harry wrote:
....

I have to say that during my visit to America (I visited an internet
friend in Iowa) everyone was very kind and generous towards me.
It was explained to me however that this would be true in the South
but folks on the East and West coasts were nasty. Is this in general
correct?

No, not really...Americans are as a general rule, quite open and
friendly to everybody all across the country.

However, there are degrees and regional differences that lead to the
stereotypical responses such as the above. Large city dwellers in
general (who are concentrated on the coasts, true) tend to be more
insular simply owing to the fact they're surrounded by millions of
people in close quarters routinely. That's no different in the US than
anywhere else in the world afaict.

Things do tend to move a little slower in the south and midwest than the
NE and "more casual" perhaps wouldn't be a bad way to describe the west
as compared to the east coasts metro areas.

"Amurricans" simply love the Brit and/or Aussie accent; it'll draw an
admiring crowd most anywhere. The more dropped aitches the better...
(Think of 'Enery 'Iggins or "the rain in Spain" for starters)

--