Have you visited a country where you felt the locals were rude? Travelers share the countries where they’ve had the rudest experiences.
Note: Some quotes in this piece have been lightly edited for grammar.
1: North Sentinel Island
North Sentinel Island has “the rudest possible natives” from an objective standpoint, says one commenter. Another poster agrees, pointing to an article about the Sentinels attacking approaching boats on several occasions.
The Indian Navy protects the indigenous people on North Sentinel Island, prohibiting outsiders from approaching within a 5-nautical mile range.
2: China
“The lack of awareness is astounding” regarding how rude the Chinese are, comments an Australian tourist. “Lots of people push in line and spit on the ground,” agrees another, adding, “Still, [it’s a] very interesting country to visit.”
Another commenter shared the sentiment about China being one of the rudest countries in the world. However, they theorize that “their huge population causes pushiness to sort of become normalized.” They add, “Many Chinese are very kind in a lot of ways, and there are kindness-related cultural norms.”
3: France
A French resident says the French “were nice and approachable” everywhere other than Paris. They describe Parisians as being ” afraid I’d step into their bubble,” feeling like they “guarded it aggressively.” Others disagreed, saying that France as a whole is downright the rudest country they’ve ever visited.
4: French Canada
The French are taking another hit, with the French part of Canada being the rudest region of the world, according to some travelers. They treat you poorly if you don’t speak French as your first language, causing one traveler to cut their French Canadian trip short in search of a “nicer town.”
5: United States
“American children under the age of 15” are among the rudest people one commenter has “ever seen walk the earth.”
6: Norway
A Norwegian says they can be “the absolute rudest person you could ever meet if you push me” and that many Norwegians are the same. That said, according to them, most locals hide their ultra-rudeness from foreigners, so most simply perceive them as “cold and distant.”
7: Wales
One traveler says the Welsh are hands-down the rudest people in the world. “They are cold, rude and ignorant.”
8: Morocco
Western women may believe Moroccan men are the rudest citizens in the world, says one poster. Not many people agreed with Morocco having the rudest citizens as a whole, though.
9: Australia
An Australian self-diagnoses Australians as seemingly one of the rudest countries in the world. While they don’t believe it’s true, they understand why tourists may construe them as such, saying, “They aren’t used to how blunt Aussies can be. Plus, our tendency [is] to use curse words in replacement of normal words.”
10: Germany
Germany doesn’t take the cake as the rudest country in the world, but it deserves a spot on this list all the same, according to one tourist. People are “either very rude or very polite,” says one commenter. “There’s nothing in between.”
11: A Tie
One person believes Disney World is a great place to figure out which citizens have the rudest countries. Their take? It’s a tie between France and Brazil.
12: Korea
A Korean woman says it’s a cultural norm for children and the elderly to point out another person’s imperfections and things about them that are annoying. “This is all while keeping a smile on their face, unintentionally leaving you in tears.”
13: Switzerland
One tourist has a major gripe with Switzerland because ” They are rude there but think they are being polite. They also think they are so great and that everyone else is some uncivilized swine raised in the boonies.”
14: United Kingdom
The UK is home to the rudest citizens in the world, according to some. Other people questioned this, saying that wasn’t their experience. The poster responded that people are definitely rude in “the north but everywhere really.”
Rudeness vs Cultural Differences
A commenter points out that “Lots of Asian countries do not act in the way we consider ‘polite’ in the West, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care or aren’t nice people.” That said, they say, “There is one standout country that does not have the excuse of cultural differences with the West. And that is France.”
The Problem
Another person agrees with the cultural sentiment, saying, “Rudeness is a violation of the cultural rulebook, but different cultures have different rulebooks.” While they admit you may encounter a genuinely rude person abroad, “it’s probably more likely that you don’t understand the local rulebook.”
Source: Reddit.
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