rallybug

Well, as the only country with more than 100 million inhabitants that could be called European is Russia, that's not really applicable.

The better question would be what percentage of European country residents have a passport, but as a large part of Europe is part of the Schengen Agreement, they don't need passports to visit 25 other countries that could have completely different cultures, and nearly definitely a different language (the only exceptions being Switzerland and the other countries that share languages with it).

ian-mstm

IMHO, saying nothing simply reinforces their poor behavior and, from their POV, absolves their behavior.

It would have been a good idea, however, to send an invoice to the 5 who backed out at the last moment charging them for their share of your costs!

Ian

JRG67

+1

UkWinds5353

LOL

JRG67

Zug's Secrets: Switzerland's Corporate Hideaway - TIME


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...040142,00.html

Lots of people with passports here..

Karrie72

Funnily enough I got chatting with my neighbor yesterday and he's an elderly native Mainer who you might assume never left the state. He was a butcher and has very working class roots. He told me about his many trips to London, the Cotswolds and the south of France. I was very impressed!

Cuthbert Rizla

I was out walking the dog a few days ago and a couple in a car pulled over asking for directions.
American, mid-6os, from somewhere South by their accents, who'd just flown into Dublin,hired a car and were pootling about on some vague mission to discover more about their ancestry.
Towards the end of November in a rain-swept Ireland.
I was impressed.
Pointed them on the way to a good B+B and a decent bit of scoff.

Bob

Oh yes. Clearly it's not everyone that doesn't show up, because we did have people RSVP and we obviously did have people turn up.

Even just expecting one or two to be late or not show up after all, it does seem that it's the case that it's a bit more than that, probably about half and half from experience, but then they're little kids, no idea if that would happen with folder kids.

Ethelred_the_Unready

I found people in New England to be very well traveled and well cultured and well in tune with the world outside of America. I'd live there again, but not MA...a bit too snobby for my tastes.

UkWinds5353

I'm curious to know if any of you think age is a factor in whether people in America are approachable/friendly or not? And when I say age I mean your's or the age of Americans.

Beaverstate

As mentioned before it is difficult to make friends the older you get. I do not believe older Americans are more or less approachable or friendly. The older you are, the more settled you are with less room or need for new close friends. Though still friendly and approachable.

JRG67

Well speaking as a Vietnamese, I can only say that Americans in their 60s and over scare the sh$t out of me.

fakey

Ha ha ha ffs

JRG67

I'm hoping to help make this the longest thread ever.

Chrisdc

FWIW I have always found Americans to be friendly, selfless and willing to make lasting friendships. Of course it's all anecdotal, but here are my experiences:

I was single and in my early 30s when I came here. I am sure that made it easier to meet other people. I also lived in a metropolitan centre where the locals couldn't get enough of my accent. Making friends was as easy as ordering a cappuccino at the local hipster coffee shop. As a result I did not need to seek out the expat community. That helped.

Are American's selfish? I don't think so. In my first two weeks in the country I had a minor medical emergency. I had to go for surgery in the local hospital. My boss, an American who I barely knew, drove me to surgery, came and picked me up, took me home and fed me, and then checked in on me regularly until I was better. I was pretty surprised and very grateful. I was doubtful that I would have had this experience when I lived in London.

Another key moment came six months after my arrival. My new American friends took me aside and pointed out that slagging off their president, food, ATMs, driving skills, fork-knife habits, language, accents, education etc... was getting a little old and maybe I could tone it down a bit (in the nicest way possible.) As an argumentative Scot used to pub debates I had no idea that anyone would ever take offense at something I said, so for a moment I was at a loss. Eventually I chilled out and started to treat the US as a very foreign country, and not just the UK with better weather. I think that helped speed up my assimilation.

I moved to New York and made more new friends. One of them I trusted enough to start a business with. It's been 6 years and going strong. Another friend took my wife and I in during the recent hurricane, fed us and took care of us until we could return home.

Conclusion? I guess YMMV!