Different parts of the world are characterized by diversity and culture.
It's what makes us all unique.
But sometimes, it's those differences that can seem perplexing to those who don't have an open mind.
And instead of trying to be enlightened by foreign customs that are "normal", they can be perceived as "strange" or "weird" by outsiders.
Redditor ojlol2 sought to spark a conversation on the concept of what is normal by asking:
"What is normal in your country but seems weird to the rest of the world?"
The following descriptions are of how people roll in their respective regions.
It Tells Us When To Go
"Calling a Traffic Light a Robot."
– itryandgiveadvice
Bromantic
"Men holding hands in public as a display of friendship is normal in Afghanistan but super weird in the west."
– MichianaMan
Encouraging Destruction
"Whole restaurants cheering when a plate or glass is smashed (UK). Once was in a Canadian bar/restaurant on holiday and a waiter dropped a tray of glasses, the local looked horrified when I was out of my seat screaming 'wheyyyyyy.'”
– owen-sksk
You-Tensil
"Eating with our hands."
"In 1969 (the same year the man landed on the moon), Miss Gloria Diaz coveted the Philippines' first Miss Universe Crown. During the preliminary Q&A, she was asked 'Is it true that you Filipinos use your hand when you eat?' To which she replied 'Why? Do you use your feet?' and went her way to winning the crown."
– NorqMarash
Welcome Harassment
"In my friend's country, Easter is when gangs of boys roam the countryside, pouring water over girls and beating them (gently) with sticks. The girls then have to thank them for it."
"I thought that was pretty weird."
– himit
Respect The Slumber
"Leaving your baby alone outside for their nap, even if it rains or snows."
– e_ph
They're forms of protection.
Glass Moat
"Putting broken glass bottles on the walls around your house so burglars cant jump it and rob you. I moved to Canada and they don't even have walls around the houses!"
– anon
Winged Beasts
"Putting cable ties, branches, fake eyes etc on helmets, buckets and hats in spring time to scare away the birds. Magpies are vicious."
– LostBetweenthePages
These are so yum.
Now, Stomach This
"Blood pudding and fermented fish."
– Skeightrgurl
Would You Be "Loving' It?"
"Having Spaghetti in Mcdonalds."
– fyi360
How Sweet & Savory
"Eating biscuits and gravy. I traveled to the UK and told them that biscuits and gravy is a very common breakfast food and as you would expect they were highly confused (biscuit=cookie across the pond) why we would take something sweet and cover it in gravy. And also was confused that the gravy we use has sausage in it and is white."
– KorRay
Some people not from Japan think it's "weird" how commuters on the subways of Tokyo are all deathly silent.
There are signs discouraging normal level conversations. Phone calls are restricted.
As a visitor, I actually appreciated the peace and quiet. It's the only place of zen until riders step out into the chaotic flow of their day-to-day living.
If serenity is not for you, then using New York's MTA system must be pure bliss.
But, to each their own.
Traveling beyond our border countries is a great way to experience different cultures.
While there are many things we have in common with people from around the world, there are as equally–if not more–customs and protocols that can be jarring.
Curious to hear from those who've seen how those in other parts of the world live, Redditor ElizaPaukova asked:
"Which is normal in your country, but strange in another?"Want to "know" more?
People's interactions with animals depend on where they live.
What's Hopping?
"Getting your car smashed in by a kangaroo one day, then having your suspension wrecked by a wombat two weeks later."
– QuantumTopology
Foul Fellows
"Being terrified of common neighbourhood birds every spring."
– Pseudonymico
Arach-NO
"Spiders the size of softballs that live in your house and are good at getting rid of bugs."
– I_hate_people69
A Tame Transport
"Bagged milk and riding a moose to the store."
– kotaska-
These foreign concepts may take a while getting used to.
Unattended Little Ones
"leaving babies outside!"
"It is common to put babies to sleep in a stroller and leave them in the garden or balcony, even outside a café (if you can sit next to the door or windows, so you can see the stroller)."
– PossiblyTrustworthy
They Tell Us When To Go
"Calling traffic lights 'robots.'"
– Upset-Sea6029
What's In A Name
"We call randoms mate and our mates c*nts."
