Least friendliest people?

OP, maybe they are cool toward you because they can't stand your atrocious grammar.

Japan, France, Jamaica.

Whatever jerkwater shithole 0P is from.

Americans.

Oh, dear.

R4, Americans are a lot of things, but unfriendly is not one of them.

Bostonians

The exception that proves the rule R7.

With the exception of Japan (I thought people there were really polite but I've never been there), I would have immediately named the countries listed by OP and R2.

So do we have a consensus on this question? Of course not, it's Chinatown - er - Datalounge.

Finland. They won’t even make eye contact with you. It is like living in a country full of aspies.

Czech Republic

I think America is the most friendliest.

What is wrong with OP’s grammar?

I second Jamaica.

OP has never left the state he was born in.

[quote] Americans are a lot of things, but unfriendly is not one of them.

Southerners in the US are all the way to "gushy" friendliness. Just don't mention politics or religion, whatever you do.

I say this as one of them (Mississippi) and I honestly miss it when I'm gone (lived away for a decade) - but... the other proviso has worsened, alas. Saw a quote from a new resident of Georgia and he suggested that the cause of the horrible things about the South (religion particularly) might actually be the cause of the great thing (friendliness).

I even see it across races more than I see it in other areas - however, everybody has to keep their "place". Another way of saying don't talk about religion or politics (including activism)

Depends on whether "unfriendly" means "reserved," "hostile," or something else.

fraus

I've traveled to many countries and the least friendly people I've met were in Quartzsite, Arizona. Racist assholes.

From my own experience, Israel by a mile. Russians don't smile and think Americans do it too much, but aren't unfriendly.

I've been to Israel..Most seem to be truly hard, unfriendly people. I guess being hated and surrounded by enemies makes one that way

Nyers are the same way R10...I grew up there...no one makes eye contact

OP is the least grammariest person on Datalounge.

[quote]What is wrong with OP’s grammar?

"Least friendliest" should be "Least friendly".

Americans are only friendly to other Americans. If you’re a foreigner and you don’t speak English as a first language then god help you should you ever need to ask them a simple question.

Blacks

[quote] Americans are a lot of things, but unfriendly is not one of them.

We just had another shooting!

New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Japanese are standoffish and keep to themselves... probably because they don't want outsiders to discover how perverted they are.

London and the home cunties

New Englanders

Swiss (except for the Ticinese)

Melbournites

Kuwatis (always place first in global surveys of awfulness)

Swedes (even the other Nordics hate them)

Interesting about the Japanese R8: Ever watch anything that flies for television in Japan? Dear god it'd never get air time in the United States that's for sure. And Europe in general doesn't necessarily censor full frontal nudity of ether sex.

Sentinelese People Of North Sentinel Island

They are so unfriendly it is illegal to attempt to visit there and if you do visit you are likely to end up dead. Now that is unfriendly.

Mainland Chinese people are, without a doubt, the rudest people you will EVER encounter. They have absolutely zero interest in obeying any type of laws or social norms. And don't even think about getting them to wait in a line. I was in Paris at the Louvre when a bus load of them showed up. They all got out and rushed the front doors, ignoring the line of people who had been waiting for hours. It was chaos. There's also signs at all major attractions in Paris, in Mandarin, saying not to shit or piss outside and to use a restroom.

As a gay man, muslims.

OMG r32, I got cut off in line by a Chinese woman at the Louvre too. Then the bitch had to nerve to act like she didn’t understand what I was saying when I told her to get to the back of the line. What is it with Chinese people thinking that they can get away with this shit? I thought that they perceived Americans as violent. You would think that Americans would be the last people they would cut in line. I was very close to going postal on her.

r32 I don't agree that Chinese are the unfriendliest, but they're definitely an "in group/out group" kind of people. But I guess the question also involves defining "friendly." The Japanese are very polite, but I don't consider them friendly.

As an aside, I lived in China for a couple of years. Once I was first in line at the train station waiting for the ticket window to open. A Chinese woman -- she was young, probably early 20s -- positioned herself directly in front of me. Then she shot me a cold glance and tossed her hair as she turned back to face the counter. Like, "Stupid laowai! What are you gonna do about it!"

I always found that interaction amusing.

And not excusing Chinese behavior overseas r33/r34. (A lot of Chinese themselves are embarrassed by it.) But in China itself, there is an almost unbelievable fight for resources. Many times, I had to physically push myself onto the bus amid the hoards of people.

The Chinese are more "uncivilized" (in a Western world context) than they are unfriendly.

If you want to be surrounded by unfriendly people go to Israel. The nastiest people I've encountered in all my years of traveling. Everyone there seems to walk around with a chip on their shoulder and with a nasty attitude.

[quote] hoards

Hordes, R36.

Thanks r38

As a non- American I can say for sure that Americans are indeed very friendly and helpful, even in New York. Tho they are more direct there.

Venezuelans are unfriendly and generally assholes. Colombians and Guatemalans are reserved tho very polite. Mexicans, Argentinians and Brazilians are friendly. Chileans are assholes.

R2 I would have to say you’ve never been to Japan if you’re including Japan on the list. It is by far one of the friendliest and most helpful countries to foreign visitors. I can’t count or describe the number of times I has been helped, I mean out of the way helped, by Japanese locals from big cities to suburbs.

I’d bought too much shit while in Tokyo few years back. Took my loot to the post office near my AirBnb to mail the stuff home instead of taking as luggage. I go there about 15 minutes before opening and the staff let me inside as courtesy I thought. But no. Once there they, despite speaking minimum English and me speaking no Japanese, helped me to not only pack my shit efficiently in boxes but also made sure I got the best rates at fastest shipping speed. All the while they’re talking to me about the following: oh you’re from the USA?! Oh I like James Bond you like James Bond? (Me: umm yeah but JB is British but yeah I love it too!). I like Americans so friendly and funny. Hope you like Japan so far hope you come back.... They packed my stuff which I didn’t even ask for, I thought I’d be buying the boxes and packing them. Afterwards they did such an awesome job that they couldn’t help but marvel and take pride in their work too. My stuff arrived at my house 2 days before I got home, packaging still intact.

