Expats, tell me what aspect or social norm of your new country was strange to you?

Constant remarks on my accent,

^^

This. It never ends. I've been here for 10 years and still sound fresh off the boat

Another funny thing about Japan is the way they have "seasons" for stuff. So for example certain weeks of the year are "the season" for swimming in the sea. Went to the beach a few days before said season, gorgeous day, and the whole place was deserted and we got all kinds of funny looks.
Clearly not the done thing. We might have actually been in trouble if we went in the sea because there are no lifeguards outside the "season" which IIRC only lasts about a month!

Oh and some more.

The idea that children or particularly babies not fully dressed after sunset is neglectfull parenting. The night wind will bring all manner of diseases. You see kids in woolly hats when the temperature drops below 20.

Kids are outside playing at 9 pm and out in restuarants and bars on most evenings. Weekend evenings little kids can still be out at 10 pm. No children's menus anywhere and people rarely order their own food. Brazilians share everything. It's odd to order separate dishes as most meals will be big enough for 2-3 people.

Also...
Living in UK from an African country...

Children can call their friend's parents by first name! . My kid's friends would say 'Hello Insideoutsider' and I'd be

That would be so disrespectful in my home country, it would be 'miss', 'Mrs', 'Mr', 'Aunty', 'Uncle' or 'KidInsider's mom'.

I still make my kids call their friend's parent's 'Miss firstname'.

Oh wow Lweji the Brazilians must get their queing habits from the Portuguese, I always mistakenly thought queues didn't exist in Latin countries, how wrong was I? The bank is the worst place, everyone stands in the queue and no one wants to be the arrogant tosser that walks up to one of the empty cash machines. So even the head of the queue is too polite to leave in case they're jumping in front of someone pregnant/old/with small children/smaller/poorer/more worthy/half bloody dead....so you have to start asking everyone and come to an agreement about who is next. It's a nightmare! Give me Italy any day

Living in UK from an African country...

In my home country, commenting on a person's body shape by way of compliment is a social norm. You would say, 'Hello dear old friend! Wow, you've become so fat! Tell me how you're earning all this money to buy all this food!' and they'd reply, 'Forget that! I want to be slim like you!' or 'Hello darling niece! You're now so skinny! I must go running with you!' and she may reply, 'No! I'm trying to gain weight so I can have a booty like yours!'. There's never any malice to it.

Calling someone 'fat' or 'thin' is a complete no-no in the UK. Here, commenting on something so obvious as a body shape is considered rude.

My visiting cousin learned this the hard way when she called my UK-born cousin 'fat'. I think she spent her first 2 nights in a hotel while we tried to resolve things!

Brit in the US:

Putting all your breakfast foods (sweet and savoury) on one plate
The constant medical ads on TV/billboards/the subway
Colleagues/acquaintances calling me Miss VodkaLime but not in a formal way, it's respectful/affectionate for someone you like but don't know that well
The obsession with college sports that seem to be more popular than the NFL etc
People asking quite personal questions on first meeting that would be considered inappropriate in the UK
Constant remarks on my accent, though that is becoming less as I've been here a while and although I'm definitely not picking up a US accent, my speech pattern has changed slightly

Oh god yes sausages.

Here people boil sausages before frying them?? WTAF.

Maple syrup on bacon. Frites with mayonnaise. Honey or maple with chicken fingers. Butter on pizza crusts. Cheeseboard as standard issue. Homemade baked beans with bacon in them. Coffee is huge vats of stuff for 2 dollars - Starbucks, Tim Hortons etc, no Costa or Nero. There's nothing like Greggs or Oddies here at all - lots of patisseries but the focus is on croissants and fancy pastries rather than cheese pasty's, egg mayo sandwiches and cornflake cakes!

Nothing stops for the snow. The snow removals guys are out, pavements are clear, kids are in school, the trains are running.

The vast majority of people have a dishwasher, tumble dryer and do not see this as a luxury item. There's no guilt felt for making your life easier. My mum (65) will only use a tumble dryer when she's old, as she says - at the moment she feels it's lazy to use one I don't see it as lazy, I have better things to do with my time.

Finn in England

I was 25 when I left Finland and have now been here for 20 years. When I first arrived I loved all the english quirks and not much bothered me.

But still, 20 years later I can't understand the dressing habits here and the complete lack of common sense. Snowing and freezing outside and kids are wearing wellies with only a thin cotton socks on their feet. And then parents wonder why they are miserable and don't enjoy the snow.

People on a night out without coats even if it's cold and raining. And one that still amuses me is when you get a first sunny day in March, out comes the women wearing a maxi dresses and sandals like they are on a beach holiday instead of a drab high street in Kent.

Conversely, I dread going to Finland sometimes, like in September. Even if it's +15 and sunny, you get funny looks if your child isn't wearing a woolly hat and scarf. Doesn't matter if it's warm, it's September and therefore autumn for heavens sake.

