An unexpected welcome can change how a whole place is remembered.

Memory of a place attaches to people far more readily than to buildings. One person who was kind at the right moment, a shopkeeper who took an interest, someone who gave directions and then walked you there, and a whole city gets filed as friendly. That is not fair as a judgment, and it is entirely how it works. Nobody remembers a town, they remember an encounter and generalise from it.

Since you are somebody’s encounter, treat the visitor in front of you as the person who will describe this place later. And when you travel, notice that your verdict is being formed by two or three people.