R41, I have had pleasant experiences in Japan as well. They really are outgoing and fun after a few drinks. I went to a club in Tokyo, met a hot guy, and we both ended up jumping in the outdoor pool together fully clothed. It is odd that they are generally really reserved until they have a few drinks in them.

#40 Here.

Chileans are not much assholes, they're haughty instead.

That's rich R26 coming out of the mouth of the most racist people on the planet.

R42 Exactly! People have no idea how much the Japanese drink, and I mean DRINK. They go wild and loosen up after a few drinks and it’s like fuck all social rules about being reserved. You gotta love s country that has rooftop beer gardens on shopping centers and the like.

Americans are friendly but when you spend time with them you realize it’s just an act for attention. Very superficial.

I don't know how anybody can find the Japanese friendly ? I lived there. Are they approachable? No. Easy to strike up a conversation with? No. Smiley reaction when you interact with them? No. Like chit chat in a casual way? No. Positively disregarding the fact that you are non-Japanese when they deal with you? No. Polite? Definitely yes. Exceptions always exist, but the overwhelming majority is unfriendly.

I second he who said that Americans are more friendly to other Americans more than they are to non-Americans.

I read in another thread that if you're a white person using public transportation in Japan, the Japanese would rather stand than sit next to you.

R41 Thank you! I lived in Japan for 3 years and the Japanese are the nicest most courteous people in the world. Not to mention that even though most don’t speak English fluently, it’s still easy to communicate.

Datalounge HATES Israel. Lol.

The Swiss by a mile.

Lived there for years. When you reach out to them the just don't reach back.

Friendly to your face or friendly behind your back too?

[quote]OP: Least friendliest

Oh, dear.

China has over a billion people in it. I think that's why they have to be so pushy.

Small island cultures like Japan and England seem to be the most polite.

The warmest are the Mediterranean and Middle east Muslim countries.

Northern Europe is frosty but once you really get to befriend someone the frostiness shatters and they are kind.

Latin countries can be friendly too.

Generally the richer the country, the more icy the culture. Developing and poorer countries are the kindest. Because they depend on relationships to survive, not services.

I work in tourism and for me it's French people who are the rudest and won't acknowledge you when you are talking to them, followed by Chinese tourists.

Brazilians and Peruvians are friendly.

While you might have many reasons to hate Middle Eastern countries, but on casual contacts , people are really friendly. And people here mean men. Women are obviously off limits.

[quote] Colombians

My experience in Colombia is that they have to be one of the friendliest countries in the Americas.

Israelis are brusque, but helpful. Much better than being someplace full of obsequies people who aren't helpful, like India.

[quote] My experience in Colombia is that they have to be one of the friendliest countries in the Americas.

Their friendliness is purely mercenary.

[quote] China has over a billion people in it. I think that's why they have to be so pushy.

So does India, but with much higher population density. Easy to get literally trampled trying to get on a bus or train. And I don't think they understand the concept of the queue (or line). It's hunger games, getting around, unless you have a private car and driver. (or even trying to buy bread in a shop - be ready to fight to get to the till)

R47 maybe it’s you. I’ve been there many times and the while I didn’t live there I’d spent 2-4 months stretches of time there. Almost everyone who’s been there or lived there that I’ve known don’t share same sentiments as yours. It also takes time to build friendships there, whereas in the US we have a looser definition of friendship.

South Korea was not so great as a comparison. If you ask for help or directions from any male older than 30 you’d get ignored like they see past you. Women more friendly than men in SK. That’s one subtle difference between Koreans and Japanese. They’re less polite and more “real” sort of like Parisians that way.

“Easy to strike up a conversation with? No. Smiley reaction when you interact with them? No. Like chit chat in a casual way? No. Positively disregarding the fact that you are non-Japanese when they deal with you? No.”

Also R47, what you’d just listed as characteristics of friendship or friendliness is based upon YOUR own cultural biases or definition of friendship or friendliness. Some of these things you’d listed Japanese people don’t even do with each other so why do you expect them to cater to your cultural norms. Also the casual interactions e.g. friendliness as opposed to friendship, the Japanese are polite and smile while chit chatting with you. The more reserved ones tend to err on safer side because they don’t wish to overstep boundaries, yet they too are never rude, rather reserved and polite.

If you dealing with arrogant Texans who have no interests but team sports, grilling meat and evangelical Christianity, but wish it came with a special side-helping of weird Dutch tactlessness then you will love Afrikaners.

Weird Dutch tactlessness?

The British are pretty good with tact.

OP is SUCH a troll! Hilarious.

Musical people. From any culture, musicians. They're elitist, POS douchebags. The indie ones are the worst.

Put them all on an island. Drop a bomb on it. Sterilize their living ancestors as a preventative measure.

I think anyone can be some sort of musician. The problem may come from musicians thinking they're rare and getting a big head.

England. OTOH I found the French very friendly.

French in the small to mid-sized cities are very friendly. They even say bonjour to strangers (me!) On the street.

Germans are very direct, but never unfriendly.

They feel cold.

Iranians

Former Travel Agent here: Chinese people are horrible. Rude, weird, gross. There’s no doubt as to why were all suffering from a virus that came from their freak country. They abuse their kids and boil animals alive on the side of the bloody streets. I loathe those commie cunts. They play dumb to cut you in line., too. Russia: ice cold women and gay hating psychos. Middle Eastern (Muslim) countries hate gays and yes they hate Americans or any culture which has freedom and money. They’re planning world domination through their infiltration of liberal countries allowing them to migrate. It isn’t going to be good when they get their way. Very scary and they are overall very smelly . French think just because they have a lovely countryside, beautiful language and delicious desserts that they’re above everyone else. News flash they’re overrated. The language is lovely but the people are shit. Most the men are ugly. Switzerland is stunning but the people ate stand offish and driven by their wealth and class. If you don’t know how to ski and you’re near the mountains/alps, they think you’re a pauper.