– Skydome12
Effective Meds
"Custom meds. I recently found out that in most countries, you can't just go into a pharmacy / drug store with a prescription and have the pharmacist prepare a set of pills / ointment / cream for you."
"I used to have severe dandruff problems, went into a pharmacy and asked for something. The pharmacist asked how severe / for how long / what kind of shampoo I have and how greasy my hair is and told me to come back two days later. She handed me a container with a cream-like substance in it which just had a handwritten label on with saying '[My name] - Dandruff Shampoo'. I paid the equivalent of $4 and was told to use it twice a week for no longer than a month."
"Never had any problems with dandruff since. I made a post about it in r/tifu about how I'd been neglecting my dandruff problems for years while it had such an easy fix and people kept PMing me about the brand of the drug. Everyone was incredulous that the pharmacist made the shampoo for me, and I found out that this isn't the norm in a lot of countries."
– Corvus_Manufaktura
Bottoms Up
"Bringing the leftover alcohol you brought to a party home. I live in Norway and a beer is anywhere from £3 to £5. Hard liquor is atleast £40 per litre, but for something that doesn't taste like hand sanitizer it's around £50-60."
– jespersolost
Birthday Ritual
"Celebrating birthdays while sitting in a big circle in the living room, eating small blocks of cheese, little sausages and pickles, then going home on your bicycle."
– Vonne_F
Varying states of undress do not phase certain people in other countries.
Barefootin'
"Doing P.E barefoot, I'm from South Africa and moved to Scotland 3 years ago as I left the changing room they were like 'you forgot your shoes my guy' and I was like 'oh yeah, you guys wear shoes for p.e?' And the guy said 'Uhm of course' then I realised they were indoors majority of the time which was f'king bonkers to me because p.e in South Africa is done on the grass, outside and stuff and shoes were optional unless you were doing a sport or something."
"I mean even during sports events some people do that sh*t barefoot like long jump or high jump or even running and I feel like I run faster barefoot than with shoes so if I did a race I would always go 'alright well I'm up time to get my shoes off.'"
–jaknuggetf'k
Comfy In The Buff
"Nudity among strangers."
"I'm Finnish."
"#sauna"
– LupusCutis
Shoe-Free Zone
"Walking around bare foot, or in your pyjamas."
– Genderless_mystery
Not tipping will still be very confusing to me when traveling abroad.
I caught myself leaving a tip for the excellent service at a restaurant in Japan, and remembering the country–and most other parts of the world–do not accept tips.
Yet, their service was exceptional compared to that of the servers at some establishments in the US–where service is incentivized with the promise of a tip. Go figure.
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People Around The World Confess Which Historical Events Their Country Won't Speak About
Just because people are patriotic, it doesn't mean they are embarrassed or ashamed about a specific historic event in their country.
They will just feign ignorance or pretend certain events never happened.
But here on Reddit, where participants are under the veil of anonymity, strangers spoke freely about the things in their country's history that left them feeling a deep lack of pride.
Redditor CloudsExpert asked:
"What are the 'we don't talk about these things' history of your country?"
European countries are rich in history–but not everyone recognizes these regretful events.
Romanian Peasant Uprisings
"In Romania we don't talk about the pre WW1 and interwar peasant uprisings that have been violently put down. Everybody gives the image of a perfect Romanian state and society in this time, but many forget that in our Independence War we had more frontline deaths from diseases that should've been relatively easy for us to treat at that time than from enemy gunfire. Not the mention the 1907 peasant uprisings."
"Also the Second World War and the politics in our country at the time."
– El_scauno
Romanian Holocaust.
"Romanian people deny that we had mass murders during WW2, that Jewish and Gipsy were killed and that we sent lot of them in concentration camps, like Auschwitz."
– Wooden-King-7949
A "Neutral" Country's Child Slavery History
"Switzerland: We don't talk about 'Verdingkinder!' it's basically child slavery as recently as 1960! You cant imagine the horror of poor people's children being sold to farmers for fieldwork, getting abused in the richest country in the world! Yeah, we don't talk about that!"
– Fripser ·
Sweden And Eugenics
"People in Sweden get really uncomfortable when you point out that we, as a country, were really into eugenics. The Race Biological Institution was founded in 1922, supported by every political party and the king at the time. It existed until 1958 and, as you might expect, did some really f**ked up things."
