[em-bee]

not my experience. sure, wherever i go i will always be an outsider. the difference is whether i am welcome or not.

even as a german i have not felt welcome anywhere in germany (i grew up im austria).

i have been around the world and lived in a number of countries. i felt more welcome in china and even in the US for example than anywhere in europe

[dag100]

> i felt more welcome in china

Are you white? Try being non-white. Chinese people, and most Asians - yes, the entire continent, or at least most of it - are deferent to white people.

> and even in the US for example than anywhere in europe

The US is one of, if not the most, welcoming countries in the world. Additionally, I suppose you probably lived in a city or at least a large town in the US rather than anywhere rural or more closed-off.

[peterfirefly]

That might be down to your personality... or the language barrier in the case of China (or you were in China before Xi or very early in his reign).

[em-bee]

unlikely. friendliness is experienced from the first moment you meet someone. my personality can hardly influence that. asians and americans are simply more polite and friendly in their approach to people they have never met. of course if you are unfriendly then that may change their approach. but if that was the measure then people should be friendly to me in europe too. but they aren't.

and i don't know what XI has to do with that. politics doesn't affect how people interact. not that quickly anyways. i was around when the big exodus happened in the mid-10s, and after covid china opened up instead of closing down. i don't even need a visa anymore if i just want to visit china. so even by that measure china has become friendlier. but that's not the kind of friendliness i mean.