Japan is polite and the people are quiet but not rude. They will chase you in the street to give you a piece of paper you dropped blocks away (happened to a friend of one, she didn’t even know she dropped it on public transport) she was stunned at the determination of the Japanese man to return her item.

Israel are a county where they’re surrounded by people who hate them. They’ve endured so much hate in their history yet I’ve only encountered kind, warm, intelligent and decent people every time I’ve been there.

Italians seem rude in Rome but it’s because of the over abundance of tourists making their days harder than they want (they want to shut down mid day to take walks, visit family and friends and eat long lunches) but tourists expect them at their neck and call 24/7. Italians are warm and open and will be offended if you’re not willing to break bread with them. They want to feed you. And they have the best food and wine so far be at from me to turn down their invite.

Kiwis kick ass. Love them.

[quote] Least friendliest people?

Bar bouncers anywhere in the world.

All the gay guys I meet in LA and WeHo.

West L.A. The Valley. Long Beach.

Pasadena. Glendale.

R22 As a non-American, I really didn't find very many New Yorkers to be rude at all.

Japan: I lived there for one year. Polite and helpful, yes. Warm, no.

After living in Japan for about a month, I went to Hong Kong and was surprised at how warm the people seemed, in comparison.

I still like Japan, though.

I'm surprised that posters are saying Jamaicans are not friendly. Never been there, but surprised.

I find Jamaicans very friendly.

Hawaiians

[quote]......and boil animals alive on the side of the bloody streets.

You mean like lobsters?

Black and Asian Americans.

Wherever r73 is from I do not want to visit.

R43 May I asked where in Chile you visited? I found people in Santiago to be indifferent to strangers, not interested at all with talking to tourists, especially Americans, but not unfriendly once you got to know them. Everywhere else in Chile that I visited, people were friendly enough, especially in the south.

[quote]Smiley reaction when you interact with them? No.

r47 has never interacted with a Japanese woman

For all you pedantic bitches, I just went over to the OED. Here are all their relevant definitions of "friendly":

1.

a. Characteristic of or befitting a friend or friends; that expresses or is indicative of friendship or a kind and helpful attitude.

b. Having the qualities or attitude of a friend; behaving, or disposed to behave, in a manner befitting a friend or showing friendship; kind and pleasant.

c. Of an event, place, etc.: characterized by friendliness; warm, inviting, welcoming.

2.

a. Not characterized by hostility or conflict; amicable. Later also of competition, rivalry, etc.: not pursued with hostility or serious intent; not divisive.

b. Of a person, nation, etc.: not hostile, antagonistic, or in conflict; on good, amicable, or affectionate terms.

3. Inclined to approve of, look with favour on, or offer help or support to a person, cause, etc.; favourably disposed. Frequently with to, toward, towards.

5. Of a thing: displaying affinity, correspondence, or a tendency to form a whole which is pleasingly coherent; harmonious, well-matched. In later use with the implicit sense of benefit to an observer, consumer, etc., overlapping with sense A. 4.

---

And for anyone interested in historical linguistics, here is the rather rich etymology of "friend" and "friendly" (sorry, too lazy to transfer formatting eg bold/italics):

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian friūnd (West Frisian freon ), Old Dutch friunt (Middle Dutch vrient , Dutch vriend ), Old Saxon friund (Middle Low German vrünt ), Old High German friunt (Middle High German vriunt , German Freund ), and also (reflecting formal variation in early Germanic) Gothic frijonds and Old Icelandic frændi , frjándi (Icelandic frændi ), Old Swedish frände (Swedish frände ), Old Danish (runic) frændi (Danish frænde ), all ultimately showing uses as noun of the present participle of the Germanic base of free v.; compare -end suffix1. The antonym fiend n. shows a similar formation.

Meanings in other Germanic languages.

The meaning ‘person with whom one has developed a close and informal relationship of mutual trust and intimacy’ is common to the earliest stages of all the other West Germanic languages and Gothic; additionally, the meaning ‘lover’ is shown by Old Dutch and Old High German, and the meaning ‘relative’ by Old Frisian, Old Dutch, Old Saxon, and Old High German. ‘Relative’ is the only sense of the word in the Scandinavian languages, where sense A. 1 is expressed by the Scandinavian cognates of wine n.2

Form history.

The stem vowel in the West Germanic forms of the word apparently derives from a diphthong *iu , which arose by contraction of the vowel of the base of free v. (i.e. *ī , developed from earlier *ij ) with the vowel of the participial suffix (i.e. *u , developed from earlier *ō before *u of the inflectional ending in certain cases, e.g. the accusative plural); see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §§120.3, 331.6 note 4, R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §3.19.(3), R. M. Hogg & R. D. Fulk Gram. Old Eng. (2011) II. §2.107.

In Old English, the expected form of the (unmutated) stem vowel is ēo (chiefly West Saxon and Mercian) and īo (chiefly Northumbrian and Kentish), as frēond , frīond . Kentish frīand shows unrounding of the second element of the diphthong. Forms such as frend are chiefly late and reflect incipient monophthongization of the diphthong.

In Middle English, forms with long close ē apparently coexisted alongside forms with short ĕ and forms with short ĭ (resulting from similar shortening of long close ē ). The testimony of early modern English orthoepists varies between short ĕ and short ĭ . See further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §§9, 11. The β. forms show loss of the final consonant.