– PanickingTastefully
The South American war–also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, which lasted from 1864 to 1870–is not a topic that is frequently brought up by Brazilians.
So Much Bloodshed
"Brazil DESTROYED Paraguay, killing almost every man and a lot of its women and children. It was a proper massacre."
– heitorrsa
Another Member Of The Alliance
"Argentina was involved, too. Paraguay ended up with a 7:1 women-to-men ratio. But it's taught openly in Argentina, as far as I can tell."
– Tinchotesk
An American's Perspective
"American who lived in Paraguay for a couple months here! The truly, truly disturbing thing is that many Paraguayans don't really know this either..."
"I had read up about the Triple Alliance War (la guerra de la triple alliance) before I went to Paraguay for the summer, and knew historians considered it a bloodbath, mostly caused by (f'k him) Francisco Solano Lopez, dictator of Paraguay. He did in fact order that they start sending male children into battle near the end when they were losing. He was a f'king idiot. F'k that guy."
"So imagine my surprise when I got to Paraguay and TONS of stuff was named after him. I asked my host dad about it and he said it was because he 'won Paraguay the war'. He called him a hero. I was pretty horrified."
"Fwiw, I checked with the local high school principal to see how far this miseducation rose and he said Paraguay was 'annihilated' in that war, so at least the true history isn't completely buried. Fascinating, terrible war."
– toast_is_ghost
Are these topics relating to the following Commonwealth Nations taught in their classrooms?
South African Natives
"Here in South Africa the true native people, the Khoikhoi, are the most politically and economically disadvantaged people and NO ONE gives a sh*t. Not locally, not internationally."
"When the remains of Saartjie Baartman, a Khoikhoi woman (read her story, it's pretty awful), were returned to South Africa not only were Khoikhoi people not invited to her burial, they were actively kept out."
– Wahooney
A Shameful Legislation
"New Zealand very nearly had legal eugenics. In 1928 a bill nearly passed parliament that forced sterilisation for 'the mentally defective' and the Ministry of Education was required by law to give names of 'defective' children to the Ministry of Health. A separate part of the law said that such people weren't allowed to get married."
"The Opposition lobbied for these sections to be cut out, not because Eugenics was immoral and insane, but because there was no evidence that it changed the gene pool in any way."
– LampWickGirl
Other shameful historic events were mentioned.
Croatia And Nazism
"In Croatia people don't like to talk too much about Croatia's involvement with Nazism because it was too recent, and because the Croatian nazis were never the majority of Croats but the few that there were, were given power by Hitler. Yet people still to this day go around saying Croatian nazi salutes and using Croatian nazi flags (the Croatian flag is a red and white checkered crest, the flag the nazis used started with a white checker instead of a red checker) and because of the recent Croatian war of independence - Croatian patriotism during the war somehow got mixed up with outdated Croatian nazism and now it's this weird thing nobody really wants to talk about and you got kids as young as 15 saying sh*t like 'Za dom spremni!' which is an old nazi salute."
– gabrielcro23699
Ignored Mexican Past
"we dont talk about la guerra cristera in mexico they dont teach it on school or talk about it on tv and media."
– supernword69
The Cristero
"The Cristero wars, the indigenous people who got sold as slaves during The Porfiriato, the attempt to invade Cuba by Santa Anna and mabye even the Massacre of the londiga de Guanajuato."
"Edit: I deleted a part where I said there was a law that allowed to deport anyone that didn't 'look Mexican', I was told about this a long time ago by a teacher I constantly trust but upon further research I couldn't find any information about the matter."
"I shall now apologize for this."
– MbMgOn
The White Terror
"The martial rule KMT placed on Taiwan when the escaped from China. This led to a period called 'White Terror', where hundreds of innocent people and bright college students were killed for not joining the party, including some who many thought could go on to win Nobel Prizes and do groundbreaking research."
– Numerous_Tune_1461
The Japanese In WWII
"I live in Japan for 3 years and have some Japanese friends. Everytime I asked them about WW2, they mostly did not know the atrocities that Japan did in WW2. They knew Japan was in the wrong side, but it seems the details were lost. It seems like there is a national effort to forget this history because it was 'shameful.'"
