When people talk about living life to the fullest and having independent, solo experiences, they often reference the importance of traveling internationally to experience more of the world.
But in the midst of describing the wonders of traveling in another country, they fail to detail the things that could go wrong, or how a local might try to scam an unknowing and unprepared tourist.
Curious specifically about this phenomenon in Europe, Redditor subuubalaa asked:
"What should people avoid while traveling to Europe?"
The Fines Can Be Incredibly Steep
"Another thing which primarily applies to Giethoorn, but also any place in general."
"STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S YARDS."
"For those who don't know, Giethoorn is a small village where instead of streets there are canals. It is quite a tourist attraction where they can rent boats to travel through the canals. However, some people fail to comprehend that it's still an actual village and people live in the houses."
"It has occurred on multiple instances that tourists walked into the gardens of residents to take pictures."
- ThePotatoSauce
The Menu Should Speak For Itself
"Avoid any restaurant that tries to strong-arm you into entering."
- Kanguin
Who Knew?
"Watch out for pickpockets in Western Europe. There is a stigma that Eastern Europe like Romania and Bulgaria is dangerous but pickpocketing happens more in Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, etc."
- trustabro
Just Keep Walking
"Street scammers in Paris, anywhere really, I just mostly see it in Paris."
- missingtoothtyler
Keep an Eye on Your Stuff
"I hung my purse over the back of my chair at a restaurant on my first day in Bangkok."
"We were eating dinner and my tour guide came over to where I was sitting, and he was holding my purse. He asked if it was mine, and I said yes. Then he told me that he saw some guy take it but he was able to get it back before they left the restaurant with it."
"Turns out my guide was the 'guy' who took it to teach me a lesson. He did this to a couple of other people in our group to encourage us to be careful with our stuff. I spent the rest of the trip white-knuckling my purse so it worked for me!"
- starrfast
Your Future Looks Expensive
"In Sevilla, they hang around the cathedral. A woman will walk up and hand you a flower, then insist on telling your fortune. Just drop it and walk away."
- blitzen13
Seriously, Protect Your Belongings
"Do not put your bag/purse/backpack on the back of your chair when you sit down to eat, especially outside."
"Thieves look for this, in groups of three or four. One of them will come from one side of you as a snatcher, and the rest will stand in a group very close to you taking or smoking, etc., pretending that they don't know the snatcher."
"Then the one guy will snatch your item, and run right through the group, in case someone is quick enough to chase. They will 'accidentally' be in your way."
"Happened in Rome, but locals recognized it and broke it up."
- nctkcmo71
Instant Retaliation
"A guy tried to do the bracelet trick to me, but I knew it and told him no before he tried anything. He jabbed me in the side as I walked passed. I was so p**sed."
- Tortuga917
No Directions Needed
"Also: DO NOT STOP to 'help' people asking for directions. You're a tourist, you look like a tourist, and you're the last person someone would legitimately ask for directions."
"They're trying to get you to stop so they can pickpocket you. It's usually a woman, too, looking 'helpless.' Just keep moving."
- ThaneOfCawdorrr
Fake Disabilities
"Be careful if you encounter the fake disabled people in Venice. My dad fell into that trap. A guy pretending to have a limp and speaking disability came up to us and asked for money. I switched to Dutch and told my dad not to give him any. My dad gave him a 20 euro banknote."
"The guy walked away without a limp and started talking without issues a few meters away."
- DoctorWhoTheF**k
Try to Blend In
"Avoid letting the taxi know you don't know where you are or where you are going, the bad ones will drive you in circles and run the tab up."
"Also, one thing that opened Germany up for me while stationed there was one interaction. I would ask in German, 'Sprechen sie englisch,' do you speak English, followed by 'Mine Deutsch ist schei**e,' my German is s**t."
"Everyone from women at the bar to elderly people would laugh hysterically and then immediately switch to English in good spirits. They just like to see you try, and then they are more than happy to help you out."
"So my advice would be to learn a quick-fire phrase that you can pop off too quickly to avoid fumbling and starting the interaction on a bad foot."
