Hello everyone
Unfortunately, I travel quite rarely. To be precise, almost never. But at the same time, I love reading various posts, articles and texts about the countries of the world. Reviews from those who live there, all sorts of economic reports or even just local news. And I thought, "What if we look at a map of the world? Which country would I find outright wonderful?". In short, he put himself in the place of an ordinary man in the street.
And I realized that there are several countries that are sufficiently overrated. And today I will tell you about seven of them.
But first, a disclaimer.
I've been deciding for a long time whether to include France here.
On the one hand, such a decision may be colored (even unconsciously) by the current political processes in the country. And there have already been five more serious candidates.
On the other hand, Napoleon's homeland leaves a very strong imprint on the mind. That's why such an unusual format is the top 7.
Speaking of France, almost everyone will have very strong images in their head. Eiffel Tower, baguettes, cheeses, beautiful Parisian autumn, Provence, etc. And this is certainly the case. You can also touch on the culture of France, which for centuries has been the standard for the entire civilization and the object of admiration and imitation.
However, we must try to look soberly. France is also a slum on the outskirts of cities. This is a bunch of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. This is not the most adequate government. This is dirt that is not very visible behind the facade of the well-groomed streets of Paris, Marseille or Toulouse.
And do not forget the protest traditions of this country. Riots are common here. The same football fans, migrants, leftists, rightists and anyone else. Many people rebel and they rebel often.
However, the advantages, in my humble opinion, are somewhat outweighed. Therefore, only the sixth place.
In this post, it is about mainland China.
On the one hand, China is history. The story is great and interesting, despite the fact that I am not particularly interested in the East. It's an art, a special charm and the like.
But at the same time, this culture can be very frightening for the least prepared person. I have come across the Chinese several times and I can say that the company is not for everyone. Among other things, China is quite dirty, not the most welcoming from an economic point of view, and very, very strict in terms of rules and restrictions.
Their "zero covid" policy alone is worth something. And you can also recall the limitations of the digital space and the general censorship of society.
And, of course, an excessive overestimation of China's power should be highlighted as a separate point. From the category of statements that the Celestial Empire will soon overtake the United States. There is a very interesting post by Akarakot on this topic, but I will try to briefly express my opinion.
China was not bad and developed through the distillation of almost free labor from villages to cities, as well as a relatively free economic policy. The current situation and the usurpation of power, which violates China's political institutions, also destroys the prospects for economic superiority.
Therefore, despite the general orgasming of our propagandists and "nationalists" on the topic of China's power, I am almost sure that he will lose the war (both literally and commercially) with the West.
Egypt, in fact, is still a hole and a cesspool.
But besides the personal reasons for disliking this country (first of all, the heat), there are others, including such an unfair popularity of the country.
Egypt is a poor country, one might even say poor. Very dangerous. Not only is the terrorist threat high, but also the local population, which will not let you feel comfortable. And especially if you're a girl. Well, among other things, you need to remember that Egypt is a Muslim country. Remember the fucking rules.
But then why only fifth place? It's simple - they mostly go to Egypt for the sake of beach and hotel tourism. And it seems to be relatively well developed. At least it doesn't color the general shit much.
Judging by the latest tests on Pikuko, it would be possible to put Korea higher. However, this phenomenon is undulating, soon there will be less K-pop (just in case, I have nothing against it), probably.
But what are Korea's problems? In general, they are typical for East Asia. There is very serious social pressure at all stages of life, the strong tightness of public life, the most serious social inequality and not so well-developed capitalist institutions (chaebols inherited create a very bad practice of oligopolies).
Of course, Korea has done a very good job of promoting itself among the masses. Moreover, it is better than any country in the world (only two can compete with it). But behind this screen, Korea's common problems are hidden, which can be worse than even ours.
The UAE is my sore point.
Every relatively major friend of mine has boasted at least once (and usually more than once) that he flew to Dubai. Our "elite" flies to the UAE, and sometimes lives there.
In my opinion, the UAE (namely Dubai and Abu Dhabi, because they usually do not fly to other emirates) is a standard of bad taste. Incongruous glass dildos in the middle of the desert mixed with the impoverished huts of workers from Pakistan. There is something similar in the cities of East Asia, but there it is at least a little aesthetically pleasing.
I can compare the popular part of the UAE with a shopping mall. There's nothing to do there for more than three or four days, unless you work there. Well, and the rest of the Emirates... tell me, have you heard a lot about holidays in Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah or, there, El Fujairah. So I'm not, so I'm only talking about the two most popular regions.
Yes, maybe I shocked someone. No, I didn't become a harsh hater of the Pendos. I still like American culture, history, and aesthetics, and I still consider the United States the greatest country in history (along with France and the Roman Empire). However, let's be honest.
That's how many times have you seen beautiful American images in movies, TV series, literature, YouTube videos? The already boring phrase "The American Dream" and a way of thinking based solely on an extremely competent policy of promoting the image of the country.
There are a lot of problems in the USA that I would never want to live there, even though I like this country (yes, paradoxically). The emphasis on cars, low-rise buildings (although, for many, this is rather a plus), very serious racial differences, tax and legislative policy, and just a completely different way of life, which takes a very long time to get used to.
Therefore, I will probably always study the USA and enjoy the part of its culture that I like. But there is no way to live there on a permanent basis.
Although they have a somewhat local audience, but the images of Japan are probably stuck in their heads so that no ticks can get them out of there.