"Edit 1: A lot of you mentioned about the unit 731. I read it and it was awful beyond any reasonable standard human being. All of those horrible things happened to the civilians and pows were unfortunate and I couldn't imagine how bad their sufferings before dying."
"I was pretty much disgusted knowing that the inner circles of the unit 731 got pardoned by the US and lived their lifes until old-age for giving the US the result of their horrible experimentations. This thing should not have happened. Those people in charge must got the justice that they deserved for allowing and facilitating those kinds of horrible experimentations to other human being."
– laluzam
When I was a kid, I learned about the Japanese concentration camps from my great uncle.
I thought his story about him and his wife relocating to live in barracks located in Heart Mountain in Wyoming during World War II wasn't real.
Here's why. As a California student, I was never taught in my school district about President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066–which was drafted out of fear of espionage on American shores following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
This led to the cruel eviction of 120,000 innocent Americans of Japanese ancestry–including my great aunt and uncle– from their homes.
Countries have their shameful secrets. But until they can recognize and own mistakes from the past and make reparations, we are doomed to living in a perpetual cycle of fear and uncertainty.
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We take a lot of things for granted in our lives. Look at where many of our readers live, after all. America is the land of freedom, comfort, and all services provided to us by the click of a smartphone possibly all of us are using to read this.
However, when you look at the state of certain countries, even those considered to live in "poverty" stateside have it much better than some in third-world countries. It's all a matter of perspective, and sometimes a luxury in one country can be considered uninspiring in another.
Reddit user, HanzeeeeDent, wanted to know how our countries differ when they asked:
"What is a luxury in one country, but a common item in another?"
Food is the easiest way to notice the discrepancies between the nations. What might be a dish of high-class value in one country can be seen as street food in another.
The Right Kind Of Fruit
"Japanese seem to be amazed at how abundant melons are outside if japan. It’s like they’re a luxury over there"
KentuckyFriedEel
"They have auctions where they'll pay thousands of dollars for the most perfect looking melons over there. They give them as gifts and display the melon for people to look at"
Monicabrewinskie
"I live in a city where Japanese executives and their families come to live for a year or so as part of their corporate culture. It is funny AS HELL to see them the first time in the grocery store. Whole cart full of melons. Hilarious."
The_Patriot
Quick! Hurry, Millennials!
"Avocados. I went to Belize and they grow naturally and just saw a pile of like 50 avocados just rotting on the ground because there was just way more than anyone’s ever going to eat. It was crazy."
Old-Research3367
"When I was living in Peru it was basically all fruit in this manner… mangos, pomegranate, passion fruit, citrus, you name it, thered be an old lady on a street corner with a pile of them hocking them for basically nothing."
"I live in LA now and what’s blown my mind is the amount of fruit trees used as decorative landscaping that just let them drop and toss them while the same stuff sells for $ at the store… passionfruit is something like $10 per lb. Meanwhile my neighbors have the vines as decoration on their side wall and just let them roll into the street"
JoefromOhio
Bag It Up!
"Soda cans. Here in the US are cheap af, but in my country they are a luxury. We buy usually a 2 liter bottles and we have to make it last."
Mariuxpunk007
"I lived in northwest Africa for a time, as well as Thailand. If you wanted a soda, you got a bag with a straw. Cans or small bottles were almost non-existent."
Shroom4Yoshi
"Philippines too. But only in very small stores. Reason is that they do not want to give away the bottle. For example, if you buy beer in a small store, you pay a small deposit. Then when you return the bottle, they give you the money back. For recycling."
sinus
Sounds Like A Good Time
"poppy seeds, pork, and alcohol"
"come to Slovakia, it is all legal, cheap and everywhere here"
"we also have legal foraging in any forrest that has no fence and is not part of national park....so year round practically free mushrooms, bear garlic, various berries, rosehip, herbs and tree fruit (for free fruit trees location there is an app)"
"leather products are not that expensive,too....actually, eating lamb is a luxury, owning sheepskin rug is quite common"
applesandoranges990
Societies are built on what we expect from one another, along with the expectations we carry for the people around us. When those assumptions are shifted, that's when you see the real differences in our home countries.