- Spirited-Tadpole-508
Scamming the Scammers
"I managed to find one of the bracelets they peddle on the ground midway through my trip. Threw it on every day when I was out in public and didn’t get hounded at all after that."
"I assume they probably thought I was a fool already caught in the trap, but man, the peace of mind was great!"
- brounchman
Please Be Polite
"Don't assume that everything will be open during the hours you'd expect in your home country. This is true no matter where you're going. It varies by country and region, but in my experience, grocery stores, banks, post offices, etc., had much more restricted hours than they do in the US."
"In the US, it's rare for a grocery store to close before 9 PM, if it's not open 24 hours. In Europe, it's normal for grocery stores to close quite early, and for things to be closed on weekends, though this varies by country."
"Also, mind your manners. In America, you can often skip over the formalities without being seen as rude. In Europe, this is much harder. Be more direct about what you want, and more polite about requesting it."
"Part of what perpetuates the unfortunate 'rude American' stereotype is that Americans tend to find European manners blunt, and Europeans tend to find American manners invasive."
- frisky_husky
Stuff Can Be Taken from Anywhere
"Don't leave stuff lying around anywhere. Don't put your stuff next to you on the table if you're sitting outside at a restaurant. Someone can just run up to you from behind, grab the phone/wallet and run away."
"Don't leave stuff in a rental car."
"Don't even put stuff in the trunk of the rental car after you park it. I've heard that in some touristy places, thieves will employ local kids to sit at the parking lots and see who puts their camera, laptop, or purse in the trunk of the car before walking away."
- TheChoonk
It's All About Playing It Smart
"I've seen it in Paris, France, Barcelona, Florence... any popular tourist destination is going to have pickpockets."
"These scams vary, and you should read about them before you go so you're aware. Some of the ones I've seen:"
"1. People in costumes (mostly Roman centurions) will accost you for pictures with them, and demand an absurd amount of money for the pictures."
"2. People will shove an object or a flower into your hands and then demand money. You may have to very aggressively say 'no.'"
"3. Someone will approach you with a map and ask for directions (their accomplice is behind you while you're distracted, and helping themselves to your stuff)."
"4. Someone will lay out paintings on the ground near monuments like cathedrals, and when you inevitably step on one (because you're looking up at the Duomo, not at the ground) they'll demand an absurd amount of money for the painting you just stepped on."
"Basically, you just have to understand that if you're a tourist in a city, no one is going to have a good reason to talk to you. No one needs directions from you, no one needs a petition signature from you, and anyone trying to stop and talk to you in a major tourist destination is likely a scam."
"If you do get into a situation where someone is demanding money from you (maybe you stepped on a painting or took that ill-advised picture with the Centurion) just say, 'Okay, let's go find a police officer, and I will pay you in front of the police officer.' That usually gets them to back down quickly."
"You may have to be aggressive about not letting people touch you or put something on you. My husband had to yank his arm away from someone trying to tie a bracelet on him outside of Castel Sant'Angelo. I had to quickly move away from someone shoving a rose in my lap on the Spanish Steps."
"And also, watch your stuff. Don't absentmindedly sling your purse over the back of a chair. Don't leave your phone on the ground next to you while you have a picnic on the Seine."
"I have a black purse by PacSafe that has some anti-theft features, like a lock so I can lock it to a chair at a cafe and a lock on the zipper so it can't be easily zipped open. Sure, a determined person could break into the purse, but it's all about not being an easy target. It's enough of a deterrent that if someone does try to help themselves to the contents of my purse, it'll be too much trouble and they'll go pick someone else."
"That being said, don't let the fear of being pickpocketed deter you from traveling! Rick Steves has a story about a family that had their passports and thousands of dollars stolen from them immediately upon arrival in Amsterdam, and they still had an amazing trip. Just be aware and have a plan in case the worst happens."
- evilcaribou
A lot can happen while you're traveling, and while being stolen from or scammed could easily happen in your hometown, there's something about suddenly being without your possessions or having to pay a hefty sum of money when you're in new territory.
But as the very last Redditor in this thread pointed out, this shouldn't stop you from traveling the world! As long as you are well-prepared and stay alert, you should be able to have a wonderful journey.
