Many years ago while studying in Japan I learned about the concept of Honne and Tatatemae. Basically two faces of people, who I really am when I am around close friends and who I am toward acquaintances and the public. In my culture we are often two faced, depending on who we are talking with. Recently I went to New York City for only the second time in my life. This time I spent time with native New Yorkers. Of course this is only a generalization but I have found that the people in New York tend to be more upfront when dealing with others. They have told me themselves that you can know if they like you or not. They will let you know. 

Where I am from, we often are two faced. What we say and what we think are different. Yes, may be we have smoother relationships but perhaps not as genuine. It was a good lesson for me to learn to be more transparent but perhaps in a more gracious way.