Call The Butler To Help The Maid
"Domestic helps."
Lonlolsm99
"What is domestic helps?"
Zenty3
"In many countries normal people have drivers, maids and other people working for their families. It isn’t a sign of wealth. It is more of a sign of people working for next to nothing."
NoChatting2day
Get Them Good Learnin'!
"Foreign Language classes before high school"
KhajitCaravan
"It is for a lot of people. Countries like France and Japan have their kids speaking at least 2 languages by the time they get to high-school. In America, most of us don't get exposed to a foreign language until high-school and that's why most people don't remember or even use their other language after graduating. It's taught to us at the worst time possible. My sister is the only person I've known [I went to three high-school so I've know a few people] who is "painfully fluent" In Spanish that she learned in high-school."
KhajitCaravan
We'll Never See Eye-to-Eye On Anything
"Let's just take the US and Russia for comparison, because it's most close to home for me."
"Ice making double-door fridges - pretty common in the US. Definitely a luxury in Russia."
"A second out-of-town property called a dacha. I have been told it's a luxury for Americans. In Russia, I would say, it's pretty normal to have a dacha - a summer home for vacation, out in the rural area. Maybe I'm wrong on this one."
"5G speed internet. Unlimited data. A luxury in Russia, pretty much the norm in the US today."
"Avocados. Canadian maple syrup. But that could be said for any imported foods. They are ridiculously expensive in the RF."
"Some construction equipment. I watch HGTV regularly and what they use could be considered a luxury in Russia, at least some of the equipment and materials. However a log cabin, I'd say, seems to me as more of a luxury in the US than Russia, because the most common type of construction in the US is the wood frame construction."
Not-a-Russian
When You Need To Smell Like A Star
"Deodorant. It’s an uncommon luxury in some East Asian countries where most people just don’t need it."
vivianmay02
And then there's these, pieces of life and society which show your rank, class, and social status without intending to the people of the world. You might think of them as commonplace, but to someone else they might be worth more than gold.
As Stated Before, Perspective Is Everything
"I remember when I was little McDonalds was quite a luxury for me. I was getting it 2-3 times a year and it was expensive for me and I guess for most common folks in my country. Not so much anymore, it have become something like the typical fast food. Times are changing. Wish you all good fellow Eastern Europeans."
YoghurtPower24
We Don't Even Think About It
"Air conditioning"
fattest_rattlesnake
"In the U.S. it's very common and we're always changing it. We go to Mexico and the whole house it hot af and everyone wants to stay in the one room that has AC."
V0rt3XBl4d3
"Hell, when I lived in East Asia, people would just hang at the local mall, because they had AC."
"In Vietnam, even one AC in a house was a serious status symbol. Which is awful, because it gets hot af during the hot season."
ACaffeinatedWandress
What We Need To Exist In This World Has Changed Drastically
"A bed."
"I’m from the Philippines and I’ve never had a bed. My family has slept on either a thin mattress on the floor or a “Banig” (a handwoven mat with no cushion so you might as well be sleeping on the floor) for most of my life and this is how it is for majority of the people in the country due to poverty"
"To the people asking why I can afford internet and a computer, but not a bed…"
"I don’t have a computer, I’m using an old secondhand phone and internet service can be around $20 while a bed is $100-$300, if you’re lucky (we don’t even have space for a bed, that’s why we use foldable mattresses and mats we can roll up). From what I’ve seen, $50 can get you just the frame or just the mattress."
"Internet is more of a necessity because 3 of us here are students and we have families abroad to stay in touch with. The money you can buy with a bed can cover all of our bills and get a few groceries. I can sleep on the floor if it meant having electricity, water, shelter, and food."
meispissed
It's All Relative
"cars. A new lowest spec Toyota corolla may cost upwards $100k in singapore. That’s equivalent to an approximate 1.5 years average income."
s1vaaeyy
"Bur you have some of the best public transit in the world. In the US that is a luxury. Density and walkability are also luxuries."
dharmabird67
Not A Drop To Drink
Water. Specifically, clean potable water.
In some countries people die for the want of water.
In my country we use clean water to flush away piss and sh-t. We leave the tap running while we brush our teeth.
