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Comment by nanijoe | Hacker News Reader

There are good Kenyans and Bad Kenyans, Upbeat Kenyans and downcast Kenyans, English speaking Kenyans and non-English speaking Kenyans...I could go on , but I think you get my point. You simply can't fit an entire nation into one box, no matter if its positive or negative.

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It's a slippery slope to generalize and I acknowledge that but, nonetheless, there are characteristics that are based around demographic similarities. As an Englishman I know that, in the main, there are certain English characteristics that stand out in comparison to other national groups, if only thanks to consuming a lot of the same media and dealing with the same types of bureaucracy and institutions.

Nonetheless, no-one ever agrees on this topic, so my best defence is that I was clearly making an observation of the Kenyans I have met. Naturally, that doesn't mean every Kenyan is the same.

Sure you can.

Americans are usually more ambitious than Italians.

Kenyans are usually more upbeat than Bolivians.

Spaniards usually spend more time with family than Brits.

Of course, but I think the averages of these are germane to this discussion e.g. I don't think Russia is the next outsourcing hub, but there are undoubtedly nice Russians and English speaking Russians who can't fit with other Russians in one box.

The main reason Russia is not the next outsourcing hub is because it's too expensive country already.

And you still think there is one box you can fit most Russians ("other Russians") into.

Is it not a major outsourcing hub already? There are hundreds (well, I might be overestimating it a bit) of companies there. 2 out of 5 top Google search results for "software outsourcing" are Russian companies.

I think the term "offshore development" is more appropriate. "Outsourcing" is too well tied to "cutting costs".

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