Scandinavia and the World
Scandinavia and the World
Shoes on shoes off satwcomic.com

Shoes on shoes off


We don't usually think of Scandinavia as "shoes off" countries, but then I talked to some Americans who couldn't understand why their Scandinavian friends were always hovering around in the entrance if they only visited to pick something up real quick. The mystery was solved when they explained that it's impolite to walk around people's houses with shoes on in Scandinavia. You either take them off or at least ask if you should. Even if the homeowner don't expect you to take your shoes off they might still get offended if you don't ask, so the rules are a bit more complicated than in Japan.

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25th January 2020
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5 years ago #9827495        
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A special rule for Americans that almost all Europeans agree on: leave your guns at home!


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5 years ago #9827453        
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The main reason I wear shoes inside is for their +5 Defense vs Lego.

ryttyr

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5 years ago #9827483        
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Wait. Who wears shoes indoors at all? How are you supposed to keep your house clean if people just walk right in with their shoes on? Seriously?


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BGMan

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5 years ago #9827503        
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It's safe guess that American homes that have nice floors and carpets will be shoes-off, whereas those with more basic linoleum or something else that's easy to clean, concrete/stone, older wood, etc., will be shoes-on.

But generally speaking, Americans will tell you if their home is shoes-off.

Tarmaque

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5 years ago #9827492        
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I think it's regional and cultural in the United States. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, spending much of my time in my Grandmother's house. People came and went in her house constantly, and in general nobody took off their shoes to come inside. That said, my Grandfather who owned a garage and service station, and later worked in heavy equipment parts, always took off his work boots as soon as he came in the house. Everybody, including my Grandfather, came in through the kitchen door. Not the front door. So he'd come in, take off his dirty work boots, and set them by the heat vent.

That said, my Grandmother and all the neighbors who worked in the garden would have "garden shoes" that were never worn indoors. They stayed in the garage with the garden tools.

On almost any given Sunday afternoon my Grandmother's house would fill up with family. Often between 12 and 20 people. Nobody took off their shoes, and if they all did it would probably fill up the whole of the kitchen. (I had a large extended family.) Christmas or Thanksgiving was worse, with even more people.

In other parts of the country it's common for kids to run around outside in the summer barefoot. Coming inside with bare feet that have been running around in the dirt seems to me to be worse than coming in wearing shoes. That said, where I lived there wasn't a lot of dirt to be running around in, and we didn't generally run around barefoot anyway. There was clover everywhere which attracted a lot of honeybees. If you ran around outside in the grass/clover barefoot you'd get stung a lot.


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5 years ago #9827429        
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I always remove my shoes when I come inside.

Then again, I'm way off in Massachussetts and I don't have to deal with any poisonous insects hanging out inside my house.

5 years ago #9827512        
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John McClane took off his shoes, and look what happened to his feet.

5 years ago #9827470        
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As an American, I don’t understand why you would want to wear shoes indoors anyway. I mean, leaving aside the cleanliness issue, it’s just not as comfortable as being barefoot (or just in socks).


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5 years ago #9827431        
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Honestly here in Canada we take our shoes off. I always thought it was so weird to see TV shows where every one just walks about in thier shoes after coming inside. I was like they must have to sweep and mop thier floors every single day and the laundry must be insane because they would sit with thier feet on thier furniture and muddy shoes. It was a bit insane to me. Not sure if all of Canada does this but here on the east coast especially in Winter and Spring...take off your shoes.


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2 years ago #9874665        
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Here's a pro tip: no matter where you are in the world, when you walk in the door, just ask. It's generally polite to do so wherever you go.

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