Differences between countries vs. differences within a country

What I like the more in Norway?
- Very low criminality
- Nature, Oslo is a very small city in 15 minutes you are out in the nature
- Skies (fabulous clouds and different blues)
- Breads billions of different types of bread
- Non smoking in every public place

What I don't like
- People don't care about others. Get drunk and everything on Friday and saturday nights. Difficult to get to know new people
- Food
- Prices
- Weather

Kez you've posted in the wrong topic.

Pat, from my experience, I think differences within a country can be really important.

For example, I am sure you can't consider the cosmopolitan London like the rest of the UK. There are so many different communities and cultures in this city that you can even  often talk your in your home language 90% of your time.

And about Spain  ... Barcelona and Madrid are so different! Not only the city, but the people, their culture, their language, their behaviour. It's like you're in two different countries.

About your second question, as I grew up in a small city in the south of France (near Perpignan), it's been difficult for me to integrate in Paris for a simple and stupid reason. Everyday, people reminded me smiling: "hey, you've got an accent! Are you from Marseille? No? So you're from Toulouse?"

Yes I've got a strong accent but I've never been in Marseille and only once in Toulouse. Of course, people don't want to be bad with you, but I heard the "accent remark" wherever I was in Paris, several times a day. People constantly reminded me that I wasn't at home, even if for them it was nice to talk to somebody who reminded them their last summer holidays.

Then I moved to London. At the very beginning of my stay I used to say "sorry for my bad English and for my accent". My colleagues at work quickly told me: "your english is  good, and we don't mind your accent at all. Don't say that again, that's completely stupid!". And I quickly felt integrated. Nobody smiled because of my accent. That's something I really appreciate in London. Wherever you are coming from, as long as you're willing to work you're integrated and equally considered to anyone else. I didn't feel the same in my own country.