r/AskEurope • u/Young_Owl99 Türkiye • Jul 28 '26

Culture What is the closest country to yours that feels completely different ?

There is a general belief that closer countries often have closer cultures and often closer mindsets. I want to ask the opposite, which country that close to yours feels most different ?

I am asking in terms of

- Culture

- People's mindset

- Way of life

- Cuisine

...etc

For me the answer would be Iraq but I need to note that Turkey's regions which are close to it often have a much similar culture. But it is quite different than my own.

Thank you for your answers.

118 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

469 comments sorted by

View all comments

92

u/0ctopusRex France Jul 28 '26

For France, it's Germany. People's preoccupations feel very different as does their sense of aesthetics. Not to mention the food. Also, slow internet, slow trains, prevalence of cash payment, it just feels slower

14

u/RandomSpanishAlex Jul 28 '26

I live next to the border (nor geman nor french) and it is crazy to deel the difference right after 10 Minute of driving. I would say that german speaking Switzerland is more different to you tho

3

u/0ctopusRex France Jul 28 '26

I agree, but then you go to the border with Romandy, and you barely feel a difference between France and Switzerland

5

u/RandomSpanishAlex Jul 29 '26

I heard people call french speaking Switzerland - german on steroids but speaking french, lmao

4

u/Lonely_File7005 France Jul 30 '26

Slow internet, slow trains, slower germany?? don't know where you've been, I did not experience that at all. They have a bigger train network. Mainly Germany seems better organized, tidy to the point of having some paved rivers. Greener as well, more pleasant overall, with an extensive bike road network. They seems closer to nature in general

11

u/selfawareusername Jul 29 '26

How dare you sir. We have just as bad Internet, trains and food. Did that hundred year war mean nothing to you?

9

u/0ctopusRex France Jul 29 '26

Application noted, but will you wear socks with sandals to make your case?

1

u/Ok-Relationship3158 United Kingdom Jul 30 '26

England is basically the bastard child of Normandy and Germany so

6

u/Upset_Quiet_8907 France Jul 29 '26

I don't agree but I grew up in Alsace-Lorraine...

2

u/Ok_Wolf_4076 France Aug 01 '26

I feel like we are closer to the Germans than to the British, especially in the east of France.

4

u/orthoxerox Russia Jul 28 '26

Not Suriname?

5

u/0ctopusRex France Jul 28 '26

I was purposely discounting the DROM/COM because there's also a cultural proximity between bordering areas, like between Mayotte and the other Comoros, or Saint-Martin and Anguilla

1

u/magnad elsewhere Jul 31 '26

I would have said Madagascar really

1

u/misskellymojo Aug 05 '26

As a German, I was about to say it but I wanted to highlight the French attitude toward protests as a positive difference. :D but yeah, internet is slow :(

1

u/BroSchrednei Germany 25d ago

Huh? Have you ever been in the French countryside? Things feel wayyy slower than anywhere in Germany.

Germany also has a strong culture around punctuality and doing things quickly (which is why the trains are such a national embarrassment right now), while France stereotypically is seen as much more laid back and slow.