindly pointed.

It's the size of the town, is his hypothesis. Residents of big-city, no-pity metropolises are apparently in too much of a hurry for gentility.

Even though Coeur d'Alene has grown since his parents settled here in the late 19th century, Strobel is pretty sure we snagged all the good folks from other places.

"There's just a healthy attitude here," he said. "Maybe it's because we look around at the trees and all the nice scenery. Why wouldn't you be happy and nice?"

As for those sourpusses who sometimes cause a ruckus - say, complaining how Ironman is an inconvenience to their driving route - those are in the minority, he said.

"If a few soreheads don't want inconvenience, I think that's very selfish," he said.

Cody Mazzola, a lifelong resident of 19, added that even at the peak of the city's crowded, bustling, sometimes drunkenly tourist season, the hordes are upbeat and spirits manageable.

"I think it improves the spirit," he said. "People are happier about the weather, and they don't have to bundle up."

Let's not forget there tends to be a little sneering toward those hailing from a specific part of the west.

A general resistance, if you will, to folks moving here from a certain Golden State.

"That's been going on forever," Goodlander said with a laugh. "I remember when I was in high school, those same words being said about California. I do know there are folks who want to stay isolated."

But it's not that bad, said Cindy Helgren, a California native who migrated to Coeur d'Alene six years ago.

"You hear it every once in awhile, but there are only a select few who are like that," she said of California trashers. "Everyone welcomed me here with open arms. When I first bought my house, the welcome group came to our house with fliers and coupons for different businesses."

Similar stories are spouted at the Coeur d'Alene Visitors Bureau, where visitors speak of courteous treatment at restaurants and shops, said CVB Manager Katherine Coppock.

"They always have good feedback about how the residents of our city and the locals here are friendly," she said. "We have a good quality of life here. People just tend to be happy and friendly and enjoying life."

Lauren Sanders, who moved to Coeur d'Alene from Scottsdale, Ariz., to attend North Idaho College a few years back, said she initially had trouble making friends.

"I don't know if people here were already in certain groups," the 22-year-old said.

But once she summoned the courage to introduce herself, she said, she soon had pals to wave to on the way to class.

It's just how the area is, she said.

"In a small town, you forge all these relationships. You know your neighbors, while where I'm from in Scottsdale, you don't know your neighbors' names or phone numbers," Sanders said. "Here it's more like family than anything."