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Portugal seems shockingly poor and undeveloped by Western Europe standards. By HDI it is starting to fall behind some Eastern European as well as Latin American countries
Besides to be Portuguese I'm a well travelled person and I already worked overseas. So, I have some experience and base to compare. I don't know if you ever been in Portugal but "shockingly poor and undeveloped by Western Europe" I think is too much and everybody knows HDI does not mean anything. We going through for hard times in recent years but we are back and growing again (economically, tourism etc)
Doesn't matter. There are a lot of uncultured Hicks who have never actually seen the country besides the areas he mentioned. There are lots of amazing places in the US besides the east and west coast
It's a bit one sided. If you like tropical rainforests, tropical highlands, beaches, big cities, the midsection of the US is shockingly empty. Southeast at least has some mountainous regions, but places like Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Milwaukee, the Dakotas, Ohio, Indiana, etc, what is there to do? Maybe they are nice places to settle down behind a white picket fence with 2.3 kids, but certainly for visitors there is not much to see
I find the same is true of most countries, indeed Paris, London or NYC may be overrated but there are many parts of France, the UK and US which are equally underrated.
It also depends on what your interests are, if you are interested in museums, history, knowledge, culture and the arts then London will not be overrated, and the same applies to Paris, however parts of both cities may dissapoint due to the fact that like many parts of the world they attract so many tourists, they have become tourist traps.
However I am not sure what peoples expectations are in relation to big cities, and London is one of the most pleasant big cities anywhere, whilst the UK Lake District has just been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site Status.
The Lake District clearly has good PR. It's a nice place, but I wouldn't even rank it as the most scenic part of the UK. Although I can understand the arguments that it deserves the Unesco status based upon the famous authors, artists, intellectuals, etc. That it has inspired.
[snip] It is obvious that not a lot of people know about Portugal and everybody knows about Spain. Portugal is just being discovered whilst Spain has been in the spotlight of tourism for years.
I'm not offended for nothing, just being realistic...
The Algarve for example is amongst the most overrated regions of Europe. More than elsewhere in Spain or France... (As according to you both France and Spain are in your overrate list) reasons for Algarve? Not a good climate (you go a bit inland and summers are very, very hot, in most of the coast the summer nights are very muggy) cold water temperature as it's the ocean, mostly dry places, full of mosquitoes, extremely crowded... nah.
It barely has 2 beautiful beaches. In fact if you seek Algarve in Google, half of the first 15-20 pics will be of the Marina beach.
Your argument is not valid. Spain and France have a loooot more to offer than Portugal, that's why they're much more known and appreciated. Come on, Portugal barely has a bit of diversity and it's not that much even in landscapes or architecture. - Not much to see there.
I always defend Portugal and Portuguese people, as well for the "they're poor" urban legend I always unmount that argument. Besides, you can't compare France or Spain to Portugal lol, is like comparing Germany to Austria...
Besides the zone of Porto is underrated, I do agree, as other Portuguese zones. Lisbon doesn't seem very interesting to visit too tbh, besides Porto it is, as well as Madeira or Açores. It's my opinion, I'm sorry if I offended you...
I guess what OP means over-rated and under-rated is if the country exceeds or falls below your expectation after you travel there.
I would say US can be over-rated or under-rated. It depends on how you travel. For example, if you need to get on domestic flight like United to traverse US by flying NYC->Chicago->Dallas->Denver->SFO, you will definitely say US is over-rated.
But if you rent a RV and travel at leisure for a month in US, you will likely say US is under-rated.
Given the current global environment, there's a knee jerk reaction to identify the United States as "overrated", but that's just plain wrong and it's lazy thinking.
Mod cut., the United States is still arguably the most interesting, accomplished and beautiful country on the planet. It just is.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 07-15-2017 at 01:19 PM..
Reason: Political commentary.
Japan is not over-rated. I have been there over 30 times. Every time I find something new.
The difference between US and Japan is that in Japan, every shop seems to be different. But in US, other than some cities, shopping experience in strip malls is almost identical anywhere you go.
And big cities like Sapporo in Japan is very appealing. Comparable cities in US like Seattle is also nice. But still in some sections of Seattle I am just afraid to walk.
Compared to Spain, yes, but they can't be compared. Also Taiwan is vastly underrated compared to Spain, but it's senseless to compare them, just as Portugal and Spain.
Spain is much more varied, much bigger and it has got much more landscapes and environments to look to, as well as much more diversity in the architecture or monuments.
But still, this is normal due to the size of both countries. And Spain is underrated to be really honest, because 3/4 of tourists come to Spain just to enjoy the beaches and the warmth/sun, but not the marvelous things which Spain can offer. Spain is the most varied country in climates (by far) from Europe. From the only European desert to very subtropical laurel forests near Cádiz to almost 3.500 alpine peaks to extremely dense oceanic decidious forests in the north to Switzerland looking landscapes in the outskirts of the Pyrenees (seek for higher altitude towns of Huesca, Lleida, etc)
That's just if you love landscapes and nature. If you like more cultural tourism, or the visitting/historical one, also Spain is amongst the top 3 of the most varied countries in Europe in architecture (together with France and Italy) as well as it's the 2nd country in the world with the biggest number of UNESCO heritage sites. In fact The Traveler just rated Spain again, for the 2nd following year, as the best country to visit in the world.
It is underrated because the best places of Spain are barely known, 3/4 of tourists just limit to go to the beaches. Fortunately, every year it's growing more and more the landscape or cultural tourism.
I'm not offended for nothing, just being realistic...
The Algarve for example is amongst the most overrated regions of Europe. More than elsewhere in Spain or France... (As according to you both France and Spain are in your overrate list) reasons for Algarve? Not a good climate (you go a bit inland and summers are very, very hot, in most of the coast the summer nights are very muggy) cold water temperature as it's the ocean, mostly dry places, full of mosquitoes, extremely crowded... nah.
It barely has 2 beautiful beaches. In fact if you seek Algarve in Google, half of the first 15-20 pics will be of the Marina beach.
Your argument is not valid. Spain and France have a loooot more to offer than Portugal, that's why they're much more known and appreciated. Come on, Portugal barely has a bit of diversity and it's not that much even in landscapes or architecture. - Not much to see there.
I always defend Portugal and Portuguese people, as well for the "they're poor" urban legend I always unmount that argument. Besides, you can't compare France or Spain to Portugal lol, is like comparing Germany to Austria...
Besides the zone of Porto is underrated, I do agree, as other Portuguese zones. Lisbon doesn't seem very interesting to visit too tbh, besides Porto it is, as well as Madeira or Açores. It's my opinion, I'm sorry if I offended you...
Man, I do not know how to react to this amount of meaningless speech. "reasons for Algarve? Not a good climate (you go a bit inland and summers are very, very hot, in most of the coast the summer nights are very muggy) cold water temperature as it's the ocean, mostly dry places, full of mosquitoes, extremely crowded... nah." ""It barely has 2 beautiful beaches" Not a good climate?? No beautiful beaches?? You really said that?? You know all Algarve? Not for sure.
"Portugal barely has a bit of diversity and it's not that much even in landscapes or architecture. - Not much to see there." My friend, I can give you dozens of places with different landscapes or teach you just a little bit more about my country or about architecture in Portugal but, from what I already read, from other´s post´s from you about Portugal, I'm going to waste my time.
Take care.
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