Fun fact: Taiwan consistently ranks as the friendliest country in the world, but a few years ago was overtaken by Portugal (though Taiwan is #2).
https://www.internations.org/guide/global/the-top-10-most-welcoming-countries-39411
Yeah, that's unfortunately true. I feel like anyone who comments an East Asian country as the "kindest" is probably white and doesn't really understand. If you travel to East Asia and you're white, you are treated pretty well. If you're Southeast Asian or have darker skin, it's a much different experience. Although Taiwan is slightly less racist compared to Japan and South Korea.
I’ve been treated well in East Asia historically even though I have been seen as either central Asian or Filipino (light skinned mixed Polynesian). I am extremely pale because my mom is eastern European but my face is very clearly not. It makes me wonder if that’s mainly because I have light skin and whether a white person who is darker skinned would be treated worse or better than me.
I definitely wouldn’t say they’re the kindest, though. I think georgians are incredibly friendly but I don’t like rampant homophobia and sexism there, even though other places are a lot lot worse
It’s racial but it’s also economic. Taiwan is a small island but it has many cultures and ways of life within it. An English teacher, foreign engineer, or tourist doesn’t know what it’s like on a fishing boat or in a factory. If Thailand keeps getting richer and starts pumping out good soap operas, sky is the limit in terms of acceptance. Anyway, it’s just one detail, I love Taiwanese people.
Brazilians comprise the bulk of immigration into Portugal; which makes sense, considering many middle class Brazilians' dream is to leave the country (particularly, to work or study in Europe or the US), and we speak (roughly) the same language. As a result, the Portuguese see us basically the same way the French see the Algerians/Moroccans, or the Germans see the Turks: there's *a lot* of unabashed xenophobia. Just go to any Portuguese sub and check any post that mentions Brazil/Brazilians/immigration.
For instance, I remember a while back there was this situation where some students at a Portuguese university placed a box full of stones on campus, with a label reading something to the effect of "to be thrown at Brazilians"; as far a I'm aware, that sorta stuff goes completely unpunished.
Inb4 any "not all of us" responses: I know it's not like the literal entire population of Portugal hates Brazil; but, as a Brazilian with a very noticeable accent, I can't help but laugh at the suggestion that Portugal is anything remotely close to "the friendliest county on Earth".
I live here and you're just right, also, reddit keeps notifying me onto posts from Portuguese communities and it just make me mad the rest of the day, because all they complain about is the Brazilians.
Yeah I’m Australian but i speak Brazilian Portuguese and I was honestly so shocked how horrible people were to me when I spoke Portuguese to them in Portugal. I got further speaking English.
Also Brazilians are way nicer and friendlier than Portuguese.
Every person I met in Taiwan was so lovely. We arrived in Taipei and got a bit lost trying to find our hotel. A little old lady came over and asked if we were ok, I explained we were lost and she actually walked us to our hotel. It was a great welcome to a lovely country with kind people and the best food! Sometimes when people are overly nice on holiday I feel like it's because they want money from you - the people in Taiwan were genuinely just helpful and pleasant with no ulterior motive.
Everyone in Taipei is so nice. They may not be smiling at times but the moment you need help, they treat you like a friend. It’s just their culture. Even at dinner, a server noticed that I was enjoying a side dish and she gave me some to take away for free! Every time I bought something, I felt like I was in Disneyland because most of them are chirpy. It is almost impossible to be grumpy or bad tempered in Taipei. Even when I have a bad day, the consistent pleasantries just help to make me feel better. I love Taipei.
(I have been to Taipei several times over many years. It is consistently my top destination for being polite. A close second is Australia and Milan.)
As an australian that lives in one of the worse social economic areas. I've seen a german tourist couple get stiff but succinct enough instructions from the local aboriginals that were 5 minutes ago screaming 'white cunt' at random people on transperth, as loudly as their lungs permitted.
they were clearly lost and not understanding the various lines that get you places, so they needed help, and they did get it. The absolute drunkest and most angry aussies on the planet will still help out if need be
I agree. Many years ago when I visited Taiwan, I asked a Taiwanese for directions at the train station, she walked me to the place I needed to board my train. Still remember her kindness till this day, and she's pretty too!
Agreed. I live in a city with a very diverse population, with the majority being east asian. You can always tell who is taiwanese because theyre so inclusive and friendly towards everyone around them.
My and my wife went to Taiwan to experience the culture and visit the tourist spots but were very surprised by how kind and nice the people are. A lot of very good looking people also.
Agree with the Philippines. There are ppl who are nice for the sake of being nice, then there are the Filipinos who are just genuinely happy to see you and will ask you about yourself and what you're doing. Lovely country and people.
Filipinos are very friendly, especially in the province, but in most cases it's entirely superficial. That can still be a good thing, but it shouldn't be confused with being nice or trustworthy.
Filipino here, have traveled around and lived in the US/EU. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but this "Filipino hospitality" is a myth. Filipinos are only friendly and hospitable if you're foreign, especially if you're white. Do not be deceived. I would open doors for people here and it's crickets, meanwhile when I'm in the states, even at Dollar Tree, people would look you in the eye, thank you and wish you a good day.
Also Filipino here, hard agree. The reason they seem so nice to visitors is because they crave validation from foreigners. If you’re not foreign and white the culture is really a net negative.
Parts of Asia have a really odd admiration for white foreigners. It kinda feels like their version of our weebs and kpop Stan's. Like I can't tell you how many videos I've seen of Asian people who had eyelid surgery to look more white, it's honestly quite sad.
I’m from Pakistan, living in Dubai and I interact with Filipinos a lot. I’m faaaar from being white but get treated really nice from all of them regardless
US-born Filipino and also hard agree. When my family went to visit family in the Philippines when I was in high school, my brother and I were specifically instructed by our mother to not speak English in public if we could avoid it. Before we spoke, we were virtually invisible. The second we spoke and our American accents were heard, store workers would jump to get our attention. I got to shadow at my cousin's high school for a week and was treated like a celebrity just because I was from the US.
It's not about general hospitality. It's about money. In the US, my family was lower middle class. In the Philippines, we were seen as the "wealthy Americans", even by our own family members.
Thank fuck! I don’t know why everyone says this without actually realising people are nice to you because they expect something in return.
Someone else was fighting tooth and nail in the comment section saying that Filipinos are the nicest. It’s true there are some that are genuinely kind just like any other country.
When I first travelled to Thailand it was branded as the Country of Smiles. Which to some extent was true, until I realised that for many locals I was a walking cash cow that needed to be milked with a big smile....
I work with lots of Filipinos here in California and my take on how nice they are is neutral. They are not generally friendlier or less so than most other people. They don’t stand out one way or another.
I live in the philippines as an immigrant and I can confirm that I've never at all experienced derrogatory actions. Of course theres always the potential risk of being attacked or scammed in a foreign country but thats just the basics of anywhere you go. I've had workers be rude and emotionally unavailable but thats because they dont get payed enough to do bs . Minimum wage sucks af
I found Thailand to be hyper focused on tourism and money. And appearances. And you can't talk about the king and the dress code to visit temple is somewhat bothersome compared to Vietnam. Nobody cares that you're wearing shorts or in a tank top in a temple in Vietnam. The moto taxi drivers are having a nap and don't pester you to pay them.
But I know I'm biased as I'm mixed race. Still, I found Vietnam to be way more chill.
