Why does there seem to be relatively little cross-regional interaction between the Balkans, the Visegrad countries, and the Baltic states, except in cases where Hungary is involved?

Posted by PsychologicalTrip301@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 38 comments

For example, many Vietnamese are very interested in South Korea even though the shortest straight-line distance is over 2,000 km, whereas Romanians seem to have relatively little interest in Poland, even though the straight-line distance between them is only about 100 km.

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Stverghame@reddit

We have mild interaction with Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia.

With Poland it can increase a bit tbh.

As for Balts, the less interaction - the better (if you ask me). I see no reason to interact with those people.

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ComfortableGlad6766@reddit

why u dont like baltics? :/

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Stverghame@reddit

Absolute worst kind of the people I saw on the internet. Full of malice, misery, hate and lunacy.

Such people are completely unnecessary in my life.

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ComfortableGlad6766@reddit

i have never got that impression about them tbh whered u get this anyway

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Economy_Sugar_6887@reddit

Probably from r/lietuviai

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Stverghame@reddit

Because you are a Pole.

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MyPlantsDieSometimes@reddit

And you seem somewhat presumptious

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Stverghame@reddit

I've dealt with their threats fairly enough, I know how they work and what they're ready for. Doxxing, locating address, then threatning. That's what they do when you disagree with them.

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MyPlantsDieSometimes@reddit

Ok, but perhaps shitty experiences with no-lifers on the internet should represent an entire country and culture 😅 if that were the case then the several hundred million people living in India all want my bank details and are thieves! Just saying 🤷 but hey, lived experience does influence us greatly.

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Stverghame@reddit

I am just a human after all. Most of the opinions they shared are quite disgusting to me, so I can help it, even though I am aware not EVERY SINGLE one of them is like that. Still, the majority I encountered were, and that seriously affects my perception and gives me a extra caution and guard when it comes to them.

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Dazzling-Key-8282@reddit

Funny thing. I had a Romanian best man at my wedding and any Romanian I met IRL was a decent, caring person. The online ones are the most batshit crazy lunatics as soon as the topic remotely wanders towards Hungary I have ever experienced. As said IRL there was next to none difference even with touchy subject but online it's just another world and not for the better.

Baltics are also next level sometimes. There was a story in Hungarian internet when a Hungarian couple reserved through AirBNB and the host denied them service and left them hanginf after they uploaded Hungarian passports that they should go fuck themselves and find a flat in Belarus.

Nutjobs are sadly everywhere.

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MyPlantsDieSometimes@reddit

Another funny thing, Bulgarians tell other Bulgarians who go abroad, not to trust Bulgarians abroad. Essentially some people who go west for the money screw up, and when they see another Bulgarian latch onto them for dear life and suck them dry (and not in the good way). Had this happen to me. As a result Bulgarian people have prejudice against Bulgarian people. Now that's crazy. My family once hid their laptops before another Bulgarian family came to visit our home abroad. Those people later became close family friends, but it all started with distrust. Sad really.

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Dazzling-Key-8282@reddit

That's a tradition amongst Hungarians too, trust me. Not to the same degree and maybe people don't suspect theft as a baseline, but they'll certainly expect that you'll try to extract favours out of them. There is an uncanny clinginess amongst my nation that can be really strong indeed.

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Historical-Ant-512@reddit

i can confirm this is also a romanian thing, to a point.

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Dazzling-Key-8282@reddit

You can deny we are Balkaners, but let's be fair. It doesn't stand up to scrutiny. We all share certain traits whether we want it or not.

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Historical-Ant-512@reddit

?? i wasn't denying anything?! what?? :))

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Dazzling-Key-8282@reddit

I meant it in the fake passive sense. Aka some of our countryman tend to deny we are Balkaners, but after all things said and done they exhibit the exact certain peculiarities one would expect from Balkaners.

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Historical-Ant-512@reddit

,eh.. it will probably take another 200 years for that to go away. maybe. we'll long be pots and pans by then

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ComfortableGlad6766@reddit

well i suppose the lithuanians dont like us much but the rest of em i just have no impression of so idk

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Refugee_InThisWorld@reddit

Because you are pro Russian. Their disdain for Russia and Soviet history exceeds logic.

