One of my MC's knows a lot about different countries and has visited a lot of unique ones. I would like to know more about some of them, so if you live in one of the countries that I list or have visited there, please comment some details about the environment, people, culture, & just life in general there. Countries: Australia, Belieze, Germany, Greece, Italy, & Fiji. If you have any suggestions of interesting countries that you have visited, feel free to let me know. Thank you so much!
If you really want to get some good research info on those different countries, your best bet would be to become a member of expat forums for those different countries.
One thing you need to consider is that someone who's lived in one of those countries for their entire life is likely to have little to compare it to and will have a different opinion to someone who lived there for a few years a or went on a holiday. Another point is do you mean that the character has seen every single part of all of those countries or just visited the stereotypical tourist destinations? For example someone who went to Australia could have gone to the great barrier reef in which case they would probably stay in a touristy hotel and spend a lot of time on the beach and at theme parks or if they went to the eastern states (New South Wales, ACT, Victoria) they'd have a very different experience (could go skiing in winter, different scenery, visit the cities etc) and that's excluding going to the outback and seeing what you probably envisioned when you said Australia. If a character lived there for a year or so they'd probably live in the suburbs or city and see less of the touristy stuff. If a character knows a lot about different countries I'd like to think they know more about those countries than the stereotypes. I live in Australia but you'd need to work out which parts of Australia you want your character to be familiar with before I'm able to help you.
Like @EllBeEss said, you need to know what your character has done there. Holiday? Work? Studies? I've been to Greece 3 times but only on a holiday, so I know touristy stuff about the islands I've visited. A person who's studied or worked there would have different things to say. If you talk to a native, they can only give you the native's perspective. It's useful, but if you can talk to people who've visited the country on similar business (or pleasure) as your character, you'd get the outsider's pov as well.
I have lived in Italy and traveled to many parts of the country... have been to Athens quite a few times, visited many parts of Greece, spent weeks at a time on Mykonos and Crete, stopped on a number of other islands... feel free to email me with questions... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
LBS, I had to laugh when I read this. I have lived in a lot of different places and I have so often heard people saying things like, "Oh! It's so expensive. It's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there!" At first surprised by such comments I would tell them, 'No. You just shop in expensive places.' Then, after hearing that over and over again, I finally started telling them. NO! It's a great place to live. Just expensive to visit there! (Some people couldn't even figure that out. I gave up!
The library and the internet are your friends. Check out websites, newspapers in that country, tourist guides, such as Insight guides and others -- a lot of them have some pretty good tidbits of info. Find books about the history and culture of those countries. Also, it's Belize.
I live and work In Heraklion in Crete been here 7 years. But like others have said I would have to know more about what you really need to know about the place. I also lived in Poland both north and south and Prague if anyone needs to know more about them. Yes traveling is always more expensive as you usually eat out, if you shop in a supermarket and cook most of your meals it is much cheaper.
You can choose: AUSTRILIA definately! It'll be the best place to travel, because it has it's own beauty, climate, nature, & the citizens & culture! I've travelled there thrice. You can try it!
Echoing the comments above. A lot depends on the type of person your MC is. Start with where he prefers to stay. Does he lean towards chain hotels and their convenience? Exclusive boutique hostelries only the locals know about usually? Or is he (she?) more of an off-the-beaten track kind of guy, staying in tiny inns and bed and breakfasts, or is he even the sort who has connections who can get him lodging in local people's homes? I take it this is an ordinary novel and not a fictionalized travel journal. You can narrow down your question by considering what it is you need this character to learn or discover on his travels in order to forward the plot. After that, decide where in a particular country he's likely to discover it. I don't mean specific real places, I mean in a big city, a suburb, in some backwater town; you get me. So now he's back home talking to another MC about some subject and he says, "You know, that reminds me of something weird. When I was in Lower Slobbovia last time I was staying at the Hairy Arms in Unterkleinscheissburg and I happened to look down the disused well in the inn's back garden and . . . " And the other MC is struck by the tale for reasons of his own and off things go.
