¿En qué sitio habéis encontrado a gente más simpática, o más antipática?

[aleCcowaN]

I have to say I knew no place without lots of nice locals. But, in my experience, the more educated the people, the nicer; the smaller the place, the nicer. But also there are many places where people who isn't nice do no effort to conceal the fact, and other places where people master that. It has to do with each and every person -in that case we are all alike- but it also has to do with the local culture.

The people I found they do the least to conceal they give a darn about their fellow men are French norte de la Loire and British youths -not nice in large percentage-. So Paris concentrated the larger fraction of uncomfortable events. That doesn't mean that Paris is not plenty of charmant people. Simply, don't ask directions or other piece of information to workers, public servants and shopkeepers (once you have paid your bill), just stand at a corner with a city map unfolded and a powerless look and soon a lot of nice people will swarm around you offering their help. But there are cities and cities: in Vienna I had to abandon that technique to avoid a crowd of old age pensioners trying to offer their help even without speaking any other language that dialectal German. They were of no help to me, but the charmest guys indeed.

Anyway, the nicest people is in the middle of the country, isolated, in Argentina and in other large countries. They know the real meaning of hospitality. They are the salt of the earth.

[poli]

Originally Posted by Don José

London is the only place where some people refused to answer me when I was asking them for an address.
Probablamente aquellos londresinos con malas maneras eran turistas tambien y a lo mejor no hablaron inglés bien. Londres me da recuerdos a Queens donde casi nadie es nativo y frecuentamente el inglés es la segunda lengua si acaso sepan inglés. Allí en muchos vecindarios es más común oir polaco, urdu, mandarino, portugués o algun otro idioma que no puedo identificar. Defiendo a los ingleses porque para un americano como yo, Inglaterra incluyendo la grandote ciudad de Londres es agradable. Es verdad que los jovenes blokes pueden ser muy ordinarios y eso fue bien ilustrado en noticias recientes.
On the contrary, when I opened a map in Dublin, sometimes there was somebody coming and asking the usual 'can I help you?

I and all my acquaintances who's been to Australia agree that 'aussies' are great. By the way, I was in Sydney, that is a huge city.

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[aleCcowaN]

Probablemente aquellos londinenses con malas maneras eran turistas también y a lo mejor no hablaban bien inglés. Londres me recuerda Queens donde casi nadie es originario del lugar y frecuentemente el inglés es la segunda lengua, si acaso saben inglés. Allí, en muchos vecindarios es más común oír polaco, urdú, mandaríno, portugués o algún otro idioma inidentificable. Defiendo a los ingleses porque para un [(estadounidense/yanqui) o (norteamericano) si intentabas incluir a los anglo-canadienses] como yo, Inglaterra, incluyendo la enorme ciudad de Londres, nos agrada. Es verdad que los blokes jóvenes pueden ser muy ordinarios y eso ha sido bien ilustrado en noticias recientes.

Writing half asleep?

[Don José]

Originally Posted by poli

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No creo que fueran turistas. Más bien parecían personas que acababan de salir del trabajo, con prisa por llegar a sus casas, y sin ganas de perder el tiempo hablando con extranjeros.

Pero no pretendo generalizar. También encontré gente amable en Londres.

[poli]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

I have to say I know no place without lots of nice locals. But, in my experience, the more educated the people, the nicer; the smaller the place, the nicer. But also there are many places where people who aren't nice show no effort to conceal the fact, and other places where people master that. It has to do with each and every person -in that case we are all alike- but it also has to do with the local culture.

The people I found they do the least to conceal they give a darn about their fellow man are French norte de la Loire and British youths -not nice in large percentage-. (So Paris concentrated the larger fraction of uncomfortable events.) That doesn't mean that Paris does not have plenty of charmant people. Simply, don't ask directions or other piece of information to workers, public servants and shopkeepers (once you have paid your bill), just stand at a corner with a city map unfolded and a hapless look and soon a lot of nice people will swarm around you offering their help. But there are cities and there are cities: in Vienna I had to abandon that technique to avoid a crowd of old age pensioners trying to offer their help even without speaking any other language than dialectal German. They were of no help to me, but the most charming guys indeed.

Anyway, the nicest people is in the middle of the country, isolated, in Argentina and in other large countries. They know the real meaning of hospitality. They are the salt of the earth.

Seguro en la Argentina no existe el dicho pueblo pequeño infierno grande.

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you for the corrections

Originally Posted by poli

Seguro en la Argentina no existe el dicho pueblo pequeño infierno grande.

"pueblo chico, infierno grande", what does it mean? mainly it has to do with the stereotyped vision of the urbanites: they are not protected by urban anonymity and the systems are obviously closed and not apparently open like in large cities; but most of all, all potentially conflictive situations that are managed in a political way in large communities become personal matters in the small ones, the same reason we have more problems in my building being 5 owners that in other buildings with a hundred flats: political (groups of interest, leaders) becomes personal, "pueblo chico, infierno grande".

Anyway, that is the very reason they are the nicest people in the world (not in my building part of a large city -local laws don't allow to subject a purchase to the community's approval-)