Brit in Qatar

-ves

Everything – from how you’re treated, to how much you are paid depends on your nationality
If you’re a local you can get away with anything
Being non-white – being asked where I’m ‘really from’ – If you’re Indian I admit to having West Indian roots and will happily talk cricket even with limited knowledge but if you’re in an official role and trying to pigeon hole me or excuse your racist behavior then every generation back to Moses – British…

<strong>+ves</strong>

How cheap it is to get clothes made – so I’m wearing trousers based on M&S ones circa 2010 and a top based on BM circa 2008
Working 7-3 in a government office and then having shops/banks etc open until 10
Despite all the shocking headlines about slavery – and a lot is true – just how much a person working as a servant/cleaner/taxi driver is able to change the lives of their families back home

Brit in Serbia.

Everyone is shocked if I let my kids wander the house with bare feet (let alone go outdoors!), or go out with wet hair (the soft-plays here have a communal hair dryer to prevent this!). My kids going entire days without having soup, yogurt or bread is also considered highly strange, and the baby sitter was completely perplexed with my plan to fry the sausages, when it clearly stated on them that they were for the BBQ. Oh, and the school requiring that my son be tested for worms - his face after explaining to him what that meant he had to do for me to get a sample was an absolute picture of horror.

Mind you, I've lived out of the UK for the last 20 years, so going back there's always something new and odd (Crocs, Hotel Chocolat, I forget what else, but there's always something that everyone's going on about that we have no clue)

Where I lived still had bakers, butchers, etc and only 1 very small supermarket.
There was in the supermarket literally 1 tiny freezer compartment on convenience food. Frozen peas, pizza, etc. And yes boiled eggs were convenience food. But women did not work, when their kids were young, or only very part time.

Aussie in the UK - totally agree re the 'You alright?' thing, I kept thinking I looked unwell/odd because why else would people ask if I'm alright! 'How are you?' just makes so much more sense to me. Also I find Brits are obsessed with picking apart accents and regional differences, whereas in Australia I never heard people talk about Adelaide accents or Brisbane accents - I wouldn't be able to tell the difference tbh!

crunchymint, what did you make of Migros in Switzerland? I'm particularly fond of the idea that convenience food means a boiled egg. And those open sandwiches! Dear god.

So all paper had to be bundled up into a very near parcel and tied with string to be collected. No just throwing it into a recycling bin or an untidy parcel

Between that and the Christmas folded tissue paper star decorations, it's like the Swiss equivalent of origami.

Brit in North Jersey usa.

The drink driving. Boggles my mind.

I'm from the NW and when home people will often interact with the DC. I get comments such as 'you have lovely looking DC'. Here I get a scorned glare. No one has ever interacted with them or made a comment.

DH is Danish and the fake feminism is extremely annoying. I'm the only wife with a career and I frequently am subjected to patronizing chats from DHs peers and their wives about how I shouldn't really be working so hard because the kids miss out. Meanwhile daddy has away more than he has been home for the last month and that's ok

Canadian in the UAE. The UAE is so multi-cultural that it feels like you have to get used to 2 or 3 new cultures, not just one.

I think learning not to be so polite has been difficult. Emirati's expect and respect politeness, but Indians and other expat Arab's will walk all over you if you're too nice.

Learning to drive properly. Canadians do not drive properly, we drive like old women on the way to church.

Women only every thing, line up's, salons, banks, etc. Having a line of men part like the Red Sea once I joined the que.

The COMPLETE lack of que's!

It's better now, but when I first came here, never knowing if the person was going to shake hands or not.

The damned kiss-kiss.

Late nights!!! Arabs are night owls and nothing starts before 7pm (usually much later).

Oh yes. No ready meals. Everyone makes everything from scratch and I long for a Waitrose every now and then.

Also that pretty much everyone here can DO stuff.

I don't know one man that can't use a chainsaw or tractor, make jam, bake bread.

I don't know one women that can't sew, knit, can, bake every fucking desert under the sun.

It made me feel really intimidated and shit for quite a while.

Oh, and most people can ski, sail, hike up huge fuck off mountains.

I sat inside like a fat, scared city mouse for a year or so.

Thought about this last night -
The Netherlands is a place known for it's amazing art works, and yet they would be the least romantic and least sensual people I have ever encountered. If you go to a restaurant, you can choose from the same things over and over - it is like there is only one recipe for a salad (A lovely goat cheese & walnut one), one recipe for pea soup or onion soup, etc... That, and people pride themselves on having eaten a white bread roll with a slice of (tasteless) cheese for lunch - every single day of their life since they could chew. They are very afraid to try new things there - especially food. When we moved there, we had some friends around for lunch who were shocked and horrified to find that we put avocado in a salad. Unheard of!!!

Brit in the States

People popping round. And they just let themselves in! I've had to give up me habit of walking around naked as way too many people have seen me with no clothes on.

Bartering made me at first. I like it now though. We get various things for our eggs and maple syrup we make. Honey, bread, lobsters. My sil even paid her entire midwife bill with moose meat and venison.

