[ SECRET POST #2695 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2695 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 035 secrets from Secret Submission Post #385.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
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Comments

What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm curious. I heard that people in the Midwest take off shoes when entering houses, but people from the South don't. And Southern people tend to be more friendly and warm in terms of personal space and pet names, but are also more formal.

If you are from the US, what are you aware of that is different? Please tell us your region. :)

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Can confirm Midwest people usually take off their shoes. Depends on the household, though.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Climate plays a big part in this. Leaving your shoes on means tracking mud during the spring, gravel during the summer, leaves during the fall, and snow during the winter, in to your friends' houses. Good way to wear out one's welcome!

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Pet names (sugar, sweetie, omg HON) were huge in the part of the South I lived (Carolinas), but I can't speak to elsewhere. Also far more likely to see people walking around w/o shoes.

I live in a conservative region atm, and around a bunch of the...stricter? sects of Christianity (Mennonites, German Baptists, etc) and so you see a lot of women in skirts and with the head coverings here, men with long beards, everyone super polite 90% of the time, unless you do something religiously untoward.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Just a well-meaning FYI, Mennonites are a large, large group, and a great many are not the bonnet-wearing, strictly traditional sort.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[intrigueing]

I'm from New England. No one takes off their shoes. Ever. If you asked someone to take off their shoes, you'd get a "lolwut"? I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because we spend seven months a year wearing heavy-duty winter boots that are just too much of a hassle to take off.

However, I have family that lives in Canada, and EVERYONE in Canada takes off their shoes when entering houses. So I don't know.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm in Minnesota, where it's snowy three quarters of the year. And I think we always take off our shoes because of that. No one wants to track in snow and dirt, so you naturally take 'em off by the door. And the habit stays in the summer, too. it just seems natural to take them off to keep the floors clean.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[teaphile]

Possibly because we spend seven months a year taking off boots when we enter a house, it's become habit.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[comma_chameleon]

I can't imagine never taking your shoes off inside. How often do you have to clean your floors? Do you have carpeting?

(Canadian here, by the way. And yeah we always take our shoes off. XD)

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[fingalsanteater]

I'm from Texas. I take off my shoes when I enter my house or the houses of people I know well. I ask if it's okay when I go to someone's house who I don't know well. I don't really know about people from the south being friendlier. I talk to people from all over the US for work and I don't really notice a difference in that regard. People from Hawaii seem to be super chill, though.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Also from Texas and...erm...I've never met someone who takes their shoes off here unless they're planning to stay overnight. So it could be a thing of "Depends on who you know" here.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

As a general rule, people on the East Coast tend to be more concerned with rules, roles, and how things are "supposed" to be. Sometimes they'll deliberately act against their defined social role, but the existence of the role, and the rules and expectations that go with it, is still the important part.

West Coast tends to be a little more freeform, for better and worse.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[kaijinscendre]

I am from South Carolina (now live in Oklahoma and most of my relatives live up north). Generally people in the south are more polite and friendly. We say 'ma'am' and 'sir' all the time.

Also, I always hear people talk about how racist the South is, but from my experience Northerners are quite a bit more racist.

Tea is a big one. In the South we drink sweet tea, but those Northern heathens drink unsweetened terribleness. And more fried food in the South because we love fried food.

Uh...I can't think of anything else specific (I don't work well with broad questions D:).

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[dancing_clown]

I take my shoes off when I enter my own house, but I also take my bra off when I enter my own house. It's a comfort thing more than a cultural thing. As for other people's houses, I leave my shoes on unless asked to take them off, or if it's close family/friends who are already running around in socks or barefoot for comfort.

I guess I never thought of it as a regional cultural thing, just a personal preference (usually clean floor/carpet related).

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm from the Midwest and besides being flyover country we're also thought of being hicks and farmers. Varies of course, but is kinda true.

There's also a lot of racial divide still, but I don't know how that compares to the rest of the country.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[cbrachyrhynchos]

When people from the Midwest say, "bless you" they most likely mean it. Here in the South, it's code for, "you're a pitiful excuse for a human being, so you need all the help you can get."

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[ghostofcairo]

I'm from the south and the shoe thing is basically true in my experience. I take off my shoes as soon as I get home from somewhere, and when I go over to my parents' house (and I used to in my grandparents' house when they were alive), but that's because I just like being barefoot. No one else I know takes their shoes off when entering houses though, and I don't take my shoes off at anyone else's house outside of my parents'.

