*Warning, long post!*

This was a difficult one. I'm not sure if i totally agree with you. Generalizing in this way is never a good thing, but you may have a point.

Norway has a cold and dark climate. We have 2-3 months of warm summer. We are not that many people, about 5 million now, of which about 700 000 are immigrants. We live quite scattered and our history derives from working the ground, hunting, fishing and logging, learning to survive this harsh climate. It is not the same as living in a warm, summery climate where it is easier to be outside and socialize more often.

Not to mention the wars, monarchy and religious influence we have been living under for a long time too. May not be that significant, and that has been going on around the globe also, but still worth to mention.

These values and conditions would have rooted themselves into people for a long time, and may still be part of our mentality.

But even after considering this, when you think about the success we have had in the field of oil and all the wealth that has landed in our lap during the last 20-30 years, we might not have been ready for such wealth that arrived so quickly. This may also have influenced us a bit. Some of us may take it a bit for granted and become a little selfish because of it. But this is normal human behaviour. It is difficult to adapt to the mindset of being a part of such enormous wealth, when you have been accustomed to managing with very little for hundreds, even thousands of years.

These two big factors i think may have influenced us to become a little "locked up" in the encounter of this new wealth and age of time, and due to this we may be hard to get to know. But when you get to know us, you usually get a friend for life. We are a very productive people, and also close-knit. Just look to the comment sections of news articles regarding over-immigration ^^ Bad point, but still. We do not tolerate "falseness", or shallow values, very well. Our freedom is very important to us. Which again, may be rooted in the value of hard labour, which is of course necessary in order to upkeep a healthy society. Not everywhere in the world are they accustomed to this way of life, and this "clash of values" may be a hard lesson for some people.

Personally, i think you get what you give, wherever you are in the world. All the times i have been nice and tried to give a positive attitude, people have given me the same 95% of the time. If you want commitment and honesty, be honest and faithful. I believe these things go in circles. If you have a baggage of good memories, you will be a happier person. If you have a baggage of struggle, bullying and degrading behaviour, you will exhibit the same behaviour, either on a conscious or unconscious basis.

I have a story to tell as well, regarding this topic:

I tried a new hair salon in the city where i live. These were of Greek origin. They were nice and all, but during my haircut, a woman was finished and about to pay. They did not take payment cards there, and she had about 20kr (about 2$) short. I don't remember the exact situation, she thought she would not have to pay those extra 20kr for some reason. So she left, quite upset. I don't remember if she came back to pay.

But the way the woman hairdresser (clearly the owner and wife of the guy cutting my hair) was speaking to her, i think had a big deal to say. "But the sign says clearly that if you do this and that, it cost 2$ extra!! And it also says we don't take credit cards!!" She put up one big scene about the whole thing. And what struck me the most was, after the customer had left, she started talking to ME about it (the only customer there at that point)! ^^ I tried to calm her down, she went on about "Only in Norway are people like this!"

I had a little conversation with the guy cutting my hair (most likely her husband) about food. He proposed a new recipe with canned tuna. And the way he said this, was so weird ^^ I almost felt -threatened- to try it out, as if he was going to remember specifically when i returned to ask me about it!!

I wish them every bit of success, but needless to say, i haven't been back ^^

What is 20kr to lose a customer for, in comparison to the next 20 - 30 years, and the income that would bring?

So, your own attitude has a lot to say when you approach new people.

With all those personal perspectives out of the way, i think it is time to address the topic about yourself, and your attitude. And don't misunderstand, i am not trying to be sarcastic or offensive, just exploring the possibility.

Are you always Mr. Happy? Do you always walk around with a big smile on your face and tell jokes to everyone you meet to cheer them up? Life doesn't always work that way. Humans have emotions, and one little word or sentence may influence us to a huge degree. Even billionaires and in their circles i cannot imagine have their life perfect every hour of every day. Maybe even less so.

Maybe the way you approach people, under which circumstances, AND what your expectations of people have been, may have had a lot to say?