(Continued below)

In Old English the word inflects as a strong masculine, originally belonging to the class of agent nouns in -nd (see -end suffix1), which like the class of athematic root nouns (as e.g. mouse n., nut n.1), shows i-mutation of the stem in certain inflectional forms. Traces of the inherited inflection are also preserved in other West Germanic languages.

Compare the early West Saxon dative singular form frīend (late West Saxon frȳnd ; compare Old Saxon friund , Old High German friunt ) beside frēonde (also West Saxon), which is re-formed according to the regular strong masculine (a -stem) paradigm. Nominative and accusative plural forms showing i-mutation are: early West Saxon frīend , late West Saxon frȳnd , frīnd (compare Old Saxon friund , Old High German friunt (Middle High German vriunt )); endingless nominative and accusative plural forms without i-mutation are: Mercian and occasionally West Saxon frēond , late Old English frēnd . Beside such forms, re-formed strong masculine plurals frēondas , (Northumbrian) frīondas are found in Anglian (Northumbrian) and in sources showing Anglian influence, especially verse. Reflexes of the Old English nominative and accusative endingless plural forms frīend , frȳnd , frēond , etc. survive in early Middle English as frend , freond , friend , frond . Nominative and accusative plural forms ending in a vowel are very occasionally found in Old English, e.g. Northumbrian frēonde , frēondo , late Old English frēonde , and probably represent either analogical forms with -e (the nominative and accusative plural ending of disyllabic nd -stem nouns) or reduced forms of weak plurals; compare the early Middle English plurals friende , frende .

Use as adjective.

With the use as adjective compare the much more common friendly adj.; among the cognate Germanic languages, the only parallel for the adjectival use appears to be Middle Dutch vrient (Dutch †vriend ). With the use as predicative adjective and also with uses in phrases such as to be friends with at Phrases 1b, compare also Old English gefrīend bēon , gefrīend weorðan to be on friendly terms (a collective plural occurring only in predicative use; also early Middle English as ifreond bēn , ifreond falle : see i-freond n.).

I've been to 50 countries and the coldest, most unfriendly people were in Finland. I might as well have been the only person in the country--not even hotel staff, shop owners, or restaurant servers would engage in any unnecessary conversation. It really did suck...

Slavic people (esp russians), East asians (esp chinese) and the french.

FRENCH ! They refuse to speak English to tourists.

NYers can be fakes. Have a nice day indeed.

r54 What a pile of retarded conclusions. Scandinavians and Finish were dying of hunger in not so distant times and they were as cold as always. It's culture and I remind you that culture in the Western World comes from the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Stop trying to justify your racism and xenophobia.

Not sure I understand - western culture comes from the Middle East and Mediterranean?

That explains Germany, Finland, England? I don't see much connection at all with quite a few "western" countries.

So unfriendly

About the Med/Mid-East connection: Weren't the Romans appalled at the behavior of the Germanic tribes that overran them in... oh whenever it was. 400AD? Apples and oranges.

American here. What is your opinion of Canadians?

Sweden

Only country I've ever visited where locals will deny a request by a tourist to take their photo. [this was precovid / pre-selfie stick]

In the Middle East and the Mediterranean they were writing about philosophy, arithmetics, medicine, creating beautiful literature, have beautiful cities with impressive buildings and facilities, while in Northern Europe they ate and defecated in the same place.

The Western culture comes from the Med, not North Europe.

Muslim women. You can’t even see their faces sometimes.

r11 I was told by a young Czech woman that they have their 'preferred' foreigners, i.e., white westerners. The Czechs are snobs. They dislike their neighbors and have a special disdain for Ukrainians.

I found them, as a preferred foreigner, to be helpful if called upon but reserved - like the Germans - until they have a few drinks.

Israelis are notoriously known for being rude, very unfriendly, and have zero manners. My sister dated an Israeli for years and lived in Israel. I very quickly learned their ways and did not put up with their shit. Surprisingly enough I got a lot of respect for that.

I'm a friendly Kiwi who lived in/visited Russia, China, the US, South Korea, Germany and Japan for long periods of time.

I was an English teacher, so travelled 'poorly' stayed in hostels and small towns. The language barrier also counts of course.

Americans are very friendly, I ended up crashing on someone's couch and they ended up helping me find a job. It was strange because I had no preconceived notion about class or race, so I ended up working in kitchens with Puerto Ricans and Mexicans and meeting their families etc, living in ghetto areas where I was the only white person (which black people found hilarious) and also meeting upperclass white people (I am educated and WASPish in appearance). It's a booming sort of friendliness, a bit controlling at times, but I like Americans.

Chinese people are very friendly, but there is a massive language barrier. The people who knew English were much friendlier than the Japanese or Koreans who knew English. If you are a Japanese or SKs 'pet' foreigner, you will be treated like family. They tend to ignore those outside those dynamics though, but in saying that they have been dealing with ignorant army dudes and boozed up English teachers for years, so not getting the best and brightest (I include myself).

Germans are friendly, but again - quite clannish outside of the cities. To be honest it's a fucking pain in the arse if you don't know English and you're trying to deal with English speakers. I get it.

Russians are great. I really like them, I was in the Moscow subway with a massive bag and no escalator to go up hundreds of stairs. Two huge Russian army guys swept past, grabbed my bag, carried it up and went on their way without even looking at me.

Russia isn't as anti LGBT as you would think. My hostel was run by a trans women, and the second person I met was a lesbian who showed me around the city. It's just the bogans/rednecks you have to look out for - like anywhere.

Basically people aren't that different wherever you go. They really are more similar than different, honestly.

r100 I was in a language class with a few Israelis. Had never met any before and these guys were rude, aggressive and arrogant. I've been told that the women are just as bad but with added entitlement.