The satisfaction of knowing we helped out someone's situation, no matter how big or small, has a way of making us feel better about ourselves.
That is until we discover what exactly we were "helping" with.
Be it an internet scammer or a dishonest friend, sometimes we find that our money or time might not have gone to the cause we expected it to.
Or was donated under false pretenses...
These experiences can be so frustrating, that it can actually cause some people to stop helping others ever again.
"What was your 'F*** it, done helping others' moment?"
Where Have I Seen That Before...
"I posted a futon on marketplace and the first person that hit me up gave me a sob story about needing something for their kid to sleep on."
"I was only asking $20 for it but they asked if they could get it for free."
"My wife and I agreed to give it away, so I took it to our meeting spot at Home Depot."
"2 days later this guy had the futon posted in marketplace asking $50."
"My wife and I Facebook stalked him and his wife and every time they posted it, we would hijack the listing letting everyone know the story of how they got the futon."
"I don't give sh*t away anymore, no matter the story they give me."- archangelmlg
Circle Of Duplicity...
"I stood by my best friend when she cried to me about her husband cheating."
"And he definitely was cheating."
"They stayed married and said they work through it."
"Six months later she was f*cking my husband behind my back."- superwhovianlock
You Never Know Who You Can Trust...
"Was donating baby/toddler clothes to a mom in need through one of those Facebook donating pages."
"She didn't have a car, I did so I drove 30 minutes away to deliver the stuff all for free."
"Got in a bad accident less than 5 blocks from her house."
"So I texted her to see if she could come get what she was able to because my car was totaled."
"She wouldn't walk the 4 blocks then reported me to the group and got me kicked out for 'not following through'."
"I ended up with a fractured sternum."
"Yeah, f*ck that sh*t, never again."- LifeIsSweetSoAmI·
It Was Ok The First Time...
"I'm a teacher."
"A parent of a former student contacted me in an emergency situation, couldn't afford to pay bills, and needed help."
"She was super helpful to me in my first year teaching, so I asked friends and family to help out and raised her about $2,000."
"Never again."
"She has contacted me every few weeks since then, always with a new reason why she needs more money, and when I offer food and clothing resources, she refuses it."
"It has placed me in such an awkward situation and I regret ever trying to help her out in the first place."- mynameissarah
There Is Such A Thing As Moving Too Fast...
"Met a guy who had hit a rough patch."
"We had great chemistry and he made me laugh."
"Ugh the bar was SO low."
"He gave me a sob story of why he was getting kicked out of his communal house and I offered to let him stay with me because I live alone and have my own place."
"HUGE MISTAKE! "
"He hadn't hit a rough patch, he was the rough patch."
"Barely paid for anything and would get wasted while I was at work and be a total a** hole when I got home."
"Got fired from his job, ate all the food I'd buy and make excuses as to why he hadn't found another job yet."
"The absolute kicker was when I went home for my Nonna's funeral, he treated it like a mini vacation in my place."
"Invited friends over, played music so loud the cops got called and when he was supposed to pick me up from the airport, he was wasted at someone's house at 8 am."
"Never felt better than the day I kicked him out."
"No more financial and emotional abuse."
"Finally felt like my place was mine again."
"I've learned an expensive lesson."
"Don't help people that won't help themselves."
"When nothing is their fault, there's a serious issue."
"Run fast and far."- vikinglizzie
Unwelcome House Guests
"Had a friend years ago who was a bit self centered & prone to stretching the truth, but he was a nice enough guy with a rough backstory and my friend group liked him, so I cut him a lot of slack."
"I like to host and I have friends staying over pretty regularly."
"Back then, I usually had one or two people spending the night on any given day."
"Anyhow, over the span of a couple of years this guy starts abusing that."
"Staying over for days or even weeks at a time, eating my food and drinking my liquor without contributing, that sort of thing."
"While constantly talking about his grand plans and daydreams as if they'd already happened."
"A little sad, but also pretty annoying after a while."
"Anyhow, I sit him down one day and let him know he's gotta head home, and that he's free to come over and hang out but I'm not comfortable with him staying over for the time being."
