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Isn't it amusing how a person's "warm" personality seems to correspond with their country's geographical location (nearer to the equator, that is)? :P
At least, this has been my finding and most people's experiences seem to confirm it.
The coldest people I've met were certainly Austrians. I have nothing against them at all; they just seemed severely reserved, stiff, unemotional and not at all passionate about foreigners. :P
As far as the warmest, well, it is unsurprisingly Italians and the Greeks.
My preference is for the people in the middle, like the British. *fawn* They're adorably reserved but, at the same time, they are actually genuinely friendly and very just. They just like their privacy.
Speaking as a "cold" person myself, I'm not really all that into "buddy buddy" type societies. Either it's a form of subtle passive aggressiveness/apprehention (the Southern US), or it's comes off as wanting something, too slick (Latin America). Or confrontational (Pennsylvania/Appalachia).
I like the reserved style. To me it conveys a sense of trust and healthy skepticism. It's not a coincidence IMO that the most developed and civically trustworthy societies also tend to be the coldest. (Northern Europe, East Asia, Canada, Midwestern US).
The coldest: Canadians, they are people of very little feelings! Sometimes they show some friendliness but it's all fake! You can never trust one of them... Americans are as superficial as the Canadians but not as cold as the Canadians are.
West Europeans are generally neither cold nor superficial, sometimes they take time to be your friends but when they are friends they are friends forever!
About East Europeans, keep your eyes wide open!!!!
Speaking as a "cold" person myself, I'm not really all that into "buddy buddy" type societies. Either it's a form of subtle passive aggressiveness/apprehention (the Southern US), or it's comes off as wanting something, too slick (Latin America). Or confrontational (Pennsylvania/Appalachia).
I like the reserved style. To me it conveys a sense of trust and healthy skepticism. It's not a coincidence IMO that the most developed and civically trustworthy societies also tend to be the coldest. (Northern Europe, East Asia, Canada, Midwestern US).
Anyone agree?
That has nothing to do with people being "cold" or "warm" in regards to how developed a country is.
I've only spent a long amount of time in 3 other countries: Spain, the Philippines, and Canada and I found most people to be warm in all three. Canadians were the most reserved, Filipinos were the most extroverted. Spaniards were somewhere in between, but all 3 were mostly warm people
I'm surprised so many people here think that Austrians are cold? I've been there very often and never experienced any form of coldness. Of course...Vienna is completely different than the rest of the country, but even there.
I think for a foreigner it is almost impossible to understand the Viennese soul. A combination of living life to the fullest, but being deeply melancholic at the same time. Sophisticated+blunt, classy+rude, educated+simple. It's always both extremes. Laughing with friends while drinking whine in a "Beisl" and crying 5min. later cause life is so short. They are the opposite of cold, but it takes a long time till they let you get close to them.
Plus there is the historical factor. Vienna was the Capitol of the K und K Monarchy for centuries. Powerful, wealthy, respected. Now it is that"cute little country somewhere in the mountains, where they speak funny German and have good cake". So they tend to compensate this by acting "over snobby " and react very allergic to anything German.
Even Viennese people know how difficult it is to get along with their waiters. They can be very servile when they respect you. Incl. hand kissing, bowing down, etc. You own their respect only by a few things like having several titles (Professor, Doctor, Medizinalrat) a "von" in front of your name, showing off your wealth/status and putting them in their place. Not so different than dealing with some French waiters. It's all about who's the alpha.
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A combination of living life to the fullest, but being deeply melancholic at the same time. Sophisticated+blunt, classy+rude, educated+simple. It's always both extremes. Laughing with friends while drinking whine in a "Beisl" and crying 5min. later cause life is so short. They are the opposite of cold, but it takes a long time till they let you get close to them. 