I enjoyed your insights, r101

Countries I've visited:

Japan - uniquely isolated culture. When visiting Tokyo Disneyland small children in strollers stared in wonder at my bf & was cause it was their first time seeing westerners in person. Teenage girls meanwhile wanted to have their photo taken with me (I was a 21 yo twink at the time & this was "boyband era" and I guess they maybe thought I was famous in America Idk but it was amusing). My bf was 42 and they ignored him.

China - dishonest, lack of ethics. Dogs, cats boiled alive on streets, mice-on-a-stick (I kid u not), look up "chinese girl run over twice; pedestrians do nothing" on YouTube.

Hong Kong - extremely nice at Propaganda (famous gay bar on Hollywood Road), we were offered ecstasy outta an Altoid tin by a fabulous older socialite lady who also invited us to a private costume themed party the follow it night. Hong Kong Chinese also speak fluent English, the people couldn't be more different then mainland Chinese, and is really one of my favorite cities in the world to visit and have been multiple times.

Brazil - Rio is my favorite place & the people are amongst the nicest and most attractive in the world. (Caution is needed late at night / certain parts yes but I personally haven't ever felt in danger personally).

Argentina - people are snobby & Buenos Aires is WAY overrated.

Canada - Vancouver, Montreal = very nice but Toronto = least friendly Canadian city

Germany - brusque, was given a ticket by a militant lesbian cop on an airport train in Munich headed to the city for failing to buy a ticket as I was unaware. A kind German family standing next to me offered her an extra ticket for me when they saw her writing a ticket / demanding approx 150 € cash on the spot but she refused it.

Most European countries have been ok except for Sweden which I mentioned above.

South Africa, Australia = very nice

Egypt - dangerous, they HATE Americans unless they are desperately trying to get your tourist dollars. Didn't feel safe. My brother & I departed early.

Hawaii - relocated from NYC last year to Oahu, Hawaii before lockdown / quarantine restrictions went into effect in mid March for 2 months. In mid April was threatened with physical violence (by the security guards at the Sheraton Waikiki) for being on the islands "spreading COVID" and told to return to the mainland immediately or I'd "go missing". I've never tested positive for COVID and the pandemic gave local Hawaiians an opportunity to remind white Americans of their prejudice and ultimate displeasure with the USA for taking control of their islands 80 - 90 some years ago.

Mainland Chinese. I presently live in an American community with a large population of mainland Chinese. Most refuse to have anything to do with anyone other than other mainland Chinese. Cliquish to a fault, never experienced anything like this. OTOH Taiwanese are quite friendly with people from everywhere ... except mainland China.

Chinese still thinks Westerners are barbarians

[r106] is this a joke dear? April 1st ended.

Maybe you confused Mongolians with Westerners

Israelis can be quite abrupt but they've spent too long in survival mode to acquire such niceties as courtesy or good manners.

R16, southerner here too. We were taught that you don’t discuss politics, religion, or money.

It’s still good advice for real life.

R87 - I came away from Finland with the exact opposite experience. I thought the people were friendly, polite, helpful. We experienced no rudeness ever. Can’t say the same about Sweden, however. It started with being treated like shit by a front desk clerk while checking in at a luxury hotel, and went downhill from there. Sweden is the capital of rudeness and arrogance.

[quote] Chinese still thinks Westerners are barbarians

I’ll remember that the next time I see them spitting on the street or trying to shit in the middle of a park.

Bostonians. Boring af.

Yep, Sweden sucks. I had to live there for a while and it was as bad as described in previous posts.

Canadians -- polite (this is dying out though) but standoffish and cold.

I’d argue that hospitality and friendliness are different.

European countries that readily welcome those Muslim migrants are generally friendlier I would think

You think wrong, R116!!!! I lived in Germany during the height of the refugee crisis, and despite the fact millions were welcomed, nobody could ever accuse Germans of being friendly. Polite, yes, but not friendly.

I knew some Germans before moving there, and thought I’d become friends with more. Several years later, I left with a whole 1 new German friend (who I briefly dated). They’re quite insular.

Only Americans are friendly to strangers. Call it superficial if you like, but it’s a wonderful trait.

R117 Why in the hell would you welcome hordes of a different faith into your country if you weren’t friendly ? At least Mexicans south of border are less different

[quote]At least Mexicans south of border are less different

Plus—Mexico has full LGBT protections and equality.

[quote]European countries that readily welcome those Muslim migrants are generally friendlier I would think

Meek, is the correct answer.

Sweden accepting a lot of migrants doesn’t make them friendly!

Turks.

[quote]Sweden accepting a lot of migrants doesn’t make them friendly!

I think Swedes suffer from the same delusions of being accused of being “racist”. They need to start ignoring this and not even challenging it because it’s useless with these maniac accusers.

Zurich is awful.

R122 Migrant friendly.

This thread makes me miss traveling. I wish countries would open up to vaccinated people this summer. So far, the only decent place that I can find to visit is Costa Rica.

Domestic travel is the answer

r119 It wasn't about friendliness. The Germans needed factory workers.

R129 And US doesn’t need migrant workers ?

Friends visited Israel and said the people there were the rudest they had ever met .I visited Saudi Arabia and found them incredibly rude to all non Saudis. And the moral to this story is? Stay away from any place that is full of Religious nuts.

I don’t think I’ve met an American who doesn’t prefer French Canadians to Anglo Canadians. Understandable as Anglo Canadians have a huge chip on our shoulders about Americans and have made a religion out of being smug about how much nicer/ less racist/more evolved we are then them, but I think it also has to do with French Canadians having a booming “honey badger don’t give a shit” let’s keep it real gregariousness that is similar to Americans. The big exception to this is Americans who live in the parts of the North East and Florida that are popular tourist/snowbird destinations for the Québécois, where the general consensus is French Canadians are loud, tacky, entitled Karens.