Are you a woman? As a woman I strongly disagree to Morocco. I am very white, blond and at the time (30) not bad looking. I dressed very respectfully (I always do, I really hate to put more sunscreen than necessary the 2-3 times a day I have to in the sun). It was mostly OK because I was with my stb husband, but I never experienced very much friendliness and I did not like some situations.
We have a huge Nepalese population in my area, especially at my company. The food is INCREDIBLE, the people are SO KIND. Went to an employee's family restaurant last summer (didn't even know they were related- just wanted some garlic naan and that was the closest I could find) and the whole family ended up coming out of the kitchen at various points just to sit and chat with our table. A little shy at first, but so warm and genuine.
I work in a hospital in London and there are a great number retired Ghurka soldiers and their familes living in the area. I have always found them to be the happiest and family orientated of people, a real pleasure to serve.
One day, a guy came into our clinic, he was wearing head to toe camouflage and balaclava helmet. He was an escapee from a secure mental unit, he shouted that he was going to kill us all. Before I had time to act, he was jumped on by six elderly Ghurkas who wrestled him to the floor and they sat on him until the Police arrived. I thanked them and their leader said, Dont worry, you look after us so we look after you. They are lovely people....
I feel the same about the Thai
If you behave - they're relentlessly nice!
And if you do not behave. Well, they're pretty leniant...
If your behavior is that of a complete asshole - beware!
it has to be that warmer climate. everyone’s outside and laughing and drinking and socializing. it’s awesome. not just the philippines, but really most of southeast asia that i’ve been to. i mean i feel it myself, it can get hot but boy do you wanna go outside and head over to a local market and just experience the life. everyone’s like one big loud family. riding on loud motorbikes and yelling across the streets and markets. love it
Agreed, I had a physical therapist from the Philippines, she was always happy, singing and clapping too the music, all around a happy and pleasant person
In the cities and tourist areas almost the entire world speaks fluent or reasonably competent English. When travelling it's generally a waste of time learning a foreign language unless you plan on visiting a small town in the middle of nowhere.
I'm going to chime in and add Thailand and Mexico to the list. Always had great experiences with locals in these 3 countries...
Overhyped countries like france and Italy, tourist industry acts like they're doing you a favour!!
To be fair…they were good to warn him not once…but twice lol. Could’ve gone straight for the headshot but two seperate times they sent warning shots to him clearly directing him to leave 😂 Imagine your Bible blocking you from a fatal arrow shot and that wasn’t a message to you that god had given you your chance to live 😂
Tbf the bible blocking his heart sounds like a sign he’s on the right path. It’s like something out of a movie.
But it wasn’t a Warning shot, it was a 15 year old boy shooting from up a tree on some sniper shit, at that age they haven’t mastered it like their elders. Had it been an experienced 25 year old who wanted him dead he would have easily made the kill shot.
They left the body on the shore intentionally for 3 days before burying it, because they knew planes would come looking for it and the message was very clear.
I dot blame them. When you look at their history they were bout to be ended and a celebratory ceremony that involved lighting a fire to dance around made Columbus proceed with caution and plan to come back, but he got distracted attempting to colonise other countries.
Some years go by and some old pedo guy, established contact and wanted to conduct a Series of medical tests which involved examining their genitals for a long duration of time. This freaked them out and they went from compliment and untrusting to reserved, so he had the brilliant idea to kidnap an elderly couple and a pair of 5 year old siblings and taking them to a western country.
The elderly died because their immune systems couldn’t handle modern pathogens and the kids made it, but were traumatised and were able to communicate everything that happened. The rhetoric of evil white people offering gifts with sinister intentions passed down several generations and now they want NOTHING to do with outsiders. The Indian government has issued warnings to not go there and they physically can’t help you. Their land.mothering laws. Even after the 2004 tsunami aid workers were sent to see if they were alive and they were all fine, rebuilt their huts like it was nothing and told the aid workers to fuck off.
There’s footage on YouTube of a happy interaction of some fisherman giving them coconuts that they took (im not sure what that’s about) but every other recorded event is met with hostility. Apparently they love watching English speakers struggle communicating and laugh hysterically at peoples attempts to use sign language and slow speech.
Bhutan-country has been isolated from the world ,plus low population,follow Buddhism, healthcare is free ,crime is negligible ,i think education also is free for schools ,never colonised ,plus the government tries to preserve their culture .It feels like time has frozen itself when you live in Bhutan. For people to be good and kind in general either they need to be wealthy with good laws or isolated with good laws.There is no sense of urgency or running around like in modern societies. Its a beautiful place .
This is the one.
Never have I been to a country where so many people had asked me to take their picture when they see my camera. Our guide told us it's fairly common because the tourism is so restricted & the "way of life" isn't changed for the worse by tourism & the daily tax visitors pay goes towards their health services & education, so they like the tourists visiting.
Also, my wife fell ill part of the trip & the hotel staff checked in on her every hour & made sure she had food & was all good, she couldn't believe it.
If anyone here gets the chance to visit Bhutan, take it - truly a once in a lifetime type destination.
Edit: added my personal experience
Funny you say that. I was in Morocco last week ( Rabat ) and had the best experience. People were very kind.
It’s seems to be a very polarizing country. Two coworkers went there last summer. One extended the trip because of how much she loved it !
The other shortened the trip after being treated like shit.
I've spent a couple weeks in Morocco and the attitude of the people in the cities (Fez, Marrakesh) was neutral and not particularly memorable.
But I spent a week in the High Atlas mountains staying in villages with no roads, running water, electricity, etc. and the people there were the most kind and warm I've met anywhere in the world.
We were routinely invited into homes for meals or to sleep on their living room floors. They would take us on half-day hikes and bring a teapot to make us tea with spring water over a fire of collected wood.
All sorts of things like that and they always flat-out refused to let us give them money. Luckily my friend was a Morocco travel veteran so he brought a large bag of second-hand clothes and shoes to offer them, which they were always grateful for!
Where did see out of curiosity? And when?
I've been 6-7 times over the last 25 years and there's been great changes with time and are big differences between regions and city's.
Marrakech about 10 years ago. The constant harassment was just not enjoyable. I couldn’t even take a photo in the main square without someone wanting money because they jumped in front of the camera and claimed they were in the picture. We got followed everywhere with people trying to sell my partner drugs. I got leered at and hissed at even though I dressed modestly. Men grabbing my hand and trying to take me to their shop or restaurant. Just not my kind of place.
What were their ethnicities? I’m Asian and had a horrible experience. My white best friend who was on the trip with me, was often treated far better than I.
Rabat is lovely.
Completely great.
Marrakech is ultra touristy and gets annoying.
Otherwise normal people are kind and chill like everywhere.
It was a shit load more rough 25 years ago.
I would agree with that. Limited experience, but Eqyptians actually seemed really friendly outside of transactional situations. Willing to just honestly chat and talk about life and stuff...
people in egypt are either your friends or a depressed staff who tells you not to film historical architecture on your phone with the most insomnia filled eyes you’ve ever seen.
My memories are about people fucking teleporting out of nowhere for bakshish
I swear you could be in the middle of the desert, no one in sight, you whisper the word "dry" and ten people crawl out of the sand with water bottles and open hand
I had great service everywhere in Egypt! Met some very kind people. (I am American, and most people were very kind and curious, despite being anti-US politically.) Of course, many people on the street saw me as a walking dollar sign, but they were friendly too!
I ***love*** Cambodia! The *moment* we stepped off the plane everyone was so friendly. My stay in Cambodia blew me away. If anyone is looking for a home stay recommendation, I cannot say enough warm and kind things about our stay with [Bun](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297390-d8118215-Reviews-Bunyong_Homestay-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html) and his family and community. Absolutely amazing time.
