[badpun]

> You e.g. go to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro and you get a bunch of friends the moment you walk out of the door of your apartment (figuratively ofc), whereas in Germany it takes years to develop any closer relationship that could be qualified as something more than superficial friendship

Do you consider these people you meet on the streets of Barcelona/Rio to be more than superficial "friends"? For me, a friend is someone who would give me a kidney - that's my definition. Everybody else is just people who are hanging out with me for as long as it mutually more convenient than not.

[bitL]

If you go for a shorter stay in a city as a digital nomad (e.g. 1-6 months), then Barcelona/Rio and similar hold a huge advantage comparing to Munich/Frankfurt/Stuttgart/Hamburg, as you could actually have some great social experiences there in a very short time, but stand little to no chance cracking the "legendary" German "coconut personality". It's highly unlikely you'd meet anyone giving you a kidney anyway, but you'd have a higher chance in a less affluent part of the world where friendships operate out of existential necessity and mutual understanding that next time it could be you in troubles, than in developed countries with increasing shift towards "f*k you, got mine" mentality. It's also amusing to observe German tourists in poor African countries penny-pinching and depriving locals of wage for a service their family relies on just to "save a bit of money".

[badpun]

I dunno, maybe I just don’t see that much value in those transient „great social experiences”. BTW, when it comes to noncommital interactions with people, I like to talk to people older than me, as they have perspectives on live not yet available for me, while the „bar scene” is dominated by similar and uninteresting twenty-somethings with relatively little story to tell.

[bitL]

I am not really into typical bar scene; I tend to throw parties at home where I invite people of various backgrounds/age and have evening of fun (having a music & photo/cinematography studio at home is handy). That is way simpler to do in those two cities I mentioned, where interesting people you know for a day or two want you even to attend their own social events; far more difficult when I tried to do it e.g. in Frankfurt. You get to know some very interesting people as locals tend to show off and bring you to some of their "local stars" and you get to soak culture directly (and on steroids). Still remember one guy bringing me to Bip Bip on Copacabana, introduced me to Alfredinho, and we spent evening discussing Brazilian life while having musicians performing various local songs, and you could soak the atmosphere, what makes Brazilians proud, the cracks and insurmountable issues they were facing daily, observe their blind spots my own culture handles better etc. You also get a crash course on what are advantages and disadvantages of their cultures if you are perceptive enough. With Germans, it's way more difficult and IMO not worth it for short-term stays (maybe Ossies are slightly different in this regard). Swiss & Austrians are even one level more opaque due to one more indirection layer.