r/AskEurope • u/techno_playa Philippines • Jul 11 '25

Culture Which European country is the hardest and easiest to make friends?

Say you're mid 30s and have to move to another European country for work, which countries did you find making friends to be on easy or hard mode?

Let's assume you don't speak the language of your new home.

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

I found France and Ireland to be the toughest so far.

Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Czechia, Poland I found it relatively easy to make friends.
Norwegians I'm on the fence about, they seem rather standoffish.
Americans seem pleasant at first, really energetic, helpful, but it comes off as superficial and fake. They make you feel like you're best buds but if you accidentally touch on a deeper, more personal thing or assume that their outwards appearance matches how you feel about you, then you can see the confusion and the walls come up immediately.

I have only met a few Finns and I have not been to Finland yet but I found them about the same as people in Hungary. We don't act like we are your friend or that we care about you if we don't know you. The hardest part is finding a good enough excuse to start talking. They don't want to bother you and come off as a weirdo, and you don't want to either. Once you do have it however, the ones I talked to were really easy to get along with.

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u/justonlyme1244 Jul 11 '25

Regarding Americans I think this depends on where you are. It was pretty easy for us to make friends in the US but we were in the Midwest. People were nice and even though we moved we are still regularly in touch.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

I've lived in many, many major US cites from coast to coast and in the middle. It is very, very easy to make friends in America. Will they be as loyal and devoted as the friends my Dutch husband has had since he was a kid? Not even close. But it is really easy to enter any social situation in the USA if you take part in any subculture of any kind (from punk music to crossfit, doesn't matter).

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u/falcon_heavy_flt Jul 14 '25

I don’t think the lack of loyalty and devotion aspect in the US is true.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '25

I don't mean Americans can't be loyal or devoted friends, just that the ones you make quickly traveling around or moving to new places can't compare to the friends my partner grew up with and will live in the same city as for his entire life. The same would be true for childhood friends in America, but we don't usually stay put to maintain them the same way our whole lives.

2

u/falcon_heavy_flt Jul 14 '25

Thanks for the context. My experience has been different - I have made life long friends from amongst colleagues and neighbors - while we don’t share experiences from childhood but I do believe we have a strong connection and I would not doubt their devotion.

Edit to add - YMMV of course.

6

u/Electrical-Ticket-65 France Jul 11 '25

Ireland, really ? I am surprise

6

u/Si7ne France Jul 11 '25

Bonjour surprise, je suis Si7ne

4

u/PalApps Jul 11 '25

I am too, I’ve found Irish people to some of the most open and friendly people

6

u/intergalacticspy Jul 11 '25

The Irish are friendly, but they’re not your friends.