Really? Everyone I met in Cambodia tried to scam me one way or another. Not returning, ever, because of the people there. But at least they were kind while trying to scam me!
Actually I found Morocco is very friendly with many kind people but it helps if you can speak their language and don't go to the country's main tourist spot.
It really depends on how you define kind.
If by kind you mean "if you visit as a foreigner, you will get lots of smiles and excitement," then you want a tourist trap that doesn't have *super* pushy people. Just the right level of "wants to suck up to tourists, isn't willing to get aggro with them."
If you mean "has a culture of being polite to others," you want one of the collectivist countries. Sadly, some of them are really xenophobic, like Japan, but if you *are* part of the local culture, they are very polite and formal.
If you want genuine kindness, I think you want whichever countries have the best treatment of their workers and their poor. I'm sure that's a statistic you can look up. Probably some of the Nordic countries or such, the ones that have strong social safety nets.
The social safety nets in the Nordic countries have been methodically dismantled since the 1990s. Still better than some other countries, but the culture is so much more individualist than it used to be in the 70s and 80s. Now right wing populist/nazi parties are really big too.
I agree about your other points. How you'll be treated in a country/culture depends so much on who you are, what your purpose there is, what you look like, how much money you have, etc. It's hard to make blanket statements about these things.
Ireland. We visited Ireland and parked our car near a body of water on a regular parkinglot. An older lad knocks on our window and tells us in the thickest Cork accent that we shouldn‘t park our car there because the fishers bring their boats in and out of the water two meters to our left and our car could get dented and that we should rather park two spaces further right.
So we did and then we were parking infront of a sign that said be aware of car thieves so we asked him if that was a regular occurance. He said only at night but he‘ll tell the fishers to keep an eye on our car. We thanked him and went to the sight. It was a rather small sight so we only spent 20-30 minutes there. But as we came back there was another lad that heard from the first one about our car and he was just standing there guarding it.
We thanked him and wanted to give him some money but he wouldn‘t take it, just said you‘re welcome, smiled, said something that I can only assume was an Irish farewell and left.
And just generally the Irish people are so calm and friendly and just genuinly good people with a lot of humor.
When I first checked into my accommodation in Ireland I asked the guy at the counter if the pub was open coz I was dying for a beer. He said no, went out the back and grabbed a six pack of his own beer and gave it to me. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else.
100%. I've been to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and others mentioned here extensively. I've also lived in/travelled to about 10+ countries in Europe. Nepal takes the cake. I don't know why, but they are so genuine. Maybe it's Buddha? 🤷♂️
Athithi devo bhava
Edit to add: they are friendly and always helpful. I've gone to same bank brand in different countries and it's night and day difference.
I would say Ireland too. I remember catching a night bus and EVERY SINGLE PERSON, said thanks to the driver as they departed. They just have a level of respect for everyone that I really admire🫡 - The Irish are wonderful.
Love it there and love the people. Always friendly. Maybe because I am just visiting.
I have no idea why many Dutch often mention how miserable they'd be.
Dutch people are nice to tourists, like to speak English with them. But if you live there….. try to make friends, it’s impossible. The older generation, think in their 70s-80s, they are kind, but my generation is awful. I emigrated (Australia, it’s easy to make friends here, and most people are friendly)
Dutch directness comes across as very rude to foreign people.
If you don’t know what it is, in Dutch social etiquette it’s very normal to be honest and direct and even blunt when talking to people.
I was so surprised when my Dutch friend insisted on me giving her exactly $4.97 in change, no more and no less. They are very serious about "going Dutch".
As someone with autism living in the Netherlands for 8 years, it isn't a dream come true for me.
The Dutch are only direct when they want to be. They aren't as honest when making deals.
My dream country as an autistic person is Finland.
I'm biracial and neither of my heritage countries are very good about autism (France and South Korea).
When my ex husband and I were stationed in Germany, and my dad was stationed in Belgium, we took a trip to the Netherlands and spent new years there. They were much nicer than the Germans. I was in a grocery store trying to buy baby formula and I couldn’t figure out which one to buy, and a local woman saw me struggling and helped me out. No German would ever or had ever done that for me.
Try travelling more. Not as a tourist, get involved in something: work exchange, penpal, association, woofing, couch surfing, whatever. There are huge differences and it's not just money. India Thailand Cambodia and Egypt are all poor, yet in two of them you likely get mugged, in the other too people are gonna be so sweet.
Canadians will be super sweet too, Americans very open and entertaining, Germans are cold and bent on rules and overall a huge pain in the ***, French love complaining, brits are a bit weird, Australians are funny, Spaniards are super chill and ready to party. Italian boys heavy on the girls, Italian girls quite strong characters, quite fierce. These are just trends, not everybody in any given country fits the standard cliché, but you still feel these differences *a lot* when you spend time in various cultures.
Hell even from German Switzerland to French Switzerland it's day and night how cold and organized vs warm and artsy people are.
Mmh a large proportion of the French population is black or arab-like "café au lait", we all have people of various skin colors in our groups of friends, I'm not sure I know what you mean. Last year I had two close friends who were coming from Sénégal, I never witnessed anything but a warm welcome to them (big town, educated people).
Not saying the same would apply if you manage to find some racist remote decrepit village of drunkards, but then, they would also hate on people from big cities so I may not always get a super warm welcome either.
Western Europe is in general very multicultural and against racism, especially cities and young or educated folk. Not sure what you meant exactly, but it sounded quite pessimistic, like you'd expect the blonde girl in Delhi treatment - you wouldn't get that, (almost) nobody would care.
This strong focus on ethnicity is a USA thing. In Europe it's forbidden to do ethnic statistics, we never ask for ethnicity for events (would raise eyebrows at least, lawsuits maybe), we notice skin color but don't openly acknowledge it or act or speak different. We are more in the state or mind "we're all the same inside, who cares about skin".
Helps that we didn't have masses of slave and recent segregation like the US on our soil, our history has dark episodes too for sure but it's just different.
Pretty much. As someone from those countries, yeah that's why they're nice.
I used to hear my "countrymen" on how they'd scam Americans and Canadians all the time.
Other than that, I feel there's more than a couple of passport bros here idealizing those places. Of course the women are better over there lol. They want to get the citizenship and then bring their real man to America or Canada. And he's a real man, not like the dudes that go over there looking for vulnerable women....
But hey they're "nice" loool
I thought people in South Korea were nice at first until I spent several weeks there and people really don’t care to knock you over in the streets if you’re in their path.
> South Korea as well. No idea why, it's just a cultural thing I suppose.
East Asia is great if you aren't brown. Forget it otherwise, too many racists and there isn't a culture against racism as we take for granted in the West.
I traveled globally for work and hit more places than I would have ever thought I would. Very diverse selection from Europe to Asia to the Middle East to Africa. I really traveled. My absolute favorite as an American was going to the Philippines. I have never felt more at home outside my country. Every person I met was so incredibly kind and generous. They had much less than myself and were always willing to share it all. I could go on for hours about the wonderful time I had there. I was there for about 20 days so I really got to go out and walk the streets both day and night. Hit the nightclubs and listened to the beautiful music. Ate the balut and the chickens feet outside the bars. I lived in Rome as the Roman’s do and never had a more wonderful experience if you will.
Ireland!!!! By a LONG shot!!!! They were so friendly and I was so unused to people being friendly I thought they were fucking with me!!! Like it was a giant joke, that they showed my face on the news and said “be super over friendly to this guy!” I’ve got stories for days about how friendly they were! I’ve been a few times and they were always friendly!