Nuffsaid98
So, Where Do We...
"Indoor plumbing."
HolyMolyArtichoke
"It’s incredible something that’s existed hundreds of years is still so alien to some people."
HanzeeeeDent
Never take what you have for granted. Odds are, there's a multitude of people out in the world who think of what you have as a king's fortune.
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People Who Grew Up In The City Share Things Every Country Kid Should Know
As someone who was born in the hustle and bustle of Manhattan but moved to Florida where everything is slow and gator-ish, this Reddit thread struck a chord.
If you're not ready for it, the culture shock between city life and country life can come at you faster than an angry bull—or a cab driver trying to make the light.
Reddit user Mission_Ambitious asked:
"Redditors that grew up/live in the city, what’s something every country kid should know?"
So to prevent all you country folk from getting scammed, murdered, or experiencing the horrors of "the empty subway car"—here's a handy little list of things you should know if you're going to spend time in a big city.
Learn it. Love it. Live it.
DO NOT GO IN THE EMPTY CAR.
Look Like You Know
"If you look like you know where you're going, you're less likely to be bothered."
- rectoplasmus
"Also a lot less likely to be robbed. Walk with intent"
- cheeseburgerwaffles
"Best advice in here. I never smile or anything in public either."
"Look like you know where you’re going and look pissed off and won’t no one talk to you or give a second look. Wander around smiling and aimless you’ll be a target."
- koolaidistheshit
GiphyThe Liquor Scam
"Sidewalks are for walking. If you have to stop to check your phone to make sure you’re going the right way, step to the side."
"Also — if someone bumps into you with a bag full of liquor and drops it, it’s a scam. Keep walking — no matter what they say. The bottles are either empty or already broken."
"Dude bumps into you, drops the bag, makes a scene, and says you owe him money."
"It happened to me three times — twice with the same guy in the same week. Just kept walking every time. They’ll yell and scream but they’re not gonna run you down if there are people around."
"Plus, everyone else knows it’s the oldest scam out there."
- guiltyofnothing
GiphyEscalator Etiquette
"If you're taking the escalators, especially in or out of a train station, and plan on standing instead of walking, stand to the right."
"If you need to rush to your train, the left side of the escalators should be left clear for you to walk on."
- Court_Vision
"Also, for the love of God, when you get to the end of the escalator and need to figure out where to go GET THE F*CK OUT OF THE WAY!"
"People behind you are still moving via the mechanical stairs. They don't stop just cause you don't know which way to go."
"This goes for all people not just those from the country."
- pshwsh
"And for the love of all things, if you are standing on a narrow escalator and a train is coming, even if it is not YOUR train, start f*cking moving!"
"The number of times I've missed a train because some able-bodied idiots wanted to treat the escalator like a f*cking amusement park ride..."
- Ultraviolet_Spacecat
GiphyThe Empty Car
"If the subway train rolls up and has an empty car, DO NOT GET ON THAT SUBWAY CAR."
"It's not empty for maintenance reasons, I promise."
- decitertiember
"I lived in NYC and commuted on the subway for 3 years so should've known better when I visited and got on the emptiest car of a train of full cars."
"The second I got on I look right and see everyone huddled together, I look left and see a dude alone on the seats picking at his nasty ass feet. Then the smell hit me like a brick wall and the doors shut behind me."
"It was among the top 10 worst things I've ever smelled."
- cheeseburgerwaffles
"When covid struck and I was still working in a far uptown ICU in Manhattan - most of the subway cars were empty at 7am for the first time I'd ever seen. I quickly got used to boarding empty subway cars and paid it no attention, had more than enough on my mind already."
"Welp April 2020 I was reading a book minding my own business, but I had not looked around the car when I boarded the train. I got that weird 'someone is looking at me' feeling and decided to take a glance around."
"Quickly realized a naked man was blowing another naked man - both staring at me, smoking a pipe, but also not stopping the oral session."
"It was an express train too, so I got stuck in the same car for 10 minutes or so. Hopped out at the next stop and had a little laugh about it."
- caitypurry
GiphyHi!
"Don't start conversations with strangers, especially if they have headphones on. You don't need to say hi to people all the time."