Sakura, anime, mountains, architecture, traditions, cuisine - all this can compete with such a monstrous machine of soft power as the United States. However, do not forget that there are also a number of problems in Japan.
In general, it is possible to copy the paragraph about South Korea, with the only condition that in Japan these problems are superimposed on even greater demographic and economic crises. Read something about Japan's lost decade. Yes, many countries have faced this, but not all have been selected and returned to the previous level (or even become better).
Of course, I would like to visit Japan as a tourist. But if I were given a choice - to be born in Japan or in Russia, I would not ironically choose Russia. Because, of course, I don't want to downplay someone's problems, but if you think that society is putting pressure on you, then compared to Japan, you live in a happy world of progressivism and rainbow ponies.
Well, that's all for now. I hope it was interesting for you to read.
If there are good ratings for this post, then I will release a part about the most underrated countries.
Which of the listed countries is more overrated?5
Hello again!
Most recently, I published a post with the most, in my opinion, overrated countries. And since he collected well, I'm writing a sequel - the most underrated countries in the world. Also, in my highly subjective opinion.
The disclaimer is the same. Everything presented here is my subjective opinion, which does not pretend to be academic.
Actually, I was lying a little bit. This post will focus not so much on the Vatican, but on the Holy See, which governs the Vatican.
It would seem to be a religious, theocratic organization that owns a dwarf state and a couple of pieces of land around the world. However, it is worth paying attention to one small detail. Just the smallest thing. The head of this organization is, in fact, considered the main person for 1.3 billion people on the planet. Even more senior than the leaders of their countries.
And it is worth noting that the Vatican is one of the main places of pilgrimage, and the Pope is a moral reference point for many, as already mentioned.
He is so low only because he has little actual power. However, he is too much underestimated, which allowed him to get on the list.
Yes. Bhutan is a poor, agrarian country, all located in the mountains and therefore not particularly interesting to anyone.
But the fact is that Bhutan has prospects. And very big ones. Not only is it located between two regional hegemons (China and India) and can maneuver between them, receiving preferences, but tourism is also on the rise there.
It is worth noting that before 1970, entry there was practically impossible at all. However, after the annexation of Tibet by China, Bhutan became one of the destinations of "Buddhist tourism", since there are a lot of attractions there, despite the modest size of the country.
But Bhutan is not exactly an ideal country. The road system is still poorly developed there, and although reforms are underway, they are extremely slow. From that, only the 6th place.
In general, Mongolia should be divided into two parts. Ulaanbaatar (the capital) and a couple of large cities where up to half of the population lives, as well as the rest of Mongolia. The rest ... It is there. Of course, it is important for the country's economy, but it is fundamentally no different from the provinces of similar countries. Maybe even worse.
But the main part of Mongolia (primarily its capital) is an extremely interesting place. Perceived by everyone as an absolutely empty and wild steppe, it is a fairly developed city with a powerful financial sector for countries of this level.
Well, the situation is a bit similar to Bhutan, since the country is located between two large states - Russia and China. Moreover, in the border regions, peoples related to the Mongols live there (in Buryatia or Inner Mongolia, for example).
And yet, as an interesting fact, the bulk of those who fled the Russian regime after February (and especially September) 2022 in the Far East fled to Mongolia, which promised and does not extradite those who came to it.
Armenia, in my humble opinion, is undeservedly less popular than its neighbor Georgia. Although Armenia has a number of advantages.
It is slightly cheaper, more favorable to tourists and migrants from Russia, and there is much more of the Russian language we are familiar with there than in other countries of the Caucasus.
But even removing such personally subjective reasons, you can highlight a lot more. Armenia is an incredibly beautiful, quite democratic country (for its region). And considering that the conflict with Azerbaijan is close, if not to an end, then at least to a lull, the country becomes even more attractive.
The reasons are partly similar to those of Armenia. However...
Serbia is still Europe. It is close to joining the EU (which, by the way, is not a plus) and strong European integration, but at the same time it keeps the balance and is quite comfortable for people coming from Russia or other countries with Eastern and southern Slavs among the population.
But I must admit that I am extremely subjective (Kosovo, Serbia, ksta), therefore, it would be nice to find the disadvantages. The main one is the conflict with Kosovo and NATO, as well as some political upheavals that occasionally occur.
A very large part of the population does not know about such a country at all. Even more people occasionally confuse it with Paraguay. And, by the way, in vain.
Uruguay is one of the two prosperous countries in South America. In addition to relative political stability and rare political conflicts, Uruguay is also quite developed from an economic point of view.
That is, so that you understand, GDP (PPP) per capita (the main indicator showing the well-being of the country and the population in it) Uruguay has 3 times higher than Russia, and is also noticeably higher than in, for example, Georgia or Montenegro. However, one South American country still beat Uruguay in many areas. But what is it?
Yes, those who are a little involved in economics, politics and history know about the Chilean economic miracle, and that it is the most successful country in South America. However, most people know at best that this is some kind of very elongated country.
In short, Chile, to some extent, can be compared with Europe in a number of social and economic indicators. Plus, Chile, unlike neighboring Argentina, did not prolong its historical chance, which makes the country more stable in such a maximally unstable region.
One of the disadvantages is a state with fairly high prices. By the standards of the region, for sure.
Well, that's all for now. It turned out to be somewhat less, since praising is not scolding. But I still hope it was interesting.
Which of the listed countries is the most underrated?3