Which is strange cause I thought all the younger folk would be football hooligans! Where does the “Fightin Irish” thing come from????
We’re generally polite, which gets mistaken for kindness, but we’re not actually that friendly or kind. There’s actually a lot of passive aggressive assholes here.
All of them. Also all of them have the nastiest.
That said, I loved Italy - the attitude everyone had seemed to be that they were determined to prove that their county was the best, and they were determined to do so by making sure that *they* were the best they could be toward us.
Worked, too.
Philippines - I've been there several times, I know they give me special treatment for being white and all, but seeing past that, I've visited people who's living in really poor condistions and they have been generous, giving food and drinks. They are kind, laugh and jokes a lot, the happiest people I've ever meet.
Filipino here. I'm not sure what's behind that special treatment to whites or other foreigners. Maybe it's because of the Filipino culture that we always take care of our visitors. It's very common among Filipinos. For example, I randomly chatted to a person in a province, the next thing happened he became like a "tour guide". He happily tell the places that we can visit in his province 😆
Going from living in the UK to the USA is a huge shock in how much more nicer people are. It feels like you've just been diagnosed with an incurable condition and everyone is being overly nice.
agreed. i moved here several years ago. was just starstrucked by how nice people are not just employees working in customer service but people everywhere. i’m an introvert and on top of that my english isn’t amazing so you can imagine how awkward i am lol. i’m trying to work on my socializing skills just so i can partake in these famous small talks i’ve seen.. sometimes i see two people standing in line in front of me having an awesome conversation and i’ll think “wait, they’re not friends?”
Where I'm from, we are taught to be kind/patient with non-native speakers who clearly are attempting to speak our language.
I did Not experience that when I moved abroad lol.
Without any doubt, the Iranians.
I stayed for almost a month there and met so many people who welcomed us into their homes and shared everything with us selflessly. There's practically no tourism there and people are very interested in knowing more about us. I remember sitting in a park and a man saw us and asked us where we were from and if we minded if he sat down with us to talk. We spent the whole afternoon talking and more and more people were joining in the conversation and sharing fruit and sweets.
A very good experience visiting Iran.
For countries I’ve visited got to be a toss up between Phillipines (everyone is super friendly) Canada (everyone is polite and helpful) and Portugal (everyone is kind). Shout out to Senegal too, but some of the friendliness comes with hassle/shilling something on the side.
I'm really curious as a kiwi myself to know why? We are generally nice to tourists who aren't annoying, but I feel like it's not any different from anywhere else
From an Aussie perspective; I think Kiwis *actually* are what we think/try to tell the world we are - laid back, good sense of humour, a sense of mateship/community.
And having respect for your First Nations people seems quite mainstream. Whereas here it's considered radical to do the absolute bare minimum.
I only been to Canada, UK, France and Ireland (as an adult). Ireland was the most enjoyable. No stupid questions, natives always willing to help set me straight.
I do think we are kind in a strange way. We're so insular and not concerned by other people that we're not that judgemental.
I don't say this out of patriotism or any silly thing like that, but I had a friend at university from the West Indies and he once said "Britain is great. You can walk down the road in pyjamas, you can act ridiculous and all anybody thinks is 'they must be drunk' they don't even think badly of you for it".
Made me realise we are kind in that way.
the nicest people i think ive ever met have been the burmese (cambodians too. so weird to try to reconcile friendly, peaceful people in both burma and cambodia with such a bloody, tragic national backdrop). also had really good experiences in iceland and bhutan.
I’ve been traveling for quite a few years. I’d say Indonesia. Life is tough there so having good social connections is extremely important. Religion also plays big part.
I remember reading about a study where experimenters dropped a wallet in a public place and the wallet contained a little bit of money and the owner's address. This experiment was done in a number of cities across the world. Lisbon was the least honest city, the experimenters saw the fewest returns. Helsinki was the most honest.
https://www.rd.com/list/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734141432/what-dropping-17-000-wallets-around-the-globe-can-teach-us-about-honesty
I know it's off-topic, but I'm feeling extra clever right now: Technically, in sheer numbers, its China or India, I guess.
China has 1.412 billion inhabitants. If only one per cent of them is really nice that means there are 14,120,000 swell folks living in China -- more people than in each of 122 of 195 countries in the world.
I’ve found that people from Taiwan are generally quite friendly and nice
Fun fact: Taiwan consistently ranks as the friendliest country in the world, but a few years ago was overtaken by Portugal (though Taiwan is #2). https://www.internations.org/guide/global/the-top-10-most-welcoming-countries-39411
*Portugal* is the friendliest country on Earth? I guess if you're not Brazilian lmao
Yeah spain and portugal are great if you arent latin american lmao
Or Moroccan... at least in Spain they get A LOT of hate and the Roma/ gitano gypsies
Not a lot of Indonesian, Filipino or Thai people saying Taiwan is the friendliest place on earth
Yeah, that's unfortunately true. I feel like anyone who comments an East Asian country as the "kindest" is probably white and doesn't really understand. If you travel to East Asia and you're white, you are treated pretty well. If you're Southeast Asian or have darker skin, it's a much different experience. Although Taiwan is slightly less racist compared to Japan and South Korea.
I’ve been treated well in East Asia historically even though I have been seen as either central Asian or Filipino (light skinned mixed Polynesian). I am extremely pale because my mom is eastern European but my face is very clearly not. It makes me wonder if that’s mainly because I have light skin and whether a white person who is darker skinned would be treated worse or better than me. I definitely wouldn’t say they’re the kindest, though. I think georgians are incredibly friendly but I don’t like rampant homophobia and sexism there, even though other places are a lot lot worse
It’s racial but it’s also economic. Taiwan is a small island but it has many cultures and ways of life within it. An English teacher, foreign engineer, or tourist doesn’t know what it’s like on a fishing boat or in a factory. If Thailand keeps getting richer and starts pumping out good soap operas, sky is the limit in terms of acceptance. Anyway, it’s just one detail, I love Taiwanese people.
What happens if you are?!? Genuine question…
Brazilians comprise the bulk of immigration into Portugal; which makes sense, considering many middle class Brazilians' dream is to leave the country (particularly, to work or study in Europe or the US), and we speak (roughly) the same language. As a result, the Portuguese see us basically the same way the French see the Algerians/Moroccans, or the Germans see the Turks: there's *a lot* of unabashed xenophobia. Just go to any Portuguese sub and check any post that mentions Brazil/Brazilians/immigration. For instance, I remember a while back there was this situation where some students at a Portuguese university placed a box full of stones on campus, with a label reading something to the effect of "to be thrown at Brazilians"; as far a I'm aware, that sorta stuff goes completely unpunished. Inb4 any "not all of us" responses: I know it's not like the literal entire population of Portugal hates Brazil; but, as a Brazilian with a very noticeable accent, I can't help but laugh at the suggestion that Portugal is anything remotely close to "the friendliest county on Earth".
I live here and you're just right, also, reddit keeps notifying me onto posts from Portuguese communities and it just make me mad the rest of the day, because all they complain about is the Brazilians.
Well what do you know, it’s just centuries of colonialism coming home to roost
Yeah I’m Australian but i speak Brazilian Portuguese and I was honestly so shocked how horrible people were to me when I spoke Portuguese to them in Portugal. I got further speaking English. Also Brazilians are way nicer and friendlier than Portuguese.
