The World's Friendliest Country (to expats, Taiwan supposedly)

[steve2470]

http://www.ozy.com/acumen/the-worlds-friendliest-country/76080

To all our nomads, jetsetters and quarter-life-crisis adventurers: Some countries are less hospitable to foreign tourists than others. If you’ve been bitten by the wanderlust bug, you should learn where the locals are friendliest to foreigners and which snooty citizens will give you the death stare the moment your plane kisses the runway. Willkommen and sayonara?

According to InterNations’ Expat Insider 2016 Index, you’ll likely be welcomed with open arms in Taiwan, Uganda and Costa Rica, which took the top three spots for the world’s friendliest countries, followed by Mexico and Colombia. On the other hand, locals may just give you the cold shoulder in Norway, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. (Oddly enough, Canada, the poster child for being nauseatingly friendly, didn’t even break the top 10.)

InterNations, one of the world’s largest expat networks, surveyed more than 14,000 respondents from 67 countries and found that countries in the Southern Hemisphere are generally perceived as friendlier and more open than those up north. “The weather certainly plays a role. [If you’re] living under constant cold and freezing rain, you are probably going to be less outgoing,” says InterNations CEO Malte Zeeck.

The surprising part? Taiwan ended up cinching first place for the friendliest country and best expat destination in the world. Some 90 percent of expats in Taiwan gave local residents high marks for hospitality, compared to a combined average of 65 percent in the rest of the surveyed countries. And more than one-third of expats even considered staying on the tiny Pacific island forever, according to polls. “It’s in our culture; we avoid having conflict. We treat our guests with kindness,” says Linda Lin, a director at the Taiwan Tourism Bureau in San Francisco. “If you travel to Taiwan and open your map, people will immediately offer to walk you to your destination.” On the contrary, Kuwait fared poorly in categories like “ease of settling in,” “feeling welcome” and “finding friends,” according to InterNation’s data.

[former9thward]

1. Of the three you mention I would choose Costa Rica.

It is only a matter of time before mainland China takes control of Taiwan and then it won't be so friendly. Uganda has poor infrastructure and is unstable politically. Costa Rica is friendly and is very comfortable to visit. Its laws favor expats -- as long as they are not poor.

[Laffy Kat]

2. Costa Rica for me, too.

I'll just have to live with having bad hair every. single. day. due to the humidity. Oh, well.