People are also really friendly, but more formal too. Everything is 'sir' and 'ma'am' but you'll also get 'honey' and 'sweetheart' and variations of those.

And when you go on vacation and order tea at a restaurant and specify 'unsweet' people will look at you weird. :P

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[forgottenjester]

I've had a lot of people (Not from CA) tell me that Californian's are super polite and nice (Like thanking your bus driver, etc.) but curse a lot.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[augustbird]

i found that there was a much larger difference jumping between rural, suburb, and city than there was between specific regions.

i love boston but i find it to be a little...stilted?--at times. like it's very reserved in comparison to where i lived before and i feel like a lot of things are still steeped in tradition. sometimes i feel like people are posturing and making small talk more than they're genuine but that might just be me.
colorado is very very chill and interactions with strangers is a lot freer and nicer than most of the other places i've been--though my brief stop in tennessee was probably the nicest customer service i've ever encountered. small mountain town conflicts can get downright nasty though--but i'm sure that this is the case for any tiny towns in other regions across the world.
i'm nostalgic as hell for philly sometimes but it's definitely...grittier. a lot of racial tension going on there, esp in regards to gentrification. it's a very accessible city though, in ways that nyc & boston aren't.

looking forward to moving to a new region though--crossing my fingers for the west coast or south. :)))

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Southerner, specifically Texan, here and well. Yeah, southerners tend to be warm/friendly, but we do also tend to have a little more...idk if formality is the right word [actually, I'm not sure what word would fit], but we tend to be more social with strangers in general. Like, to the point I've heard us called "Too social" by several people from other parts of the country.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[diet_poison]

tbqh this varies more from household to household than anything, in my experience.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

Coming from the west I found people in the south horrifically rude at first. Southerners use ma'am/sir and endearments a lot, and it's standard form down here to ask people how they are, where they're from, etc. even if you've never met before, and to make small-talk with waiters/cashiers/random people. For me this came off as really fake and Stepford-y. It was difficult for me to warm up to people for a few months because I couldn't tell the difference between genuine interest and exaggerated Southern politeness.

One of my friends from the Midwest recently spent a while in California and complained about how rude everyone was, and I suspect they were running into the reverse of what I experienced.

Hamburger toppings in the south are weird. Down here it's mustard OR mayo, never both, ketchup isn't even included much of the time. In Nevada it's mayo+ketchup+mustard.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

My experiences as a small town Minnesotan:

People have larger "personal bubbles" than down South, and we don't do a lot of touching, except of good friends. But I also think people tend to be very friendly here. It's normal to strike a conversation with a stranger if you are nearby. If you see someone walking down the street your way, you definitely make eye contact and smile, if not say hi. (when I visited other places in the US, I didn't find this to be the case but to be fair, I visited other big cities. It might be a small town vs big city difference more than regional)

I have very, very rarely been called a pet name here. At least not by a stranger, though a good female friend might call me "babe" - but even that feels a little unnatural. Nicknames are one thing. Once in a blue moon a waitress or someone in a similar position might call me "dear". But no pet names, generally speaking.

Definitely take off shoes inside, unless that person's house is a pit (in which case, they might freely insist you leave your shoes on).

We take really long good-byes. I don't know why, but we can't seem to just say bye and go. We stand around awkwardly at the door for awhile, making last minute conversation, before the guest finally insists they really have got to go.

We are VERY casual in addressing others. I have never said "sir" or "ma'am" in my life, except for my very short time as a waitress, and only then, when you're trying to get someone's attention. Like, "excuse me, sir?" if someone is walking away and forgot their coat, but not, "what can I get for you, sir?" We also always go by first names, whether it is for work or not. I only used surnames in school settings, and even by college, that became a bit awkward.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[(Anonymous)]

In and around Washington DC and going as far as some nearby places in suburban Maryland and Virginia, as far as I know the only time you're expected to address anyone as "Mr/Ms/Mrs" anymore is if you're a student addressing a teacher or principal, or a reporter giving an interview. It's assumed that everyone prefers to use their first name. More conservative families might have their friends' kids (or kids' friends) call them Mr. or Miss plus their first name, but that's not as common as just the plain first name.

Once, though, I did get yelled at big time by a new friend's mom because I didn't add "Miss," and that was when I learned it was ever an issue at all.

Re: What are regional cultural differences in the USA?

[lunabee34]

I think it just depends re: shoes in the South. Most people I know take shoes off when going into their own home or to their friends' houses. Exceptions would be parties or dinners (although I'm barefoot if it's at my house LOL).