Why are locals so cold and rude?
Locals often skip the "fake niceness" and extra padding that visitors expect, making casual greetings and smiles uncommon. This directness comes across as extremely cold, leaving travelers frustrated when residents ignore hellos or impatient waiters scold them for asking about the menu.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Trying to talk to workers at restaurants when they are not busyDid this help you?
- 2Visiting other cities like Rio de Janeiro for a different vibeDid this help you?
- 3Researching local cultural norms regarding politenessDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I knew Spaniards aren’t fans of our “fake” niceness and extra padding but their directness just seems SO rude.”source ↗
“Every bartender and waiter I’ve encountered has always been a little impatient. They’re not afraid to scold you if you ask what something on the menu is.”source ↗
“Greetings and smiles are uncommon.”source ↗
“One surprise for me is that I have found people not very friendly. Actually quite cold and rude.”source ↗
“I went out with a coworker from Salvador, Bahia and he mentioned he struggles in São Paulo because of that exact reason - he said that people don't respond to casual greetings.”source ↗
Where this came up
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