People in Israel weren’t rude or mean...they were just lazy and ambivalent. As picky and particular as American Jews can be, I was surprised to find Israelis just don’t care about anything.

During a very short trip to London, I found London people to be unfriendly.

Interesting to hear about Swedes being so unfriendly.

Dataloungers.

[quote]I visited Saudi Arabia and found them incredibly rude to all non Saudis.

Can you imagine if they knew you were gay?

The Israelis I’ve met can be loud and crass but I would t say they’re unfriendly.

r130 I don't know. Do they? What's your point?

Middle eastern men are rude to women. I used to work a customer service job with women and they thought it was acceptable to treat them like dirt. I don’t know why we allow homophobes and women haters into our countries.

[quote]I don’t know why we allow homophobes and women haters into our countries.

Um. Do you live in the US, dear?

R138 To show up that German needing migrant workers logical nonsense

^^^^ 🙄🙄🙄

Mainland chingchongs are the worst! Boorish, disgusting beasts who have no understanding whatsoever of functioning properly as people in society.

[quote]Middle eastern men are rude to women. I used to work a customer service job with women and they thought it was acceptable to treat them like dirt. I don’t know why we allow homophobes and women haters into our countries.

Yes. I wonder what the crime rate of Arabs and Middle Eastern men are in the US. I would look at Dearborn and Hamtramck.

R143 Yet I find Cantonese in Hong Kong loud and rude

I hate when Hong Kong acts like it's so much more sophisticated than mainlanders. You're basically saying it took a legacy of British colonists and bureaucracy to impart manners and decency. Singapore too. There's nothing wrong with mainland Chinese.

R124 Yes Sweden has accepted refugees but they stick them in out-the -way places. I lived in Sweden and hardly ever saw dark-skinned people when I was there. I suppose I should have visited the slums in Malmo, I think that is where Sweden has stashed a lot of Muslim refugees.

R147 I saw a ton of immigrants and non-Swedes who were darker skinned than the average white Swede in Stockholm and Malmo. My last visit there was in 2013.

Israelis complain most.

My ex was a trolly dolly and he absolutely hated his Tel Aviv flights.

R146

Nothing wrong with mainland China?

Let's start with lack of basic human rights.

Infant girls thrown in dumpsters during "one child policy"

Dogs boiled alive in metal cages as this (stupidly) is thought to increase "virility" content of the dog meat due to the fear the dogs die having in their final moments of torture.

Or what about a little virus called covid 19 ?

Yaas you delusional foolish queen, "nothing wrong w/mainland China". Nothing at all

LMFAO

[quote] I don’t think I’ve met an American who doesn’t prefer French Canadians to Anglo Canadians.

I agree, I love French-Canadians, especially the men (and they love me back). I find anglo-canadians way more "polite" but infinitely colder. On dating/hookup apps, they seem like the biggest pussies, completely incapable of making the first move.

Canadians are terrified that the world thinks they're Americans, that why they're not that friendly around the globe.

R150 Every country has its problems including America. Mass shooting anyone ?

R146 Hong Kong snobs

[quote] Every country has its problems including America. Mass shooting anyone ?

Moral relativism I see.

Torontonians.

Such a simple question posed by OP with insightful results

What is your opinion of Canadians?

What's a Canadian?

Any uber religious based country is full of hate and look down on people their god/allah doesn’t approve of. Dataloungers are enemy number one to most Muslim based countries and women are a close second. The honour killings are frightening and sadly still acceptable if they use their “religion “ as the reason. If these barbaric , Backwards smelly fucks hate modern society so much, why are they determined to migrate ?

People react to the energy you put out, so often, it's not that people are unfriendly, it's more likely you're an asshole to begin with.

Gay people are friendly towards other gays everywhere in the world, right ?

The Israelis I've met are rude or phony. I wouldn't go there to collect a million dollars. Well, maybe I would, but I'd leave immediately! (I'm not anti-semitic, btw, just basing this on actual experiences.)

This is just a stealth anti-Israel thread.

Canadians are horrible. Smug assholes. That's all they have, though, so no wonder they cling to it.

This thread is mostly proof that DLers are both maladjusted and constantly imagining slights were none were intended. (How many threads have we had on that.)

Germans and Israelis aren't much on small talk and bullshit chitchat, but they're quite friendly once you get past that and can be quite helpful albeit quite opinionated. ("That restaurant is scheiss!! You vill not eat there!")

They're not phony-nice the way American Southerners can be, but I much prefer people who are straight up with me. Scots and Swedes fall into that category as well.

Japanese are not unfriendly as much as there is a complex dance to every interaction and few Americans have the patience to navigate it. So you often walk away confused as to what just happened.

^^I'm also That Guy who never finds Parisians to be rude or unfriendly.

My French is passable but far from great and, no doubt, often ungrammatical, but I have been many times and have never found anyone to be rude or abrupt or snooty or any of the other things they have attributed to them.

I’ve lived in France and Germany, and was really amazed by how different 2 closely neighbouring countries can be. Germans can be incredibly blunt in a way which really shocked me (a Brit), but that bluntness makes them more open really. Germans feel very free to tell you that what you are doing is wrong, or against the rules. It can be annoying but it’s very honest, It’s very easy to know if a German likes you, and I loved to watch my visiting friends and family see their preconceptions about Germany fade away.

In contrast, French people are superficially much warmer, and definitely more charming. It is very easy to believe that you have made a friend for life after a few hours in a social setting, but in reality most French people seem to make their friends early in life and stick with them to the exclusion of all others. Even native French friends of mine find that to be the case. One friend spent time living in the UK and then moved back to Paris and it took her a few years to really feel that she had settled back in with a social group. The French are charming, but not especially friendly.