"He leaves, I think it went remarkably well, and head out to work."
"And it turns out that he broke in while I was away at work and stole a bunch of my sister's things because 'his birthday was coming up and neither of us even thought to get him a gift'."
"It takes a special person to rationalize how burglarizing someone is really their fault."
"Anyway, all slack and sympathy went out the window immediately."
"Called the cops and he's dead to me."- bada**_panda
Signed Contract
"In my freshman year of college, my friend of about two years got kicked out of his parents house. He said he needed somewhere to stay "for the night" till his parents cooled off."
"I said you can stay a week if you want but more than that and you'll need to pay me rent (he made pretty good money, more than me even). I was kind of hoping to find someone to split the bills with anyway."
"A week rolls by and he hasn't even looked for another place. His parents aren't letting him come back."
"I ask him if he's going to stay, he says "if it's alright with you" I say sure, just pay me half the cost of the apt every month. He said he can't (I know damn well he can). I say "well then you gotta go"
"He asked if he could stay another week. I said no. He got pissed at me for that. I then got pissed at him for getting pissed at me. I gave you a place to stay and you are mad at me??? Totally ended the friendship."
"Never let anyone into your place unless you have a signed contract."
Mower Problems
"Had a newish neighbor ask if he could borrow our lawn mower....sure. Well more or less every week he would come and get it out of our garage, use it to cut his grass, put it away without cleaning it or adding gas. In the fall we "mentioned" it was a good time to get deals on a new mower. He never talked to us again." -
FireandIceT·
Written Agreements
"When my dad was in nursing school, he had a big group over for a finals studying session and one of his classmates couldn't get a sitter. Well, at the time he had four kids and I was 14 and he asked if I could wrangle her kid and my siblings to keep them out of the way of everyone studying. The plan for the siblings was cartoon movies, some popcorn, dinner later. The plans for my father's classmate's kids was... I can watch them for free, no problem."
"She showed up with FIVE kids. I now had eight under eight year olds to wrangle and I got yelled at every time one of her kids got near the study group. They were screaming, yelling, messy, hitting each other, biting my siblings demons. After four hours, I was sick of it, the kids were hungry and the adults asked ME what was for dinner."
"After a while, it became obvious that dad and company weren't studying- they were talking, laughing, and I could hear them making fun of me. So I gathered up the classmate's kids, walked them over to the group, and said "well, since you're done, I'm done watching your kids" and just went into my room and shut the door."
"As the oldest kid, I was ALWAYS volunteered by my parents to babysit kids I didn't even know the names of. It got old REAL fast."
"Now if someone asks me to babysit because they heard that I have 18 brothers and sisters, I demand $50 up front and a written agreement that I get an extra $10 for every hour +$10 per kid. I haven't babysat in ages."
heyomeatballs
Put Foot Down
"We have helped out my sister n law a few times with money/bills. Never a lot, $50 here, $100 there. Usually for some bill to avoid services being cut off. I’m usually the more heartfelt one in my marriage, but I ended up being the one to put my foot down."
"Went over to her apartment once. She had two big flat screen TVs, new couch, new fridge, kids on PlayStation or whatever console she got them. It was all Rent-a-Center stuff, but that was the end for me."
"I didn’t have any of those things myself, not to mention the incredibly bad financial decision those things were with the high interest rate. Part of me felt like I was taking food out of her kids mouths, but realized that no, her poor decisions were doing that."
"The situation, on both sides, is way more complicated than I can put into just a couple of paragraphs as you can imagine. I want to help others and still do, but it is hard to keep supporting those that refuse to make any attempts to help themselves. I mentioned below she has started to do things differently. We’ve since lent her money again and she has always paid us back when she said she would. She still has a long way to go and a lot of challenges ahead of her, but we love her and will support her efforts as best we can."
red_eye_rob
Generosity can't be forced.
An act of generosity is meaningless if someone is trying to get something out of it.
At the same time, no one should expect generosity, but instead be appreciative and grateful when it's given.
One can only hope that the people in these stories who took advantage of the generosity of others might stop and contemplate how their selfishness might have negatively affected those who genuinely need the help.