And I agree with you. I think, for a lot of these guys, if you literally never ever get a good chance, then of course that you go into "monk mode". I only fell in love the first time at 22, because I met a girl who I found amazing. The second time at 28, again because I very randomly met a girl who was amazing.
This is a classic, I've heard people say stuff like this in basically every country that I visited. I don't think it is something that can be measured, it's just something super subjective and a bit of a stereotype.
From my experience, I've noticed that typically individuals will say this of people with their same nationality (or from their own country in general). The same individuals will then argue that "Oh, I've been in country X and girls/boys are way easier to date" but I don't think that is related to the country itself.
I am Portuguese - Brazilian. The gap between meeting and making new friends is gargantuan between the two countries. You can meet Brazilians for an hour or two and they’ll invite you to some gathering at their home. Portuguese people will do this less. And I’ve lived in England where this is even harder to make friends. London is the loneliest city in Europe and where people have the lowest average number of friendships.
It’s not just a stereotype. There are HUGE cultural differences.
BUT there always exceptions (a lot of exceptions actually), and you shouldn't change your country based only on that. It is easy to find exceptions, shy people on Brazil, extroverts on Portugal, people who want something serious, or just date you a few times. The world is very diverse and there is a LOT of people that you can talk too. I can't say that these cultural differences make that big of a difference to be honest
Are you sure? Living in the nordic countries, I find it difficult to believe it... Swedes make Britons look extremeley outgoing and open.
People are nice enough, just not "friendly"
"We all tend to mistake the limits of our experience for the limits of the world"
What I'm saying is that the vast majority of people think that place is where they live.