Americans, in my experience in Philadelphia, New York and Las Vegas, are very friendly (to an extent that really surprised me) but American culture seems very aggressive. Advertising shouts at you, and news programmes make the world seem like a very hostile place. It’s hard to explain it, but I find the difference between individual people and the setting they live in very unsettling. On one trip to LasVegas, I sat having breakfast on a patio overlooking the Strip, and suddenly became aware that traffic had come to a halt, then a few minutes later I noticed armed police appearing on the balconies of a building on the other side of the street. It transpired that a madman had shot someone on a bus just 50 metres away, and life just went on, with little recognition that something totally abnormal had taken place. Of course murder happens everywhere, but the reaction to it seem very odd to me.

Agree overall with your take R167, especially about Germans, but feel compelled to point out that hardly anyone is actually from Las Vegas, as the city is fairly new and has grown rapidly over the past 10-15 years.

I lived in Costa Rica for a few years and loved it. The people there are very friendly and readily make friends. The exceptions are asshole, invariably white expats from Europe and North America, who lived in gated communities treating locals like shit. I haven't been back in more than a decade and friends still living there tell me that attitudes are changing for the worse because of the influence of shitty expats with a bit of money (rarely rich, we're talking people who managed to save maybe half a million and then 'retired' and fucked off the moment they thought it was financially feasible).

It's true that, at any given time, the Las Vegas strip is largely populated by a mix of tourists. But there's probably a somewhat consistent mixture of people.

r169, the Costa Rican men I've met are very hot too!

Homosexuals... unless they are handsome.

Least friendliest? Should be least friendly. But we got the point and enjoyed the pointless bitchery on this thread.

Meh—it was just ANOTHER anti-Israel thread on a far-left extremist site.

Thanks for waving your "jackass" flag, R174. Ignore!

I’m surprised you didn’t call me a Zionist ^.

R167??? What did you expect? Crazy, exciting shots always going on there! You've got multiple clubs, shows, bars, singers, karoke, dancing, sex etc! Yeah, all those people who flew in from around the world should have taken a moment of silence for a crazy incident for a stranger they never met.

[quote] Germans feel very free to tell you that what you are doing is wrong, or against the rules. It can be annoying but it’s very honest,

This is true, and it is a most supremely annoying quality -- especially when it is unsolicited and they are butting in with their unwanted $0.02. I'll take the Frenchies any day over them.

Germans. Truly horrible people. And not nearly as efficient as you think.

R169 But are there tarantulas everywhere in Costa Rica? Major arachnophobe here.

I have had some rough experiences with Israelis.

My interactions with Saudis have been limited to the upper class, so I feel reluctant to judge the whole place based on that, but, my God, what truly vile people the House of Saud are.

The Swiss, from my experience, are shockingly racist and aggressively nasty. I worked for a firm that served as a consultancy for the fine arts and we always had to dissolve our contracts with Swiss clients because they would tell us they didn't want black people involved. (Against the law in the US.) I remember one client that called my boss and basically told her she was a useless human being for sending them a resume they thought was not a perfect match. i.e. the fellow consultant was from Mexico.

The Austrians are right behind the Swiss as far as I'm concerned. Which is a drag, as I love Mozart and great pastry.

The Russians are either wonderful or horrible, same thing with the Chinese. I think my admiration for the classical cultures of both might make me more sympathetic overall.

Luxembourg and Monaco are annoying shitholes for tax-dodging fascists.

New Englanders are not always pleasant. But the fake "Hi y'all!" of the Deep South is worse. A friend of mine for North Carolina said every time a southern woman hugged her she checked her ribcage for cutlery.

I have never had a problem with the French. If you dress reasonably well, make an effort to speak French and are polite yourself, they are very gracious and helpful.

Never had a problem with the Japanese either, for the same reasons.

I have been shocked by British rudeness. Well, English rudeness. Well, English - I don't know what to call it - schoolboy sadism? Mean drunkenness? Nihilistic levels of toxic anger? Perverse need to beat up total strangers in front of a tube station?

The Australians are far less violent but just as prone to throwing up in public and love to tell you that their matey racism and appalling lack of taste and tact is them being frank, somehow.

I love the Brazilians, but they are perhaps the only people more superficially friendly than the Americans overall.

Now about that American friendliness. It goes about as deep as tracing paper. It's not mercenary or, outside of the Deep South, insincere - as some people expect - it's how we deal with a large country with a population always on the move. Will I see XYZ ever again? Maybe. Maybe not. Best to be friendly to them and hope for the best.

DL posters

Very interesting observations R181; your post makes me miss travel. I am not an avid traveler, but during the Trump years, I got the impression people from other countries were quicker to cop an attitude with you because you might a Trump supporter, however, during the Obama years, people marveled at how enlightened Americans were (the Irish, in particular, just adored Obama). I wonder if you noticed any difference in attitudes based on who was in power at the time in the US

On R181's point, there's There's an interesting thread form a year ago on American Friendliness.

Watching Americans react to a non-American usually calls to mind how a second-grade teacher addresses her students, a little too loudly, a little too clearly, in staccato, declarative sentences, asserting the position of the one in charge. And then the gushing. "You're from Greece! I just love Greece! Always wanted to go there! One day! Joan told me you're from Greece and I just had to meet you because I knew we are going to be best friends and hang out! I just love your accent, and your English is so good, but England English! Like those PBS shows, oh well you don't know what PBS is but it's television. How did you get an accent that sounds like you're from England? Eleven years? A Ph.D. there? Oh, I see. Are they snooty over there? You know what I mean...nose in the air? We're not like that here, not one bit.. Come sit over here by me and I've got some questions for you..." It fucking goes on forever, the adult baby talk, the questions about indoor plumbing and cars and insane things, the poor trapped foreigner trying not to offend this person who must be someone's friend at this terrible party.