- Revolutionary-Yak-47
"Saying 'Hello' to everyone you pass is a small town tradition that does not translate to city life. Stop it!"
- Chucks_u_Farley
"This is consistently the thing I hear from people from rural areas that was actual culture shock. In small towns you say hi to everyone you cross."
"Here, you try your best to look mean, don't talk to anyone, and for your own health, don't make eye-contact with crazies on the subway."
"Anyone I met from rural areas had already been in the city for a while so I never saw it first hand, but have heard stories of people trying to say hello to everyone and being completely overwhelmed by the number of people. Also being dejected because they were largely ignored."
- the_loneliest_noodle
"This. People in big cities value whatever time we have to ourselves. It's polite to mind your own business."
"That said, most people are happy to help if you genuinely need directions or something."
- Respect4All_512
GiphyManners Don't Matter
"Learn how to say 'f*ck off' in the most menacing voice you have, to anyone, without shame or fear. Even if 'be polite' was drilled into you from childhood."
"Trust me, this one skill can save a lot of hassles."
- Quick_Masterpiece_58
"Good manners are not more important than your safety."
- payattention007
"Oh man. As a Texan this one hurts my soul."
"I know I should ignore panhandlers and methheads and scammers and other similar people, but it hurts."
"I was taught to be polite to everyone, and having a pleasant conversation with some random stranger is a common occurrence."
- ChipTheOcelot
"If it helps your sensibilities, I've found that a firm 'no, thank you' usually works just as well."
"You have to get the tone just right, though – and, most importantly, don't ever break stride."
- konay
"Ah yep that attitude helped me out in Rome."
"A group of guys (10+) swarmed my wife and I near a tourist spot, and I made a bit of a scene and got aggressive in telling them to f*ck off. They did once they realized we were attracting attention."
- Zip_Silver
GiphyMind Your Business
"Mind your own business."
"Definitely don’t look at, make eye contact with , laugh at (I had an out-of-towner do this), point at, or otherwise acknowledge anyone who is acting crazy, loud or aggressive. Just mind your own business."
- _etcetera_etcetera
"I got into a fight with my partner about this!"
"Some guys were smoking something on the sidewalk and he turned to stare. The guy threatened to fight him."
"I told him he can’t do that / you can’t stare at people in the city, especially doing something borderline illegal, or we’re going to end up in some dumb fight or some nonsense."
"His small city southern ass did not understand this."
- Adeline299
GiphyGo Before You Go
"Make sure to use the restroom before you leave (home, work, the restaurant, etc)."
"Not many places have a free to use restroom. Sometimes they force you to buy something and public restrooms are usually a place you want to avoid."
- octopusfairy
"Oh my god yes, thiiiiisssss!!!"
"As someone with a small bladder who pees frequently, being in the city can be a real pain. Convenience stores are hardly anywhere and if there is one, the restroom isn’t public!"
"I have bought so many things just to be able to relieve myself. I have to keep 'pee money' on me!"
- I_Did_The_Thing
GiphyTreat Walking Like Driving
"Your casual stroll through the city is my commute."
"Imagine if there were cars on your crowded highways just casually wandering between lanes going under the speed limit and randomly stopping to take a picture of something. It would drive you nuts!"
"That's our reality when you walk in the middle of the sidewalk, or just dead stop to check something. Just like driving, step to the side of the sidewalk if you need to stop/slow down."
- robxburninator
"Basically if a New Yorker says 'Hey I’m walking here!!!' It’s not some haha stereotype moment. Dude actually has a point."
- deaf_musiclover
GiphyGun Culture
"I am never going to see guns the same way you do."
"I can't count on my fingers and toes the amount of classmates I had who died of gun violence before or after our graduation years."
"Seeing people with guns walking around the neighborhood isn't a securing feeling. Having bullet holes in your living room walls is not reassuring."
"Having bullets wiz past your head as you stroll around a busy shopping area isn't fun. There is no safety in seeing them."
"Experiencing all these things does NOT make me want one for my safety. Trying to explain this to my roommates who grew up in rural areas is like talking to a wall."
"Though I'm sure it's the same for them. They grew up playing with guns, they always had them around, see them on people's hips, rarely if ever met anyone to die of senseless gun violence so its null for them."
