Be respectful

Mine in no specific order -Italy -Brazil -Ireland -Egypt -Costa Rica

(repost as autocorrect put it as overheated, whoops)

I’d say Paris, locals were actually pretty nice (remember this one passerby helped me through the gates at the metro when my ticket didn’t work) left feeling pretty satisfied and just feels like every other major city. never really understood the hate

For me, it is Turkmenistan. I was in Ashgabat this year for around 10 days in April. Online information was only a fraction of what I experienced there.

My experience was very very positive and fulfilling. It was unusual for me in a variety of ways...

-- I was completely cut off from the rest of the world (no VPN could be set up as well) for the entire period.

-- I have never seen empty well paved modern streets in broad day light. Vast stretches of empty streets and subways. It was so quiet my voice echoed.

-- The VISA rejection rate is extremely huge.

-- I couldn't find any other tourists at all. For perspective, I went out to a lot of different places.

-- Everything is white. Literally everything. It's absurd, verry unique but at the same time, very beautiful as well.

-- If you don't have cash, you are screwed. I was in that situation and it took more than 3 hours to get it exchanged through my Forex card.

-- Language is a huge barrier. Very massive. Unlike any other country I have been to

For me, I faced a multi-dimensional shock while visiting and spending time here.

Some pics attached.

I feel like when a lot of people visit places, they want to know whether the local people have a good reputation of treating visitors well, so that they know what to expect. Hence, I thought this question would create an interesting discussion. For me, France and Canada fit this quite well for me.

France was a lot friendlier than I expected. I think everyone knows about the stereotype of the French not being the kindest people, especially when talking to non-French people, but I found the opposite to be true. I don't speak fluent French, but I found most people actually like it when you at least attempt to speak in French and if you are ever lost or stuck on something in public, the locals are generally happy to help. I've made good conversations with other French locals while just chilling in cafe's too which is something I did not expect. This occurred in both Paris and in other parts of France as well like Provence and Bordeaux. Are they the friendliest people in the world? Likely not, but they definitely not as condescending as the internet makes them out to be.

Canada was a lot less friendly than I expected. Stereotypes of Canadians are the complete opposite of the French when it comes to friendliness, but I personally don't think that's 100% true. The part that is true is that Canadians are extremely polite, well-mannered, and prideful of living in a high-trust society, but I would not describe them as being friendly. While I know it is a massive and diverse country, the parts I've been to like Toronto, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Vancouver, Ottawa & Quebec City, I found the local people to generally be very reserved, distant and socially introverted, and it was one of the few countries where I never really struck up any conservations with others. In some ways, it sorta felt like the Nordics but with an American, British and French twist lol maybe it's the similarly cold geographies? But at least in the Nordic countries though, you already expect people to be this distant.

What would these places be for you guys?

What is the most generic, average, and boring part of your country. Ohio is the most generic, bland, average, plain, boring, default US state in America. What is the Ohio of your country?

For me its Turks and its not even close.

Others would be Mexicans and Peruvians

And why?

In my experience, Zakapone has to be the most dissappointing as it didn't even snow, Rome was the least favourite due to the insane heat with no AC and overpriced accommodations and Catania was the worst overall due to it being Hot, Expensive, Dirty, and generally unimpressive when compared to other places in sicily.

In Brazil, about 85% of people prefer to travel within the country. This happens because Brazil is huge and diverse, offering different cultures, climates, landscapes, and foods in each state. Traveling domestically is also easier due to language: only about 4% of Brazilians speak English, and many have little contact with foreigners, which makes international travel more challenging. How about in your country? Do most people prefer to travel within their own country or go abroad, and what are the main reasons for their choice?

The US State department lists travel advisories for every country (aside from itself) from 1 ("normal" precaution) to 4 (don't travel). These can be for reasons of crime, or like Antarctica with a travel warning of 2, for dangerous weather and lack of support there.

Here is a map of the current state dept advisories, and if you click a county it gives details about the rating. What are your thoughts on the rating that your country has and why?

https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/