Since we had a post about the most friendliest countries, we should look at countries that have unexpected friendly people, not the usual answers like Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Taiwan, etc. For me it’s Montenegro. Londoners are considered to be cold and rude but I find them to be very pleasant with me.
Paris. I’ve always heard bad things about Parisians but they were cool. The only rude people I encountered were tourists.
Im planning to visit Paris soon in a few weeks so hearing this is really helpful! I don’t speak French well and have been trying to get better before the trip. But was worried I’d be treated rudely for it from all the stories I’ve heard. Glad to know they’re just stories
Are you white?
Yes, white American who is unable to speak French. Which reminds me, Parisians are a lot less white than in the movies. At least the places I went and the people I met.
Just out of curiosity, how many of them are brown? Did you get a chance to see how they behave with brown people?
I’m not sure, it was very diverse but the amount and type of diversity changes depending on where in the city you are and when it is. I went to a market where just about everyone was I believe from North African or Arab backgrounds, white folks were a minority. I also spent some time in a bar where we were some of the only white people. Most places though white folks were the majority. I’m sure there’s racism but the only bigotry I definitely noticed among Parisians was against the Roma.
Germany. Namely Northern Bavaria. They love it when you try to speak their language and suddenly you are their friend, they are speaking English to you, and they are buying you beer. Suffice it to say that I made a lot of friends there. An amazing experience.
New Zealand. So wanted to stay there. Made Canadians look a little rude. LOL.
As a Canadian, I can declaratively say that our reputation for being polite is bogus. As a whole, we are a shitty, privileged, nasty group of people. Our country is built on colonialism and genocide, so you can only imagine what a shit pot this is.
Ah, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’ve only had great experiences traveling in Canada and I like to think of Canadians as our brothers. There’s good and bad everywhere. I might have had a miserable trip to New Zealand if I had left just an hour later. Who knows.
I don’t think I’m being hard on myself, I think I’m being hard on the general population of Canada. Most people here are just what I said, overprivileged shit pieces
I feel like there’s a big difference between the surface level presentation that people see in Canadians, and then there’s the reality
Turkey! I had such a wonderful visit there as a teen in no small part because of the locals we met.
Turkey is an amazing country with amazing people in it
The unfortunate part is their leader is the opposite and is currently holding their country and people hostage
Same with most countries. The people are nice but the politicians are not
Y’all can afford to visit another country?
France.
Was there on business, visiting a factory of a large vehicle manufacturer, down in the south east. My god these people were nice. There was a guy who made sure we had everything we needed to get our work done, who would literally jump and run if we needed anything. There were people bringing us mini choco croissants for meetings. They always invited us for lunch and paid for it. There was always coffee for us if we needed it. We had desks to work on, which is a rarity in a factory environment, but they made it possible.
The best part was when we were standing at the line with a special piece of equipment that we had brought, and a guy stopped and said “hey, that looks interesting, what’s it for?” - and then we chatted about that for five minutes, eventually realizing it was time for a meeting. For both of us. Five minutes later, it turns out the guy who casually talked to us tech people was actually the head of their corporate IT. You wouldn’t have been able to tell that he was some higher up because he was so down to earth and friendly and casual. They all were. It was a mighty pleasure working with them.
Yeah I spent a week in south east France. Best trip I have ever been on. People were so nice. Paris was the only unfriendly place and It wasn’t bad.
Yeah, I would say the same thing about Americans (yes I know you’re Americans too. I think we all know I mean the US). If you meet MAGA on the street in a non-political way, they might be super nice. You might have a great interaction. I have traveled around the world and I maintain that food service personnel in the US are the friendliest. I’m guessing many of them are MAGA.
Food service people are not MAGA for the most part. The owner of the restaurant is probably MAGA and all the servers probably hate him.
Also, American culture, especially in the South is to be kind to people at face value
Germany, went just as brexit was happening, loved the place and people were so friendly, had a few long conversations with people on the bus/train. Also best breakfasts anywhere.
As a German, I can not relate. But I’m happy to hear about your positive experience!
No drama, maybe we were just lucky, i think we are way too much alike always happy to put our cultures down, also great, great grandfather was apparently german so maybe it was just like coming home !
Turkey
People love to make exaggerated statements on the internet for attention but I can say very truly that the spirit of the people changed me inside and it helped start my sobriety journey
England. I got blind drunk and was stumbling back to a hotel in a western suburb. A group of young men with knives approached me for cash but when I told them to fuck off (not smart, I know) they were so excited to hear my accent they walked me a couple of blocks to the bus station and sent me on my way.
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I feel this is racist.
Why do you say that? Genuinely asking.
Because we reduce a population made of individuals to anecdotal evidence.
“People from there are like this” is just a problematic way of thinking.
Even if it is positive. Saying all Asians are good at math may seem positive, but it is racist because you imprint one attribute to a whole group and rob people of their individuality.
It’s racist 🤷
No, the only one approaching racism here is you, as you’re the only one equating culture to race. A black German is the same as a white German.
So when I say “all black people are thieves”, that is racist.
So when I say “all Germans are thieves”…if it is not racist, what is it?
I tried to find the correct word or phrase to use, and the consensus seems to be “cultural racism”, so I guess it’s technically a kind of racism, even though it doesn’t directly relate to race. “Culturism” would be a more accurate word, I think.
So it is so similar to racism that people call it cultural racism.
It’s as similar to racism as any prejudice is. It’s just a lazy term coined, I’d bet, for the sake of quick understanding within the context of its era, rather than for semantic accuracy.
You feel wrong, unfortunately.
Another commenter said it’s technically racism so not really wrong.
It’s not racist.
If you paint an entire population with the brush of the experience/anecdote of one person, that’s generalization.
But this thread is NOT doing that. This thread is only asking people to share their experiences of places they have visited and people they found to be friendly. It is not meant to pass judgement on everyone from that place.
“What are some countries you’ve visited that shocked you with unexpected friendliness?”
Why would you be shocked by friendliness if you didn’t assume they would be unfriendly? Why would you expect them to be unfriendly? Not-racism…
“Londoners are considered to be cold and rude but I find them to be very pleasant with me.”
Translation: So I turns out this assumption I had of people turned out to be not true. So after I learned that lesson I thought I do the same mistake again but from the other direction and in a group setting"
This is not about if it is the right word to describe it, this is about reducing a group to a stereotype and how wrong that is. Call it cultural racism, culturism or some other shit that doesn’t hurt your feelings because you identify with it.