How day drinking is frowned upon by most people. We've found our people that we can go out with a have a pint or Bloody Mary and not get side-eyed and muttered about drinking problems.

Also yes to be being so nice and genuinely (for the most part) interested. Coming from London it took me a while not to be so suspicious.

And also how community seems to be much tighter here so even in a big local town I'll know over half of the people there. Don't get me wrong it's lovely but sometimes you just want to grab some shopping looking like shit and half the people you know and the other half hear a British accent and want to grill you about everything and ask if you know 'Sarah' as she's from London too.

Iceland, again a while ago, things have changed there.

No convenience or processed foods, everything cooked from scratch. Outside of the capital only meals served were fish soup, meat soup, fish with veg, meat with veg and sometimes beef with veg. The fish was always plain white fish. Occasionally the one pizza chain and a service place that sold cheap burgers, chips and hot dogs where teenagers hung out.
Teenagers made extra money by cleaning windscreens in service stations.
Service stations are places where you buy petrol, have a small supermarket and a cafe selling burgers, etc where teenagers hang out. Outside few big cities is main place to buy stuff.
Few shops, people do mail order to buy stuff.
Very healthy life style with outdoor sports and soaking every evening in thermal baths.
Very high levels of sex equality, but not welcoming of foreigners living there.
Very very safe. Safe to leave cars and houses unlocked and valuables in cars.
Everyone knows everyone, or at least someone in your family.
High level of alcoholism from illegal home brew, but not the violence associated with being drunk.

I absolutely love this thread.

Moved to Montréal.

Biggest shocker was the language - totally French outside of Montréal.

Kissing people on both cheeks all the time.

Native Canadians have the ability to a. Walk on ice without slipping and b. Be outside without getting bitten to death by bugs in the summer.

Going out for breakfast is a huge deal, and really popular. Britain would do well to adopt that tradition.

People don't get pissed and lairy all the time.

People Cook from scratch.

People are slimmer and healthier.

Combination of diet and exercise.

Kids are thrown outside to play at minus 10, and they survive

You don't need carbs with every meal

People are far less aggressive. People are friendlier and in general more open to interaction, especially if you have kids

Here it's at least ten years behind the UK with regards to a lot of things - tech, different cultures, loads of people don't know what halal is for example

I'll be back with a few more

In German part of Switzerland, but a while ago, I believe some things are more relaxed now.

Most people lived in apartment blocks. There was a communal washing machine/drying area. No one had their own. You were allocated an hour once a week to do your washing. This could not be changed. You had to clean and dry washing machine and dryer after use.
Crafts with kids was a BIG thing. You were a bad mum if you did not do crafts with your kids. And it was always the mum. Even small village shop had a very wide display of crafts materials to buy.
Following the rules to the letter. So no crossing across the red light even if there was no traffic.
Strict recycling rules. So all paper had to be bundled up into a very near parcel and tied with string to be collected. No just throwing it into a recycling bin or an untidy parcel.
Children had a LOT of freedom. Nursery opened doors at the end and children just left. If you did not want your 3 or 4 year old to walk home by themselves it was your responsibility to be there. Some children did walk home themselves. Watched in a part a class of about 4-5 year olds running about as the two staff talked amongst themselves. Some of the kids went outside the park gates. When it was time to go the staff simply shouted they were going and left. A few minutes after the staff had left, kids were still running out the part to catch them up.
You don't question teachers unless it is something very very serious.
Families and friends from school socialise as adults. It is very difficult to make friends as people socialise with those they have known all their lives. You basically had to make friends with other foreigners.
People largely stayed where they had been born. Moving away even 20 miles away was a BIG DEAL.
Very very little processed foods. You cooked from scratch.
No childcare outside of family, which meant as a foreigner you could not work until kids started school at 7. And even then they came home for lunch and a siesta.
Siesta.
Shops closing for siesta and all day Sunday.
The bureaucracy.

I came to UK from Canada in '83 and as a student nurse I was shocked when the weather turned sunny and warm in early spring and the hospital grounds were littered with half naked people on their breaks suntanning..totally understand it now though.

It was normal when I grew up in Canada to pop into friends unannounced and I had to curb myself when I came here. Not sure that's normal now in Canada or not tbh .

I was shocked at the way grammar is spoken so differently in certain dialects of the Uk.

Also shocked at the class system and how mean inverted snobbery is.

Same system (panda thing) here in Finland JaggyJobby and I got told off when I first arrived for putting a bottle in the bin, found it really hard to force myself to place them on top of or near the bin instead.

It is great, isn't it Quantumblue? I see those old women and think one day my body will be like that, and that's ok, and then I feel much more comfortable with the thought of getting old. Especially nice now I've had two children and my belly, thighs and breasts are a mass of stretchmarks and I can see that so many other women look the same. And it's great that my daughter sees this as she grows up, so she knows what a normal average female body looks like rather than what's depicted on telly and in magazines.