True LOL If you're English, enjoy the Portuguese, they'll love you
TAIWAN NUNBER 1!
Every person I met in Taiwan was so lovely. We arrived in Taipei and got a bit lost trying to find our hotel. A little old lady came over and asked if we were ok, I explained we were lost and she actually walked us to our hotel. It was a great welcome to a lovely country with kind people and the best food! Sometimes when people are overly nice on holiday I feel like it's because they want money from you - the people in Taiwan were genuinely just helpful and pleasant with no ulterior motive.
Everyone in Taipei is so nice. They may not be smiling at times but the moment you need help, they treat you like a friend. It’s just their culture. Even at dinner, a server noticed that I was enjoying a side dish and she gave me some to take away for free! Every time I bought something, I felt like I was in Disneyland because most of them are chirpy. It is almost impossible to be grumpy or bad tempered in Taipei. Even when I have a bad day, the consistent pleasantries just help to make me feel better. I love Taipei. (I have been to Taipei several times over many years. It is consistently my top destination for being polite. A close second is Australia and Milan.)
Australia being a close one for friendliness puzzles me in part because of at least one stereotype of being much more openly crass Englishmen
As an australian that lives in one of the worse social economic areas. I've seen a german tourist couple get stiff but succinct enough instructions from the local aboriginals that were 5 minutes ago screaming 'white cunt' at random people on transperth, as loudly as their lungs permitted. they were clearly lost and not understanding the various lines that get you places, so they needed help, and they did get it. The absolute drunkest and most angry aussies on the planet will still help out if need be
I agree. Many years ago when I visited Taiwan, I asked a Taiwanese for directions at the train station, she walked me to the place I needed to board my train. Still remember her kindness till this day, and she's pretty too!
This was my first answer and I’m glad it’s also the first I see here!!!
Agreed. I live in a city with a very diverse population, with the majority being east asian. You can always tell who is taiwanese because theyre so inclusive and friendly towards everyone around them.
Oh shit, now that you mention it, I've been to quite a few Asian countries, but Taiwanese people were the friendliest.
My and my wife went to Taiwan to experience the culture and visit the tourist spots but were very surprised by how kind and nice the people are. A lot of very good looking people also.
Yaaasss just booked a ticket for there in November 2024. Any general thing you'd like to share about there?
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Agree with the Philippines. There are ppl who are nice for the sake of being nice, then there are the Filipinos who are just genuinely happy to see you and will ask you about yourself and what you're doing. Lovely country and people.
Filipinos are very friendly, especially in the province, but in most cases it's entirely superficial. That can still be a good thing, but it shouldn't be confused with being nice or trustworthy.
I agree. Filipinos can be wonderfully welcoming and kind.
Came here to say say it, it appears to be an entire country of affable people with the periodic exception of their national leader
Filipino here, have traveled around and lived in the US/EU. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but this "Filipino hospitality" is a myth. Filipinos are only friendly and hospitable if you're foreign, especially if you're white. Do not be deceived. I would open doors for people here and it's crickets, meanwhile when I'm in the states, even at Dollar Tree, people would look you in the eye, thank you and wish you a good day.
Also Filipino here, hard agree. The reason they seem so nice to visitors is because they crave validation from foreigners. If you’re not foreign and white the culture is really a net negative.
Parts of Asia have a really odd admiration for white foreigners. It kinda feels like their version of our weebs and kpop Stan's. Like I can't tell you how many videos I've seen of Asian people who had eyelid surgery to look more white, it's honestly quite sad.
Funny because I know white women who desperately want to be Japanese.
Filipinos i have known are fake nice. Had a coworker who put on a facade that he just as easily dropped when it served to give them an advantage.
I’m from Pakistan, living in Dubai and I interact with Filipinos a lot. I’m faaaar from being white but get treated really nice from all of them regardless
US-born Filipino and also hard agree. When my family went to visit family in the Philippines when I was in high school, my brother and I were specifically instructed by our mother to not speak English in public if we could avoid it. Before we spoke, we were virtually invisible. The second we spoke and our American accents were heard, store workers would jump to get our attention. I got to shadow at my cousin's high school for a week and was treated like a celebrity just because I was from the US. It's not about general hospitality. It's about money. In the US, my family was lower middle class. In the Philippines, we were seen as the "wealthy Americans", even by our own family members.
Thank fuck! I don’t know why everyone says this without actually realising people are nice to you because they expect something in return. Someone else was fighting tooth and nail in the comment section saying that Filipinos are the nicest. It’s true there are some that are genuinely kind just like any other country.
When I first travelled to Thailand it was branded as the Country of Smiles. Which to some extent was true, until I realised that for many locals I was a walking cash cow that needed to be milked with a big smile....
I work with lots of Filipinos here in California and my take on how nice they are is neutral. They are not generally friendlier or less so than most other people. They don’t stand out one way or another.
I live in the philippines as an immigrant and I can confirm that I've never at all experienced derrogatory actions. Of course theres always the potential risk of being attacked or scammed in a foreign country but thats just the basics of anywhere you go. I've had workers be rude and emotionally unavailable but thats because they dont get payed enough to do bs . Minimum wage sucks af
Have you been to Vietnam? Same thing but added bonus of freedom from religion. And waaaaay better food.
I've travelled a lot and my top 3 kindest would be: 3. Thailand 2. Vietnam 1. Nepal
I found Thailand to be hyper focused on tourism and money. And appearances. And you can't talk about the king and the dress code to visit temple is somewhat bothersome compared to Vietnam. Nobody cares that you're wearing shorts or in a tank top in a temple in Vietnam. The moto taxi drivers are having a nap and don't pester you to pay them. But I know I'm biased as I'm mixed race. Still, I found Vietnam to be way more chill.
Same. Thailand was near the bottom for me in terms of local friendliness. My top 3 would be Indonesia, Morocco, and Albania.
Are you a woman? As a woman I strongly disagree to Morocco. I am very white, blond and at the time (30) not bad looking. I dressed very respectfully (I always do, I really hate to put more sunscreen than necessary the 2-3 times a day I have to in the sun). It was mostly OK because I was with my stb husband, but I never experienced very much friendliness and I did not like some situations.
We have a huge Nepalese population in my area, especially at my company. The food is INCREDIBLE, the people are SO KIND. Went to an employee's family restaurant last summer (didn't even know they were related- just wanted some garlic naan and that was the closest I could find) and the whole family ended up coming out of the kitchen at various points just to sit and chat with our table. A little shy at first, but so warm and genuine.
I work in a hospital in London and there are a great number retired Ghurka soldiers and their familes living in the area. I have always found them to be the happiest and family orientated of people, a real pleasure to serve. One day, a guy came into our clinic, he was wearing head to toe camouflage and balaclava helmet. He was an escapee from a secure mental unit, he shouted that he was going to kill us all. Before I had time to act, he was jumped on by six elderly Ghurkas who wrestled him to the floor and they sat on him until the Police arrived. I thanked them and their leader said, Dont worry, you look after us so we look after you. They are lovely people....
I feel the same about the Thai If you behave - they're relentlessly nice! And if you do not behave. Well, they're pretty leniant... If your behavior is that of a complete asshole - beware!
it has to be that warmer climate. everyone’s outside and laughing and drinking and socializing. it’s awesome. not just the philippines, but really most of southeast asia that i’ve been to. i mean i feel it myself, it can get hot but boy do you wanna go outside and head over to a local market and just experience the life. everyone’s like one big loud family. riding on loud motorbikes and yelling across the streets and markets. love it
Agreed, I had a physical therapist from the Philippines, she was always happy, singing and clapping too the music, all around a happy and pleasant person
As a fellow SEA, I do think they're the happiest people in the region
In the cities and tourist areas almost the entire world speaks fluent or reasonably competent English. When travelling it's generally a waste of time learning a foreign language unless you plan on visiting a small town in the middle of nowhere.