"They just can't understand the wildly different roles guns played in our cultures."
- BradypusGuts
GiphyWalk It Out
"Living in the city can be healthier insofar as you walk a lot."
"Even if you take the train or bus, you have to walk to the station from your place, in all kinds of weather. Up and down stairs. Sometimes you have a destination really far from any station."
"In the suburbs/countryside, people often walk about 50 feet to their cars no matter what their destination."
"I think this is why people are so overweight these days."
- soulcaptain
New York City Walking GIF by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentGiphyA Time Change
"Just because it only takes a few minutes to go a few miles down a country road, doesn't mean it only takes a few minutes to go a few miles in a city/surrounding metro area."
"Always check Google maps or Waze and then add extra time for travel if you're driving, especially during rush hour and if there's a huge event."
"It's better to leave a little early and wait a bit than to stress about being late."
- [reddit]
Driving Music Video GIF by Maren MorrisGiphyLunch On The Steps
"I see tourists eating their lunch in Downtown Portland at the Pioneer Courthouse Square- sitting on concrete blocks and the brick stairs."
"Little do they know, those are all absolutely covered in bum piss and sh*t."
"Don't EVER touch a surface in the city without using some sort of hand sanitizer or washing your hands- it absolutely blows my mind that people find it so appetizing, yet there is vomit literally feet from them."
- westcoastpizzarat
Basketball Wives Ugh GIF by VH1GiphyIf You Have To Drive
"If you have to drive, you basically need to learn how to be a bully on the road."
"You're going to have to cut people off as nobody is going to give you room to lane change. Learn to have 360-degree vision, because people will do the same to you."
"Parking sucks; learn to read the signs so you know when and where you can actually park, or if the spot is metered. Expect to park a few blocks from your destination."
"Don't keep anything of value visible in your car, this gives criminals incentive to break in and steal it."
"Watch out on major roadways during peak traffic, as homeless people will tend to flock on the road and panhandle."
"Always pay attention at traffic lights, and be prepared to put your foot on the gas as soon as the light turns green, otherwise, horns start blaring."
- draiman
Mad Max GIFGiphyCity People
"I grew up in a pretty integrated neighborhood where at least a third of my neighbors were different races than me."
"Most of my relatives who lived in more rural and suburban areas had a hard time understanding that I felt like I had a lot more in common with the black kid who lived next door to me than I ever had with them."
"I figure that deep down most people from cities, regardless of race, feel the same way. And we carry that around forever."
- PunchBeard
Animated GIFGiphyCountry Roads
"Coming from someone who has spent a good amount of his life living in both the city and the country, learning the road system is definitely important."
"Usually living out in the country, you’ll probably only rely on one major highway that takes you to and from town."
"In the city though, it’s definitely a must to know the main highways, exits, and interstates, and important landmarks they lead to."
- bryce_crane
Road Trip Highway GIF by VICE DOES AMERICAGiphyLocks Are A Thing For A Reason
"LOCK YOUR DOORS! All of them."
"You bring your car into the city, lock your doors. You move into the city to try out the life. Lock your house."
"I knew a couple that lived in Alabama their entire life and their truck got stolen the week they moved to Denver cause they left their keys in the truck and left it unlocked. This is a big no no."
- earthlover6312
bart simpson episode 20 GIFGiphyBaggage
"Invest in a small cross-body bag (they're like fanny packs, but not meant to be worn on the waist, or just wear a fanny pack across your body)."
"Keep all your important things in it, and on the front of your body. Pants pockets are easy to steal from, not so much a zipped bag 6' under your face."
"Plus, it's a trend nowadays so you won't look very out of place."
- SeductiveSoup
Jimmy Fallon V GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphyThe Bubble
"There are plenty of kind, caring, and helpful people in cities."
"But being 100% trusting, talking to anyone that crosses your path, and believing every person has good intentions will get you robbed, raped, or killed."
"I get genuinely worried for Mormon missionaries and tourists from the Midwest sometimes. There's a difference between being friendly, and living in a child-like bubble of naiveté."
- skootch_ginalola
Season 2 Good Luck GIFGiphyYou've read what Reddit has to say, now it's your turn.
What would you add to this list of things country folk need to know before embarking on a city adventure?
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