Correlation between how rich a country is and how friendly and hospitaple the people

[Karmadhi]

I have so far interacted with people from dozens and dozens of countries because i study in a very international programme and i live in a very cosmopolitan city, also i have traveled quite a bit especially in Europe where i live. I tend to be very fascinated by history, geography and economics and have noticed that USUALLY (not always so please do not give me this 1 example that is different), people that come from richer countries tend to be less friendly and warm. Also countries with warmer climate tend to be warmer and unfortunately there seems to be some correlation in the modern day between wealth and weather. Rich countries tend to have colder/less sunny weather and also colder people. By cold i do not mean necessarily rude or mean. Cold i mean how friendly and hospitable they are. You will rarely have for example people inviting you straight to their home in northen europe, usa or japan/south korea while in southern europe, south asia and the middle east such behavior is more common. I noticed countries from the Middle east (muslim culture) to be extremly warm hearted and hospitable. The hate they get is really sad. Also stuff like small talk, emotional expressivity, the idea of paying or treating someone else, inviting people to your home, opening up relatively fast etc etc are some of the things that differ. 

Another observation i made is that usually on the capital people also tend to be less friendly than in more rural areas or smaller cities. Either capital or biggest city (usually capital is biggest city that is why i said capital). 

What do you guys think about this? Disclaimer: I am not saying X quality is good or Y quality is bad. There is nothing wrong with being reserved or quiet. Personally i would be considered so in my home country so i am not hating on "cold" people. Just i always see this correlation and wanted to express it here and get your opinions/thoughts.

Kind regards

[roopepa]

This might have something to do with spiral development. For me it seems kind of natural that stage Blue would be a lot more socially "warm" than Orange.

I come from Finland and we are kind of known for being super "cold" and introverted. I'm always shocked when I travel because people can be so much more talkative and expressive in social situations.

Sometimes it's funny when some migrants might talk and express super loudly in a bus or a train and all the finnish people are just sitting dead silent. 

[Karmadhi]

@roopepa Yes exactly. My theory is that in harsher environements which tend to be in poor countries, things like social connections matter a lot more. Basically if you have no connections and weak relationships you are fucked because the survival situation is more difficult and the institutions are weaker. Therefore it is society engrained this idea of being friendly, charismatic, open, friendly, hospitable etc. It happens uncouncisiously for most of the people and they just see themselves as being friendly, ignoring the subtle reasons why they act in that way because it is a cultural norm at that point. In a rich country you can get by while being cold and reserved because things function better. 

Also these countries tend to be stage blue a lot which is not as materialistic and more social (even though it is only to their small enthnocentric group). 

What do you guys think of this?

Edited August 30, 2021 by Karmadhi

[DieFree]

Have you considered how your status as foreigner from well developed country might have influenced the behavior toward you in those countries? Do you believe people from all countries are treated with similar hospitality? Furthermore, should outward displays of warmth and friendliness be given much weight when we know places such as the southern United States very much display those behaviors while being discriminatory toward minority groups? 

[Karmadhi]

@DieFree

7 hours ago, DieFree said:

Have you considered how your status as foreigner from well developed country might have influenced the behavior toward you in those countries?

I come from a country that is not developed nor does it have a great reputation in my continent. So this does not apply to me. I meant how they treat EACH OTHER, not foreigners only. Hospitality can inculde a person from another city but in the same country.

7 hours ago, DieFree said:

Do you believe people from all countries are treated with similar hospitality? Furthermore, should outward displays of warmth and friendliness be given much weight when we know places such as the southern United States very much display those behaviors while being discriminatory toward minority groups? 

 

12 hours ago, Karmadhi said:

Also these countries tend to be stage blue a lot which is not as materialistic and more social (even though it is only to their small enthnocentric group). 

I already explained here that this kind behavior is towards what they considered THEIR group. So people from south USA will be friendler to each other than people in Norway will be towards each other. However this does not apply for people outside their own circle of self, so some minorities may not get this treatment.

However in the middle east i ve seen that they treat even americans quite well as tourits. It is usually they dislike their government. 

[Chosendeer]

I live in Germany and come from Croatia. Croatia is much poorer then Germany and also very sunny and warm.

The people there are not friendly, except in tourist places and when money is involved. The difference in friendliness is huge.

When i visit switzerland, a country even wealthier, the people there are even more hearthwarming and friendly. I do get the notion of oeple living more village like, outside of big towns, being open to let u in their house etc as i expirienced that too, but theres also not much rampant crime in areas were only a few people live

[ArcticGong]

I’m foreigner in a western country and I notice a great difference between western countries. English speaking places seem more chatty than Germanic speaking countries. Many people here in Sweden consider Americans as randomly sociable; an observation I’ve experienced myself. 

[ArcticGong]

20 hours ago, Karmadhi said:

I noticed countries from the Middle east (muslim culture) to be extremly warm hearted and hospitable. The hate they get is really sad. Also stuff like small talk, emotional expressivity, the idea of paying or treating someone else, inviting people to your home, opening up relatively fast etc etc are some of the things that differ. 

 

Middle Eastern and Muslim countries do often get a bad rep. However, most non combative middle eastern countries are pretty low in crime, relative to global trends. This is often maintained through hard stage blue principles, but nonetheless, it is more likely to be murdered in somewhere in the new world or sub-Saharan Africa than the Muslim world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

[hamedsf]

people in middle east are so warm and helping in nature.

even I've found that middle eastern people are lesser insecure compared to those countries with cold behaviors that's why they can invite you without any problem! 

[Stovo]

Less developed countries are more racist, however, so depends on where you're from and what race you are. 

White people from the west are treated very well because the people believe these people to be from very rich and successful places, they attach status to you straight away. 

You'll probably find this warm and welcoming aspect doesn't always apply to local people, or other races. 

[Preety_India]

@Karmadhi hahaha this made me laugh. 

I've observed that people from colder countries respond in Colder ways. 

 

[TheAlchemist]

Cold countries have cold people, and "colds" spread the most there. 

Coincidence?

I think not

 

Historically virus borne diseases have been a bigger problem in colder countries, whereas warmer countries have struggled more with bacterial and parasitic diseases. Diseases caused by viruses, such as "colds" spread with close contact, whereas parasitic/bacterial diseases from infected water or malaria, don't really disincentivize being warm and close with strangers. So people in cold countries might have become cold as a survival strategy to avoid colds. Then the whole culture developed around that, and since it kept working fine even coming into the industrial and information era, it has lived on. And that could be why we use the same word to refer to these three different things. Just speculating ofc

Edited September 2, 2021 by TheAlchemist