this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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For me Ireland and Taiwan, how about some others

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago

Taiwan. Clerk at the shoe store didn't have what I wanted in my size. She went to the other shoe stores nearby searching for me without telling us. We found out when we asked why it was taking so long.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago

Iceland and nowhere even comes close. I heard newfoundland will beat it though, one day I'll visit.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 15 hours ago

Romans are assholes.

First time I've heard this. People in Rome are like people in NYC: busy with their own lives, unwilling to take any BS, but generally helpful if you really need it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 14 hours ago

Mongolia.

Every single people I met were nice and friendly. Even when they don't speak english, they will try anything to help you, or find someone that speak english.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 17 hours 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

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I'm American

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago

I'm American

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

I’m so sorry (I’m also American)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 17 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

Turks are using up all their hate on the greeks and armenians. No hate left for anyone else.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

Türkiye is amazing. Met some awesome people in Istanbul.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

The mountains are pretty magical, and every single person was extremely helpful and gracious, either in the city or way out in the tiny mountain villages

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

How well can one get by as a tourist without speaking Vietnamese? Vietnam has been around the top of my list for places to visit for ages.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Very well.

I spoke nearly no Vietnamese and bikepacked across rural northern Vietnam for 3 months after buying my bicycle in Hanoi.

People in the city can speak some English, but even if they can't they're so earnestly helpful that I was able to easily buy clothes, bicycle repair items, get my bicycle repaired, buy food everyday(pho lyfe) be invited to tea and then a family feast, take shelter from a rainstorm, the stories of their generosity go on.

It's definitely a good country to visit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Thank you for sharing. The language barrier is mostly the thing that has held me back. I know some vocabulary related to food, but that's about it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

absolutely, you'll be good.

I could barely count to ten and knew how to say pho, and still enjoyed my entire trip and made friends, so you'll be fine.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago

Thanks again! Glad you had such a good experience and I'm looking forward to going there myself.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 19 hours ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 18 hours ago

Australia, they are all just Koala friendly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago

south africa, really just a great group of people. hell, even when i got robbed, they were super nice about it.

[–] HobbitFoot 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I found the people in Jordan were incredibly friendly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

Same. I did a summer study abroad program in Amman when I was in college, and everyone I interacted with was very nice.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 19 hours 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.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Taiwan for sure. What lovely people.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

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

[–] [email protected] 9 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Interesting. My experience was the opposite; I couldn't practice German at all because everybody would switch to English.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

Not surprising; it's far more practical to get information across by switching to a language you both speak fluently. If you ask the other person to help you practice the language, it would change the task from "information" to "training", and you'd probably have better luck in speaking German if that's the expressed goal.

Communicate your wants, or you'll end up with the most efficient route to the end of the interaction. 'Tis the German way.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

Both times I went to Germany I was the only one trying to speak German out of a very large group, maybe they were happy to see someone at least try?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

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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[–] [email protected] 6 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

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

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