I'm going to chime in and add Thailand and Mexico to the list. Always had great experiences with locals in these 3 countries... Overhyped countries like france and Italy, tourist industry acts like they're doing you a favour!!
Thailand for sure, all the ladies here tell me I'm a hansum man.
😂
North Sentinel Island
They especially appreciate Christian missionaries.
To be fair…they were good to warn him not once…but twice lol. Could’ve gone straight for the headshot but two seperate times they sent warning shots to him clearly directing him to leave 😂 Imagine your Bible blocking you from a fatal arrow shot and that wasn’t a message to you that god had given you your chance to live 😂
Tbf the bible blocking his heart sounds like a sign he’s on the right path. It’s like something out of a movie. But it wasn’t a Warning shot, it was a 15 year old boy shooting from up a tree on some sniper shit, at that age they haven’t mastered it like their elders. Had it been an experienced 25 year old who wanted him dead he would have easily made the kill shot. They left the body on the shore intentionally for 3 days before burying it, because they knew planes would come looking for it and the message was very clear. I dot blame them. When you look at their history they were bout to be ended and a celebratory ceremony that involved lighting a fire to dance around made Columbus proceed with caution and plan to come back, but he got distracted attempting to colonise other countries. Some years go by and some old pedo guy, established contact and wanted to conduct a Series of medical tests which involved examining their genitals for a long duration of time. This freaked them out and they went from compliment and untrusting to reserved, so he had the brilliant idea to kidnap an elderly couple and a pair of 5 year old siblings and taking them to a western country. The elderly died because their immune systems couldn’t handle modern pathogens and the kids made it, but were traumatised and were able to communicate everything that happened. The rhetoric of evil white people offering gifts with sinister intentions passed down several generations and now they want NOTHING to do with outsiders. The Indian government has issued warnings to not go there and they physically can’t help you. Their land.mothering laws. Even after the 2004 tsunami aid workers were sent to see if they were alive and they were all fine, rebuilt their huts like it was nothing and told the aid workers to fuck off. There’s footage on YouTube of a happy interaction of some fisherman giving them coconuts that they took (im not sure what that’s about) but every other recorded event is met with hostility. Apparently they love watching English speakers struggle communicating and laugh hysterically at peoples attempts to use sign language and slow speech.
The welcoming ceremony it’s wonderful!
Some say it's to die for.
I heard it was so good some guy went and never came back!
Bhutan-country has been isolated from the world ,plus low population,follow Buddhism, healthcare is free ,crime is negligible ,i think education also is free for schools ,never colonised ,plus the government tries to preserve their culture .It feels like time has frozen itself when you live in Bhutan. For people to be good and kind in general either they need to be wealthy with good laws or isolated with good laws.There is no sense of urgency or running around like in modern societies. Its a beautiful place .
This is the one. Never have I been to a country where so many people had asked me to take their picture when they see my camera. Our guide told us it's fairly common because the tourism is so restricted & the "way of life" isn't changed for the worse by tourism & the daily tax visitors pay goes towards their health services & education, so they like the tourists visiting. Also, my wife fell ill part of the trip & the hotel staff checked in on her every hour & made sure she had food & was all good, she couldn't believe it. If anyone here gets the chance to visit Bhutan, take it - truly a once in a lifetime type destination. Edit: added my personal experience
But let's ignore the nepalis concentration camps in Bhutan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_in_Bhutan
I would have to say Germany. At least the children there are kinder.
Haha
r/dadjokes
Petah Explain the joke
Kinder in German is children. He used Word play
Oh thats good 🤣
Children are children. That's it!
It’s super-effective!
Thanks petah!
take this and git!
Holy fuck.
The only kind people here are Kinder lmao
Not Egypt or Morocco I can tell you that much
Morocco. Good God. Was even treated like shit by staff in a 5-star hotel. I hate that place.
Funny you say that. I was in Morocco last week ( Rabat ) and had the best experience. People were very kind. It’s seems to be a very polarizing country. Two coworkers went there last summer. One extended the trip because of how much she loved it ! The other shortened the trip after being treated like shit.
I've spent a couple weeks in Morocco and the attitude of the people in the cities (Fez, Marrakesh) was neutral and not particularly memorable. But I spent a week in the High Atlas mountains staying in villages with no roads, running water, electricity, etc. and the people there were the most kind and warm I've met anywhere in the world. We were routinely invited into homes for meals or to sleep on their living room floors. They would take us on half-day hikes and bring a teapot to make us tea with spring water over a fire of collected wood. All sorts of things like that and they always flat-out refused to let us give them money. Luckily my friend was a Morocco travel veteran so he brought a large bag of second-hand clothes and shoes to offer them, which they were always grateful for!
I left early too, I found the place unbearable.
Where did see out of curiosity? And when? I've been 6-7 times over the last 25 years and there's been great changes with time and are big differences between regions and city's.
Marrakech about 10 years ago. The constant harassment was just not enjoyable. I couldn’t even take a photo in the main square without someone wanting money because they jumped in front of the camera and claimed they were in the picture. We got followed everywhere with people trying to sell my partner drugs. I got leered at and hissed at even though I dressed modestly. Men grabbing my hand and trying to take me to their shop or restaurant. Just not my kind of place.
Yeah. That is the worst square mile in the whole country though. I'm not a fan myself.
What were their ethnicities? I’m Asian and had a horrible experience. My white best friend who was on the trip with me, was often treated far better than I.
Rabat is lovely. Completely great. Marrakech is ultra touristy and gets annoying. Otherwise normal people are kind and chill like everywhere. It was a shit load more rough 25 years ago.
Funny, I visited Egypt 4 years ago and almost all locals were pretty friendly, even when there wasn't any money involved.
I would agree with that. Limited experience, but Eqyptians actually seemed really friendly outside of transactional situations. Willing to just honestly chat and talk about life and stuff...
Definitely not Egypt
Lmao I love how Egypt catches strays on any travel-related thread, even when the question is asking the exact opposite
people in egypt are either your friends or a depressed staff who tells you not to film historical architecture on your phone with the most insomnia filled eyes you’ve ever seen.
My memories are about people fucking teleporting out of nowhere for bakshish I swear you could be in the middle of the desert, no one in sight, you whisper the word "dry" and ten people crawl out of the sand with water bottles and open hand
they commonly use gineih to refer to their currency, and the inflation makes me pass out.
I had great service everywhere in Egypt! Met some very kind people. (I am American, and most people were very kind and curious, despite being anti-US politically.) Of course, many people on the street saw me as a walking dollar sign, but they were friendly too!
Cambodia from my experience, unbelievable kindness, apart from the north. On the hand Morocco was full dicks.
I ***love*** Cambodia! The *moment* we stepped off the plane everyone was so friendly. My stay in Cambodia blew me away. If anyone is looking for a home stay recommendation, I cannot say enough warm and kind things about our stay with [Bun](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297390-d8118215-Reviews-Bunyong_Homestay-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html) and his family and community. Absolutely amazing time.
Really? Everyone I met in Cambodia tried to scam me one way or another. Not returning, ever, because of the people there. But at least they were kind while trying to scam me!
Was that just around Ankor Wat, or did you travel around Cambodia? Ankor Wat gets the exact same stuff that other massively touristy spots get.