American friendliness to outsiders take on a sincerely bossy tone in its insincerity and it is so insistent that the victim doesn't know whether to believe it, half believe it, or want to run fast. And even more confusing is when the foreigner encounters his torturer for a second time, but this time he gets 30-seconds of "Hi! How good to see you! Is everything okay? Well, it's good to see you. Let's get together sometimes. Bye."

^^^ this, a thousand times this.

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[quote] I am not an avid traveler, but during the Trump years, I got the impression people from other countries were quicker to cop an attitude

From my personal experience, the [majority European] attitude towards Americans (and our politics) was actually worse during the Bush years, which I found surprising. Perhaps because during the Trump years, many of the tourists from these countries had their own disastrous politicians (and rise of fascism) to contend with.

Not rude per se but I find Israelis and the Dutch to be very direct people in a way no American ever would be. Belgians too but less so.

R188 what’s wrong with direct? I prefer to hear the truth instead of some candy coated BS.

Yeah, I don't think you can quite calculate people so.

I've had some very overly friendly Germans and have hoped they dialed it down a little.

You are always going to have those outliers in every country that are weird for their own culture.

Many, if not most, DL’ers.

I don't know about "least friendly" but the worst people in the world used to be white South Africans and the worst tourists were Germans.

r184 what kind of weirdos are you acquainted with? I'm American and don't know anyone who would act that goofy.

When people talk about American friendliness,what they're really describing is the culture of the Midwest, parts of the south and the west coast. Most of the east coast, with the exception of NYC oddly enough, is very cold and unfriendly. Bostonians and Washingtonians would give northern Europeans a run for their money in the chilliness department.

We're asked to generalize on this thread but we can only generalize from our specific experiences. I found Japan very friendly when I was young and attractive. If I went back today I'm sure I wouldn't find it as friendly. That's natural. Also, I found France friendly for the same reason but also because I'd studied the language and would start every interaction in French. I think that helps in every culture.

R195, in retrospect, I agree with you somewhat. Honestly, any country is going to be more welcoming when you are young and attractive. Everyone likes young hot ass. I visited Asian, Middle Eastern, European countries a lot in my 20’s. Of course everyone is going to be nice when you are hot and have money. I have always made an effort to learn basic phrases from anywhere I travel. It seems like basic respect.

R184 I've heard this a lot from my South American co-workers, that they'll meet an overly friendly American that will act like they don't know them the second time they meet. I didn't notice this trait in some Americans until it was pointed out to me, as I'm American and I guess when I meet this type I just write them off as self-absorbed and not worth bothering with. Thank God we're not all like this.

I was in Israel some years back and my host was regaling his pals of my ability to talk to Israelis anywhere and to engage them In conversation. He said he’d never seen anyone standing in line, strike up a conversation with his fellow Israelis, and that now found himself doing the same thing.

I found Israelis initially reserved, but a breaking of the ice transformed things. Friendliness or unfriendliness is I think a cultural thing. In conservative Muslim countries I’ve managed to chat with veiled women and end up in discussions. The toughest was a surly Egyptian cop, who I had to blow to get any semblance of friendliness. When I had finished I asked him had it been a good experience and he half grinned and said yes. I immediately told him he should smile a lot more because it made him look so handsome. He began beaming and I mentally notched up another success.

It’s all in the lips, be it talking or otherwise.

R197, my parents are from South Asia. They constantly bring up this trait in Americans. Acting so overly nice the first time and then acting like they don't even recognize you later.

[quote]I wonder if you noticed any difference in attitudes based on who was in power at the time in the US

When I was visiting a tiny village in the Italian Alps, I encountered this. Before a farmer’s market vendor would sell me a shirt he asked if I voted for McCain or Obama. I said Obama and he smiled and sold me the shirt.

I don’t find Italians that friendly—and dealt with some very rude ones in Barolo and Milan. And my god do they stare. At one point I had enough and told my traveling companion he had to walk into bars and restaurants first.

At my old job, I worked with a woman from Austria who I grew to really dislike. I'll call her "Helga." I formally complained about her (turned in one of her bitchy emails). I also bitched about her to another coworker, who I'll call "Mary." Mary was American but was Ukrainian. Every time I bitched about Helga, Mary said: "She's Austrian."

Reason I disliked Helga: fucking bossy, aggressive, disrespectful (and no, she was not my supervisor).

Austrian ski instructors are something else. Loud, arrogant, super tan, and excellent skiers.

How do you know it's not just those people? I was at the pool and these Russians were dicks. I'm not going to think all Russians are dicks because I know some really nice ones.

Those people were simply dicks, Russia doesn't affect it.

[quote]I don’t find Italians that friendly—and dealt with some very rude ones in Barolo and Milan.

I didn’t like them either in Rome. Total cunts even when you’re being perfectly nice to them. Very miserable group of people.

What was that island in the Pacific where that religious man wanted to convert them and swam towards them and they killed Jim and possible ate him? That one.

R205, see R31.

If you visit places outside of the three major cities in Canada, people are effusive, warm, funny, and kind. The beautiful prairies, the maritimes...incredibly welcoming and friendly. Vancouver is so overrun with mentally-ill and drug-damaged people who are fully supported by the civic governmemt, everyone is on guard (for thee!) and keeps to themselves. Torontonians believe they have to act like the stereotype of brusque, busy New Yorkers, and it affects everyone else like a virus. Montreal is lovely if you know French, but even then, there is an unwarranted snooty elitism about the people.

Brazilians are incredibly friendly; I made friends all over the place when I was there without even trying. Costa Ricans are gracious and cordial, but not exactly gregarious. The English have always been friendly to me, easy to talk to and dramatic in a good way. Koreans are down-to-earth and modest, very nice, but insular. Russians have no time for surface politeness and get real with you, certainly friendly and loyal in their own unique way. Aussies and Kiwis might top the list of overall friendliness and demonstrable warmth.

The Swiss can eat shit. Cold, distant, weird, judgmental, zero character or personality.