Countries that surprised you on how modern they were? (living in, restaurants)

[Chicagoist123]

What were some countries that when you visited were you surprised were so modern and so developed?

When I went to Chile, I was really surprised at how modern and it developed it was. It felt just as modern and developed as the U.S. I went to Santiago, Vina del Mar and Valparaiso.

Also, what was one country that also surprised you but that you thought would be more modern and developed and found it wasn't?

For it would have to be Argentina. I was expecting it to be more like Europe, and while I loved it, it still felt a little behind. This could be because I had just come from Chile, and on top of that this was soon after Argentina's economic crisis.

[Trimac20]

The gap between the so-called first world and other nations isn't, with some exceptions, as large as some people imagine. In urban areas 'developing nations' in Asia are really just the same as Europe, N.America.etc in terms of infrastructure, actually, although rural areas are less developed they often even have sewerage and even broadband. This is the case in SE Asia, at least, it may not be the case in South Asia.

[Nunnor]

Turkey

[Mac15]

Parts of the Republic of Ireland. I didn't expect them to be poor but I didn't expect Dublin to be as developed as it is.

Also Canada, It was just like a mini-America.

[Baldrick]

Belize. Not that modern with regards to town design but excellent communication infrastructure with good wireless internet in every small hamlet and along most roads.

[bolehboleh]

For me it was Malaysia. I was living in southern Thailand and went to visit someone in Malaysia. It was night and day! I eventually moved to Malaysia and lived there for 4 1/2 years.*

*Although the infrastructure was quite good in Malaysia, and there was a strong middle class, sometimes it felt like the US pre-1950s in terms of race relations and other social issues.

[boxus]

"What were some countries that when you visited were you surprised were so modern and so developed?"

My first trips out of the US, I found many countries were modern and developed, a lot more than my brain-washed self had thought before traveling.

Also, what was one country that also surprised you but that you thought would be more modern and developed and found it wasn't?

Not to be negative, and hope no one takes this the wrong way, but after traveling extensively and residing in a few countries; the US. I cannot even describe it, but after staying in for example, Stockholm, then coming back to a comparable in population city, like Miami, a person can just see and feel the difference and wonder "where in the heck did it go wrong?"

[BigCityDreamer]

India is a country that surprises in unique ways and is full of contradictions. There are places that are highly developed and then there are places with grinding poverty, sometimes right next to each other. There are people with the latest smart phones and laptop computers and who wear brand name clothing and drive Mercedes Benzes. And then there are people in rags with barely enough food to eat and living in slums.

[Jesse44]

I'm in Nicaragua right now. It's interesting to see that in Granada, many people have modern smartphones, nice cars, etc. And there are nice restaurants, wifi everywhere....but once you drive out of the city on to the highways, you will see all kinds of people living in very small buildings constructed out of scrap metal and chunks of wood. The bus station/markets can sometimes be a little overwhelmingly intimidating and scary. There's a big hodgepodge of aggressive vending and services, the people are often very stark and pushy.

Otherwise though...many beautiful things to see here and the people can be very friendly and warm.

[jtur88]

Paraguay. I expected Paraguay to look like Ecuador or Bolivia, but it was actually a lot more like (but not quite) Chile and Argentina.