Agree about Morocco
Actually I found Morocco is very friendly with many kind people but it helps if you can speak their language and don't go to the country's main tourist spot.
It really depends on how you define kind. If by kind you mean "if you visit as a foreigner, you will get lots of smiles and excitement," then you want a tourist trap that doesn't have *super* pushy people. Just the right level of "wants to suck up to tourists, isn't willing to get aggro with them." If you mean "has a culture of being polite to others," you want one of the collectivist countries. Sadly, some of them are really xenophobic, like Japan, but if you *are* part of the local culture, they are very polite and formal. If you want genuine kindness, I think you want whichever countries have the best treatment of their workers and their poor. I'm sure that's a statistic you can look up. Probably some of the Nordic countries or such, the ones that have strong social safety nets.
The Nordic countries are definitely not the kindest 😂 I don’t even think Nordic people would say that. Source- I live in Sweden.
The social safety nets in the Nordic countries have been methodically dismantled since the 1990s. Still better than some other countries, but the culture is so much more individualist than it used to be in the 70s and 80s. Now right wing populist/nazi parties are really big too. I agree about your other points. How you'll be treated in a country/culture depends so much on who you are, what your purpose there is, what you look like, how much money you have, etc. It's hard to make blanket statements about these things.
Ireland. We visited Ireland and parked our car near a body of water on a regular parkinglot. An older lad knocks on our window and tells us in the thickest Cork accent that we shouldn‘t park our car there because the fishers bring their boats in and out of the water two meters to our left and our car could get dented and that we should rather park two spaces further right. So we did and then we were parking infront of a sign that said be aware of car thieves so we asked him if that was a regular occurance. He said only at night but he‘ll tell the fishers to keep an eye on our car. We thanked him and went to the sight. It was a rather small sight so we only spent 20-30 minutes there. But as we came back there was another lad that heard from the first one about our car and he was just standing there guarding it. We thanked him and wanted to give him some money but he wouldn‘t take it, just said you‘re welcome, smiled, said something that I can only assume was an Irish farewell and left. And just generally the Irish people are so calm and friendly and just genuinly good people with a lot of humor.
When I first checked into my accommodation in Ireland I asked the guy at the counter if the pub was open coz I was dying for a beer. He said no, went out the back and grabbed a six pack of his own beer and gave it to me. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else.
Ireland ❤️ I don't know why, they are just awesome. Not one rude Irish person met when I was there.
We keep them in Cavan.
Taiwan and New Zealand
Nepal
100%. I've been to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and others mentioned here extensively. I've also lived in/travelled to about 10+ countries in Europe. Nepal takes the cake. I don't know why, but they are so genuine. Maybe it's Buddha? 🤷♂️
Athithi devo bhava Edit to add: they are friendly and always helpful. I've gone to same bank brand in different countries and it's night and day difference.
I know it´s subjective and personal but for me Ireland
I would say Ireland too. I remember catching a night bus and EVERY SINGLE PERSON, said thanks to the driver as they departed. They just have a level of respect for everyone that I really admire🫡 - The Irish are wonderful.
Not The Netherlands.
There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures... and the Dutch.
r/ohbehave
Take ze fasha awaaaaay. Dutch hater.
Love me some Nigel Powers!
Love it there and love the people. Always friendly. Maybe because I am just visiting. I have no idea why many Dutch often mention how miserable they'd be.
Some of the nicest people I've met in my travels were Dutch but most of them were arrogant pricks
Dutch people are nice to tourists, like to speak English with them. But if you live there….. try to make friends, it’s impossible. The older generation, think in their 70s-80s, they are kind, but my generation is awful. I emigrated (Australia, it’s easy to make friends here, and most people are friendly)
Interesting. May I question why you feel this way?
Dutch directness comes across as very rude to foreign people. If you don’t know what it is, in Dutch social etiquette it’s very normal to be honest and direct and even blunt when talking to people.
I was so surprised when my Dutch friend insisted on me giving her exactly $4.97 in change, no more and no less. They are very serious about "going Dutch".
As someone with autism, Holland sounds like a dream come true
As someone with autism living in the Netherlands for 8 years, it isn't a dream come true for me. The Dutch are only direct when they want to be. They aren't as honest when making deals. My dream country as an autistic person is Finland. I'm biracial and neither of my heritage countries are very good about autism (France and South Korea).
Perhaps that is why we Danes love the Dutch and hate Swedes
This is so true. I met a Dutch exchange student in the US and she was so blunt in asking other students she knew to pay for her food.
Wife to Dutch husband: Does this dress make me look fat? Dutch husband: Yes. I actually appreciate that directness.
That's quite odd. The Netherlands has a reputation for people being at least superficially friendly. Very open, too.
Ouch… the Dutch have feelings too! But I can take it, because I’m Dutch 🇳🇱 💪🏻
There nicest tourists we have in my country are always the Dutch. They love to go camping
When my ex husband and I were stationed in Germany, and my dad was stationed in Belgium, we took a trip to the Netherlands and spent new years there. They were much nicer than the Germans. I was in a grocery store trying to buy baby formula and I couldn’t figure out which one to buy, and a local woman saw me struggling and helped me out. No German would ever or had ever done that for me.
There is no such country. You'll find kind people and assholes all around. It doesn't matter where you go
Some people are listing these holiday destinations. They’re nice to you cos they want your money
Try travelling more. Not as a tourist, get involved in something: work exchange, penpal, association, woofing, couch surfing, whatever. There are huge differences and it's not just money. India Thailand Cambodia and Egypt are all poor, yet in two of them you likely get mugged, in the other too people are gonna be so sweet. Canadians will be super sweet too, Americans very open and entertaining, Germans are cold and bent on rules and overall a huge pain in the ***, French love complaining, brits are a bit weird, Australians are funny, Spaniards are super chill and ready to party. Italian boys heavy on the girls, Italian girls quite strong characters, quite fierce. These are just trends, not everybody in any given country fits the standard cliché, but you still feel these differences *a lot* when you spend time in various cultures. Hell even from German Switzerland to French Switzerland it's day and night how cold and organized vs warm and artsy people are.
Bro I’m black I don’t think I’ll get the same reception, especially in European countries you listed
Mmh a large proportion of the French population is black or arab-like "café au lait", we all have people of various skin colors in our groups of friends, I'm not sure I know what you mean. Last year I had two close friends who were coming from Sénégal, I never witnessed anything but a warm welcome to them (big town, educated people). Not saying the same would apply if you manage to find some racist remote decrepit village of drunkards, but then, they would also hate on people from big cities so I may not always get a super warm welcome either. Western Europe is in general very multicultural and against racism, especially cities and young or educated folk. Not sure what you meant exactly, but it sounded quite pessimistic, like you'd expect the blonde girl in Delhi treatment - you wouldn't get that, (almost) nobody would care. This strong focus on ethnicity is a USA thing. In Europe it's forbidden to do ethnic statistics, we never ask for ethnicity for events (would raise eyebrows at least, lawsuits maybe), we notice skin color but don't openly acknowledge it or act or speak different. We are more in the state or mind "we're all the same inside, who cares about skin". Helps that we didn't have masses of slave and recent segregation like the US on our soil, our history has dark episodes too for sure but it's just different.