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Stverghame@reddit

I know their reason. That doesn't excuse their hate. Serbs and Albanians have direct contact with each other, actual misdeeds towards each other throughout history and even today, yet Serbs and Albanians have a more clear mind, more logic to their reasons and more tolerance in their heart than those 3 Baltic fellas which never had an actual contact with us. I'll never have an excuse for them. Never.

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Unable-Stay-6478@reddit

That's correct.

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determine96@reddit

I mean don't you have big "cultural/common folk" interactions amongst the former "Yugo" countries ?

Like music, Tv shows, tourism etc ?

I mean I only know few Macedonians up close and like they knew the main Serbian Tv shows, one recommended me even a Croatian one.

And there all were like "Yeah, I have been to Zagreb, I have been to Belgrade" etc.

Like it's normal to them, how to describe it, like they are in their own waters, have friends from all those countries etc.

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Stverghame@reddit

I am talking about non-Balkaners.

Yugo is a different story

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determine96@reddit

Oh, yeah.

I didn't get the question, between Balkans and the others, I thought between the Balkan countries among themselves also.

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ilijadwa@reddit

I have a friend who always mixes up Baltic and Balkan and he called an Estonian friend Balkan and I was like “wait no PLEASE get it right he’s not Balkan 😩😩”

It’s

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Economy_Sugar_6887@reddit

We don't have much connections with Central Europe and Baltics. Especially this part of Balkans - Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. You can say this part (more or less) formalizes like a regional unit of its own. Perhaps notable exception is maybe Romania, due to its geography.

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Vaisiamarrr@reddit

Your example is bullshit, when the election was happening we had both of the candidates support a polish candidate they went to rallies, took interviews. Poland was on tv quite a lot

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Lanky-Rush607@reddit

Because many Greeks still look down on Eastern Europe in general and still believe that they are beneath them and are shitholes, even though most of them have already surpassed Greece in various metrics.

Except for Serbia, because "orthodox brothers", but then again, Serbia is basically what Greece would've looked like had we never joined the EU & NATO and never had a debt crisis.

Baltics? They are Nazis, anti-Greek & pro-Turkey. They deserve to be invaded by Putin. Visegrad countries? They are third-world countries where women have to become prostitutes to survive, they became rich thanks to Germany. Balkans except Serbia? They hate us, are jealous of us and now are buying houses and going on vacations in Greece en masse while Greeks are struggling to make ends meet.

A lot of Greeks believe that they are superior to any Eastern European country because we built the Acropolis, and we have a rich Ancient heritage & history. It's no longer accurate today as we are officially the poorest member in the EU, while countries such as Lithuania, Slovenia & Poland have already surpassed us; they were poorer than Greece 20 years ago.

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dothrakipls@reddit

Greeks are missing out on one of the best opportunities in Europe: working in EE and living in Greece, ie, what sensible Bulgarians do

You have an escape from the corrupt parasite tax regime and you can still live in Greece during the best months of the year

Impossible to beat that combination in Europe unless you are a super high earner

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dothrakipls@reddit

Because it's all ex-commie, slavic etc negative associations - we can thank the muscovites for this.

It is all quickly changing though - our region has become the best to live in Europe for productive individuals, as long as we don't get conquered again that is.

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shortEverything_@reddit

We tend to be indifferent to bitter toward each other - though you get some cases of positivity across the ex-Yu

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Puzzleheaded_Sir903@reddit

We are all Western oriented in sense of tourism, education or work.

People from Balkans/ Baltics/Visegrad would rather go to Paris, London...to work, study or as tourists.

We have nothing to offer each other.

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Stealthfighter21@reddit

We get tourists from both Visegrad and Baltics.

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MyPlantsDieSometimes@reddit

If our countries have shit diplomacy within themselves, imagine them trying to be diplomatic with each other. Also nationalism and racism. I'm heard more insults and stereotypes about our neighbours than I have heard praise or interest (in the little time I do spend in Bulgaria)

Maybe the newer generation will be different, but for now I'm not seeing neither good diplomatic nor cultural relations. Not bad. Just not good

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