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AIBU?

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Original poster

People from other countries - they’re just better than us, aren’t they?

483 replies

PebbleDashedDoor · 31/05/2026 14:12

I’m on holiday in the Balkans and like everytime I go overseas, it’s difficult not to conclude people from other countries are just better than us.

Immaculately kept, litter free, great service in bars and restaurants by experienced staff, polite well behaved kids eating out in restaurants, not a screen in sight. Everyone generally better looking, better dressed.

Or do I have rose tinted holiday goggles on?

OP posts:
Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:08

likelysuspect · 31/05/2026 22:06

Is it a 'you' problem do you think?

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No. Seeing as the OP had the same problem

Vivienne1000 · 31/05/2026 22:08

Well having seen how France reacted to their WIN in the European Championships, literally vandalising their own country, no I don’t think that. I think most British people are decent.

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:07

Mithral · 31/05/2026 22:04

Why are you on another thread saying you're from the UK then? I am not going to bother replying to you anymore you're clearly just making stuff up as you go along.

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On what thread? Im on loads of threads. Use your brain. I can be both. people for example who moved here from Poland and lived in UK for a long time, will say they are originally from Poland, and now they are from the UK.

likelysuspect · 31/05/2026 22:06

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:54

Well let's just say in my workplace for example, there a mixture of nationalities. The English people that work there are all the coldest ones. Very difficult to have any kind of a chat with them. They are all cold

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Is it a 'you' problem do you think?

eurochick · 31/05/2026 22:06

I sort of see your point but at least we haven’t started murdering our neighbours within my lifetime.

Parisienne123 · 31/05/2026 22:05

parakeet · 31/05/2026 22:00

My last holiday was in Rome, so let's compare that with our own capital of London, where I live and work (albeit live out in the suburbs). In the centre of Rome, we were struck by the higher amount of litter and graffiti. We went a few tube stops to spend half a day in a large city park, probably the equivalent of Hyde Park. There was a stream runnning through it - choked up with litter, plastic bags and what seemed like old clothes.

My abiding memory from visiting French tourist towns was the amount of dog shit on the streets.

Oh but the food in Rome… so delicious, and those beautiful churches behind ordinary doors, and walking on stones that ancient Romans walked on.. That’s what I remember not graffiti or litter And what you mainly remember most about French tourist towns is dog shit? Blimey.

Paperbackwrither · 31/05/2026 22:05

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:58

I also think there's a touch of thinking they are better than everyone else.

Edited
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I have noted that foreigners- including those from my own country- who come to the UK with a chip on their shoulders often do badly. Mistaking the natural reserve of a British person for racism and arrogance is counter productive.

If anything, I find most British people too self- deprecating!

parakeet · 31/05/2026 22:04

AImportantMermaid · 31/05/2026 15:20

I think this when I go to Italy. I always say to my partner, ‘The Italians have really got their shit together’. The culture, the food, the wine, the clothes, the language…it all feels so relaxed yet exuberant.

Bit of a shame about the corruption and organised crime though.

Mithral · 31/05/2026 22:04

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:02

Yes I am

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Why are you on another thread saying you're from the UK then? I am not going to bother replying to you anymore you're clearly just making stuff up as you go along.

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:02

Mithral · 31/05/2026 22:01

But you're not foreign are you?

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Yes I am

Mithral · 31/05/2026 22:01

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:00

No I got voted off first

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But you're not foreign are you?

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:01

Parisienne123 · 31/05/2026 22:00

That just isn’t true.

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Are you English?

MissFancyDay · 31/05/2026 22:00

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:58

I also think there's a touch of thinking they are better than everyone else.

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well you have obviously judged a whole nation of people without getting to know anyone very well, so carrying on the discussion seems a bit pointless.

Parisienne123 · 31/05/2026 22:00

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 20:59

England is a tough county. Not due to money. Financially it is doing better than other countries. That's a blessing.

What I find tough is the coldness of the people in Enlgland. I visited Scotland, Ireland and Italy this year. In every one of those countries people were friendly and kind. I came back to England and I was really sad at how cold everyone was here again

Edited

That just isn’t true.

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 22:00

Mithral · 31/05/2026 21:59

Including you? Did you vote them off first and are you cold and cruel? Or are you the one exception?

I'm replying to the post before you edited it by the way.

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No I got voted off first

parakeet · 31/05/2026 22:00

My last holiday was in Rome, so let's compare that with our own capital of London, where I live and work (albeit live out in the suburbs). In the centre of Rome, we were struck by the higher amount of litter and graffiti. We went a few tube stops to spend half a day in a large city park, probably the equivalent of Hyde Park. There was a stream runnning through it - choked up with litter, plastic bags and what seemed like old clothes.

My abiding memory from visiting French tourist towns was the amount of dog shit on the streets.

Mithral · 31/05/2026 21:59

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:58

I also think there's a touch of thinking they are better than everyone else.

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Including you? Did you vote them off first and are you cold and cruel? Or are you the one exception?

I'm replying to the post before you edited it by the way.

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:58

Paperbackwrither · 31/05/2026 21:55

Me neither. It's reserve and a bit of shyness really. Not coldness or cruelty. Just a different way of being.

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I also think there's a touch of thinking they are better than everyone else.

Parisienne123 · 31/05/2026 21:56

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:20

I mean he didn't kill himself there did he. I would have held your coffee if you were struggling.

What I find cold is how cold and icy many shop/bar/restaurant workers are in England. They are cold. I said hello to a barman last week and he glared at me

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You’ve never been to the North west then? Everyone talks to each other there.

Paperbackwrither · 31/05/2026 21:55

Mithral · 31/05/2026 21:52

Do you honestly find everyone who lives around you cold and cruel? I'm honestly sorry if that's your experience of your life here, as someone not from the UK but who has lived here a very long time this is not how I find it at all.

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Me neither. It's reserve and a bit of shyness really. Not coldness or cruelty. Just a different way of being.

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:54

Mithral · 31/05/2026 21:52

Do you honestly find everyone who lives around you cold and cruel? I'm honestly sorry if that's your experience of your life here, as someone not from the UK but who has lived here a very long time this is not how I find it at all.

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Well let's just say in my workplace for example, there a mixture of nationalities. The English people that work there are all the coldest ones. Very difficult to have any kind of a chat with them. They are all cold

Forgottheforgetmenots · 31/05/2026 21:53

Have you seen what happened in Paris last night after their football team WON a football match?

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:53

MissFancyDay · 31/05/2026 21:51

British people are reserved and straightforward. Maybe you are mistaking that for coldness.

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It is coldness.

Open your hearts.

Mithral · 31/05/2026 21:52

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:49

There's no need to be cold and cruel either.

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Do you honestly find everyone who lives around you cold and cruel? I'm honestly sorry if that's your experience of your life here, as someone not from the UK but who has lived here a very long time this is not how I find it at all.

MissFancyDay · 31/05/2026 21:51

Scarlettjune · 31/05/2026 21:46

How kind of you. You are certainly living up to the "cold" stereotype.

Honestly I've never met people as cold and cruel anywhere, as some people are in England. Some of the coldness is truly shocking.

My friend visited England recently. He said to me "the people are very cold aren't they?"

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British people are reserved and straightforward. Maybe you are mistaking that for coldness.

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