There's a proverb I remember only vaguely that goes something like:
There was a man who lived by himself in a small hut by the side of the road. One day, as he was working in his fields a young man stopped on his way down the path and said "The people in the last village were untrustworthy and selfish, what are the people in the next village like?"
The man replied "You will find them much the same." and the youth passed on down the road.
A few days later another youth passed on down the road and, pausing on his way to seek his fortune, said "The people in the last village were generous and fair, what of the people in the next village?"
The man replied "You will find them much the same." and the youth passed on down the road.