Something I have found (admittedly not through experience but through hearing the stories of relatives) is that generally, the richer the population, the less naturally friendly people are.
In New Zealand, most of the moderately wealthy people are friendly to friends, but don't actively go out of their way to be friendly. The rich people living in rich suburbs are often thinking the world revolves around them, and generally aren't very friendly to strangers.
If you visit the poorer areas, or the rural areas (farmers are sort of an exception, as they can be quite wealthy) people are very friendly to strangers and tourists. They go out of their way to help them, invite them into their house for dinner etc.
And it seems to be the case in places like Europe. In areas affected by war like the Balkans, people are often very nice and welcoming, taking people who they met that day out at nights. But if I traveled to wealthier countries, I would usually have to pay for everything like normal.
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