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submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

For me Ireland and Taiwan, how about some others

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[-] Mearuu@kbin.melroy.org 24 points 3 weeks ago

Thailand and Vietnam have such kind and welcoming people. I am constantly impressed by the gestures I see.

Just today me and my girlfriend were standing on the side of the road in Thailand waiting to cross. There was no crosswalk nearby but cars saw that we wanted to cross and stopped both lanes for us go. We did not signal in any way or step into the street. They just saw people in need of something that they could help with. Nobody behind them honked or became impatient.

There are so many more examples…

I’m American.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 15 points 3 weeks ago

I'm American

I'm so sorry (I'm also American)

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[-] AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works 16 points 3 weeks ago

I feel like it matters what race you are :(

My [white] friend has touted some of the friendliest places, but me being Korean...nope. A large number of places are very cold and passive-aggressive.

That said, not typically violent like America, but still not exactly welcoming.

[-] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

UK is super nice to white people, Koreans go there and get milk thrown on them.

Philippines super nice to white people, Koreans go there and get yelled at.

Taiwan super nice to white people, Koreans go there and... actually I never went with Koreans. and fwiw there's so much bad blood between China and Korea that it probably bleeds over into Taiwan

Um, maybe... Japan? Deep irony but that might be the nicest place to Koreans now...

oh, duh, Turkiye

[-] bitofarambler@crazypeople.online 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Vietnam, Thailand, India, Guatemala, Taiwan is a good call.

in Vietnam, someone literally ran out of their house while I was stopping to adjust my headphones in order to invite me to breakfast at his home.

he had a tiny orchard in his front yard and we shared mango, dragonfruit and pancakes.

[-] TwoBeeSan@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago
[-] bitofarambler@crazypeople.online 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

the coolest.

i was on a bike, so i guess he felt like he had to hustle.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I've been wanting to visit Vietnam for a while now... I think it was watching Anthony Bourdain there that sold me. Looks like a beautiful nation full of amazing people

[-] superkret@feddit.org 11 points 3 weeks ago

Finland and Chile, definitely.
They're also astonishingly similar.
Chileans are like the Scandinavians of South America.

[-] makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 weeks ago

Taiwan for sure. What lovely people.

[-] thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

How about China? That's one country I want to see

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[-] Gieselbrecht@feddit.org 8 points 3 weeks ago

Regarding the people, disregarding officials and leadership? Iran. Such lovely, welcoming people.

[-] thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago
[-] Skunk@jlai.lu 8 points 3 weeks ago
[-] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

I went to see the Vimy memorial, many years ago, and it was delightful. People were so friendly, and very welcoming. I did not see a 'rude Frenchman' stereotype throughout the holiday. Very nice cheeses, though you have to be okay with the strength of the aroma of them lol.

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[-] triptrapper@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

I frequently hear this stereotype from people who haven't been to France. I specifically hear that the French are rude to anyone who doesn't speak French. My experience was that they can be rude to Americans who assume everyone will speak English. I would do my best to have a conversation in French, and the locals would usually take pity on me and switch to English.

I'm not denying there are unfriendly French people, but I would expect anyone to get tired of tourists who don't make any effort to speak the local language.

[-] Sergio@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

Also, I think mainstream Americans expect people to be bouncy and grinning all the time or else they say you have resting bitch face and a case of the Mondays. In a lot of cultures, grinning at a complete stranger is condescending and makes you look foolish.

[-] CrazyLikeGollum@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Ireland is probably the friendliest I've been too. The Irish are great people.

Rome (I know, not a country, but I can't comment on the rest of Italy) is probably the least friendly place I've been to. Romans are assholes. It's a very cool city, but the people, especially outside of tourist traps suck.

The Japanese are very polite, respectful, and helpful (almost to a fault) but I'm not sure if I'd generally describe them as friendly.

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[-] arudesalad@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 weeks ago

Germany is very nice, most people I met were more than happy to help my with practicing my German

[-] jenni007@lemm.ee 7 points 3 weeks ago

Germany definitely, France second. Egypt and Canada.

[-] thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

France is actually quite nice the further you move away from Paris. Met some amazing folks in Breton.

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

People in the very south of France ar super nice from my experience. One thing to know about french people is that they don't like to speak anything but french, even if they could.

[-] jenni007@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago

The number of people that speak English in France is rapidly increasing. On the other hand, if you do not speak the language of the country you are visiting, you shouldn’t rate it for friendliness.

[-] zxqwas@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Most friendly: Namibia probably.

Least friendly: UK.