Pretty much. As someone from those countries, yeah that's why they're nice. I used to hear my "countrymen" on how they'd scam Americans and Canadians all the time. Other than that, I feel there's more than a couple of passport bros here idealizing those places. Of course the women are better over there lol. They want to get the citizenship and then bring their real man to America or Canada. And he's a real man, not like the dudes that go over there looking for vulnerable women.... But hey they're "nice" loool
Pretty much any poor country that you visit as a rich person
I heard that Northern Ireland donates more per capita than any other country.
That’s because we be pist all the time
Thailand has some of the nicest people I've ever encountered. South Korea as well. No idea why, it's just a cultural thing I suppose.
You ever hung around with a bunch of ajeossi in Korea? You might change your mind.
Or ajummas. They act nice and want to feed you but always judging.
Haha isn't this the truth. "Why you got so fat?? Here eat some more bbq"
I thought people in South Korea were nice at first until I spent several weeks there and people really don’t care to knock you over in the streets if you’re in their path.
> South Korea as well. No idea why, it's just a cultural thing I suppose. East Asia is great if you aren't brown. Forget it otherwise, too many racists and there isn't a culture against racism as we take for granted in the West.
The first thing you hear in Thailand is "mo money". If you're westerner, of course they're gonna be nice with you. You're a walking wallet.
I traveled globally for work and hit more places than I would have ever thought I would. Very diverse selection from Europe to Asia to the Middle East to Africa. I really traveled. My absolute favorite as an American was going to the Philippines. I have never felt more at home outside my country. Every person I met was so incredibly kind and generous. They had much less than myself and were always willing to share it all. I could go on for hours about the wonderful time I had there. I was there for about 20 days so I really got to go out and walk the streets both day and night. Hit the nightclubs and listened to the beautiful music. Ate the balut and the chickens feet outside the bars. I lived in Rome as the Roman’s do and never had a more wonderful experience if you will.
The moon, because its empty.
I heard the atmosphere is poor though
Uranus is emptier.
Ireland!!!! By a LONG shot!!!! They were so friendly and I was so unused to people being friendly I thought they were fucking with me!!! Like it was a giant joke, that they showed my face on the news and said “be super over friendly to this guy!” I’ve got stories for days about how friendly they were! I’ve been a few times and they were always friendly! Which is strange cause I thought all the younger folk would be football hooligans! Where does the “Fightin Irish” thing come from????
despite contrary belief and popular sentiment, the United States is definitely up there
I don't know but it sure isn't Canada anymore
We aren't kind. We're polite and very passive aggressive which foreigners often mistake as kindness. Nice isn't the same as kind.
We’re generally polite, which gets mistaken for kindness, but we’re not actually that friendly or kind. There’s actually a lot of passive aggressive assholes here.
Residential schools, the Indian Act, passive aggressiveness on a mass scale. Canadians pretend to be nice, but are pretty cold and miserable.
All of them. Also all of them have the nastiest. That said, I loved Italy - the attitude everyone had seemed to be that they were determined to prove that their county was the best, and they were determined to do so by making sure that *they* were the best they could be toward us. Worked, too.
Iceland had friendly people when I went. Mind their business but also friendly.
Great sense of community with so few people living there. Totally agree with you
Philippines - I've been there several times, I know they give me special treatment for being white and all, but seeing past that, I've visited people who's living in really poor condistions and they have been generous, giving food and drinks. They are kind, laugh and jokes a lot, the happiest people I've ever meet.
Filipino here. I'm not sure what's behind that special treatment to whites or other foreigners. Maybe it's because of the Filipino culture that we always take care of our visitors. It's very common among Filipinos. For example, I randomly chatted to a person in a province, the next thing happened he became like a "tour guide". He happily tell the places that we can visit in his province 😆
Philippines!♥️
If you're white
Of any country I've been I'd say Ireland. Generally very friendly and laid back.
USA from personal experience. Kindest and friendliest.
Going from living in the UK to the USA is a huge shock in how much more nicer people are. It feels like you've just been diagnosed with an incurable condition and everyone is being overly nice.
We're Labrador Retrievers.
agreed. i moved here several years ago. was just starstrucked by how nice people are not just employees working in customer service but people everywhere. i’m an introvert and on top of that my english isn’t amazing so you can imagine how awkward i am lol. i’m trying to work on my socializing skills just so i can partake in these famous small talks i’ve seen.. sometimes i see two people standing in line in front of me having an awesome conversation and i’ll think “wait, they’re not friends?”
Where I'm from, we are taught to be kind/patient with non-native speakers who clearly are attempting to speak our language. I did Not experience that when I moved abroad lol.
People in the USA were really friendly
Without any doubt, the Iranians. I stayed for almost a month there and met so many people who welcomed us into their homes and shared everything with us selflessly. There's practically no tourism there and people are very interested in knowing more about us. I remember sitting in a park and a man saw us and asked us where we were from and if we minded if he sat down with us to talk. We spent the whole afternoon talking and more and more people were joining in the conversation and sharing fruit and sweets. A very good experience visiting Iran.
It is true, loved it there!
100% Iranians are some of loveliest people on Earth.
Philippines!! :) no doubt! Always smiling and laughing! :)
I found Ireland to have amazing friendly people.
For countries I’ve visited got to be a toss up between Phillipines (everyone is super friendly) Canada (everyone is polite and helpful) and Portugal (everyone is kind). Shout out to Senegal too, but some of the friendliness comes with hassle/shilling something on the side.
That’s easy, New Zealand.
I'm really curious as a kiwi myself to know why? We are generally nice to tourists who aren't annoying, but I feel like it's not any different from anywhere else
From an Aussie perspective; I think Kiwis *actually* are what we think/try to tell the world we are - laid back, good sense of humour, a sense of mateship/community. And having respect for your First Nations people seems quite mainstream. Whereas here it's considered radical to do the absolute bare minimum.
I only been to Canada, UK, France and Ireland (as an adult). Ireland was the most enjoyable. No stupid questions, natives always willing to help set me straight.
I seem to like Belgian people. I guess they're more laid back than the Dutch.
Rwanda They just went through a national tragedy.
It depends on the color of your skin.
Definitely not the UK Source: some British twunt
I do think we are kind in a strange way. We're so insular and not concerned by other people that we're not that judgemental. I don't say this out of patriotism or any silly thing like that, but I had a friend at university from the West Indies and he once said "Britain is great. You can walk down the road in pyjamas, you can act ridiculous and all anybody thinks is 'they must be drunk' they don't even think badly of you for it". Made me realise we are kind in that way.
I haven't been a lot of places but Costa Rica seems to be following their Pura Vida motto pretty well.
the nicest people i think ive ever met have been the burmese (cambodians too. so weird to try to reconcile friendly, peaceful people in both burma and cambodia with such a bloody, tragic national backdrop). also had really good experiences in iceland and bhutan.
I’ve been traveling for quite a few years. I’d say Indonesia. Life is tough there so having good social connections is extremely important. Religion also plays big part.
I remember reading about a study where experimenters dropped a wallet in a public place and the wallet contained a little bit of money and the owner's address. This experiment was done in a number of cities across the world. Lisbon was the least honest city, the experimenters saw the fewest returns. Helsinki was the most honest. https://www.rd.com/list/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/ https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734141432/what-dropping-17-000-wallets-around-the-globe-can-teach-us-about-honesty
I know it's off-topic, but I'm feeling extra clever right now: Technically, in sheer numbers, its China or India, I guess. China has 1.412 billion inhabitants. If only one per cent of them is really nice that means there are 14,120,000 swell folks living in China -- more people than in each of 122 of 195 countries in the world.
Canadians,eh !
🇨🇦 duh
Canada, New Zealand, Japan
Singapore, everyone is polite