Well, shoot. I was just reflecting as old people sometimes do that when I was young and seeing the world my best experiences were meeting people on the street and finding they were quite pleased to talk about things. Anywhere: Rome, Berlin, Paris, Istambul, Athens. Nobody was mean, not even the jackbooted gov't thugs; everybody was very pleasant, even in Paris. Granted, the residents of Istambul were somewhat wary because of islamic instability, but friendly, too. Oddly, none of this was in English, but languages are easy on the street if not in class.
Life was far better in many ways decades ago. Much of the decline can be traced directly to the metastasizing of Socialism and all of the negative traits that it instills and promotes in people who might be completely different had they been Blessed with a different culture.