Some context: Live in Scandinavia, and been in all those countries. Other countries I've been to: Chile, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium (technically, walked across the border from Netherlands), Austria, South Africa, Zambia, Kazakstan.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

You thought the UK was less friendly than the Netherlands??? Did you only visit London?

[-] zxqwas@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

No, met up with some friends living in Birmingham.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I live in the US and have been to Canada, Mexico, Ireland and Germany.

Only one of these places have I ever been randomly called a faggot from a moving vehicle while just minding my own business on more than one occasion, and it wasn't any of the countries I don't live in.

[-] meekah@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Honestly surprised it wasn't Germany, as a German

[-] atro_city@fedia.io 6 points 3 weeks ago

Really depends on the skin color of the person visiting and where they are visiting in that country. A non-white visiting most West-European cities will be mostly fine, but if they go out to the country-side, things can be very different.

I watched a documentary of an Indian boy adopted to a Swiss family who then went back to India to visit. He had a terrible time in Switzerland due to racism and nearly as an awful time in India, because he couldn't speak the language and people thus assumed he was a Pakistani spy.

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[-] vvilld@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Friendliest country I've ever been to was Cuba. Everyone was incredibly nice and helpful with anything we could want. Malaysia was a close second.

Least friendliest was Belgium, but I went as part of a school exchange trip, so I was pretty much always in a large group of mostly teenage Americans with a few teachers. Understandable why people might not have been as friendly.

[-] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago

Canada for sure, but I have friends there

[-] Lembot_0001@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

For that to be really interesting you should state your own nationality.

[-] thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

for me American

[-] rustyfish@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Definitely Scotland. They are antithesis to the English. Super friendly and welcoming. I have been around a lot in Europe never have I been struck by the German nature after I returned from Scotland.

[-] beansbeansbeans@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

French Polynesia. Genuinely the kindest and most down to earth people on the planet. My husband and I had the most amazing and hospitable experience there staying in a detached room (treehouse style) with a local family. The locals are so friendly - we were given food, helped with getting a rental car (they even gave us a ride there and spoke with the guy behind the counter), told of all the best places to explore, taken to the farmer's market, and so much more. We were treated like visiting relatives.

[-] sanderium@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 weeks ago

Australia, they are all just Koala friendly.

[-] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 weeks ago

Philippines

[-] triptrapper@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I'm a white American.

Most friendly: Portugal. They seem to be a happy bunch in general, and they all seemed excited to have visitors. Lisbon, Cascais, Lagos, and all the little towns in between.

Least friendly: Iceland. They could just be less open and emotionally expressive with strangers, but unless it was a business transaction I was frequently ignored when I said hello and people seemed uninterested in having a conversation.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago

Least friendly: Iceland. They could just be less open and emotionally expressive with strangers, but unless it was a business transaction I was frequently ignored when I said hello and people seemed uninterested in having a conversation.

Sounds wonderful

[-] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 3 points 3 weeks ago

Japan, China and the UK were the friendliest I've been so far. I'm German.

[-] cRazi_man@lemm.ee 2 points 3 weeks ago

Where did you visit in the UK?

Because I live here and I disagree. If it was London (as it usually is) then I'm really going to laugh.

[-] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Aside from London (where I didn't really talk to anyone but my sister who lives there), I spent 2 weeks traveling solo by train around England, staying in Bath, Shrewsbury, York and Scarborough and visiting some of the surrounding towns and villages. I'm sure it helped that it's a country where I have a good grasp of the local language unlike, say, Italy, where I could barely make myself understood. But I had lots of random friendly conversations with strangers in the UK and no negative experiences at all. Way more friendly than the average German for sure.

Big-city people are generally less friendly, so I do believe you that it's a different matter for London. It's the same for e.g. Tokyo, where people are way more cold than in the rest of Japan. And I guess you get a different perspective as a local than as a visitor. Several people in this thread have mentioned Germany, which does surprise me as a German.

[-] cRazi_man@lemm.ee 2 points 3 weeks ago

Understandable. I went to New York expecting it to be an urban hell. People in Manhattan were more pleasant and friendly than London. I guess the short term visitor experience will also be very different.

[-] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

I'm Aussie. For me friendliest countries probably Taiwan, Ukraine and Canada

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 5 points 3 weeks ago

For me it's actually Australia. Except on Australia day, that was weird as fuck to be honest.

[-] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

China, Taiwan, and just EA Chinese people in general are beyond nice. This past trip made me see how straight forward and warm hearted they really are and such strong family values.

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this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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