this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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[–] [email protected] 141 points 2 months ago (7 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Do I just live in a weird bubble? I live in the US and I am rarely at someone’s house who doesn’t remove their shoes nowadays. I certainly grew up wearing shoes at home, but that’s changed significantly over the past 20 years or so.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

From my experience this varies wildly regionally. My family in LA will put on shoes as part of getting dressed in the morning, but in Wisconsin you take your shoes off at the door since theres a good chance they're wet or even muddy depending on the season

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Anecdotally this is also my experience. I grew up with shoes off in the house, but even up to the early 00's it seemed to be a cultural outlier in the US.

These days I think the majority of people who I go over to visit have a shoes off rule. Seems like the split is between the older half of millennials and up shoes on, and younger half and down shoes off for the most part.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

As an American this is gross to me too

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

Oh man YES

That is always a weird one for my brain to work around.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I've been wearing moccasins indoors for decades.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sooooo comfortable!

As soon as I get home, all of my outside items are exchanged for comfy inside items. It's like a physical form of masking.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I just got home and switched to loose running shorts (it's hot here at the moment). Why would I wanna stay wearing jeans when I can relax?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Exactly! And socks/shoes, no less!

[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 months ago (3 children)

As an American, it drives me crazy. Then there’s those heathens who lay on the bed with shoes on!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

American of asian descent, absolutely ludicrous! It would perhaps be more forgiviable if all of the floors were furnished in hardwood and tile, but they'll wear shoes even on carpet! Immediately after entering one of these heathen's houses, I long for the soft, lucious, kempt, carpets of my own abode, compared to the repuslive, stiff, flat and even crunchy carpets of my white friends. Frankly it offends me, deeply. I must slap my friends silly before entering my home to remove their filthy clogs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

That was a joy to read.

I'm sorry to tell you I am one of those people, as is my family. Every so often I have a moment of clarity about it, but it doesn't last long.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Your existence is nauseating

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wear my street shoes inside except winter. Both my work boots come off regardless. Also have house slippers. But I'll be damned if me or someone put their shoes on a bed, or even a couch for that matter.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Both my work boots come off regardless.

No one asked, but now I need to know: when would you only take ONE work boot off?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I have two sets, one summer and one winter. Though not sure why put it that way lol

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Only place I've live where this is taboo is Chicagoland. And that's to be expected with the muddy snow.

Here in the South we usually don't have carpets, no reason to take our shoes off.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah. No carpets, dogs coming in and out. I only take mine off if they are legit muddy, it's a lost cause, I am not going to make everyone take off their shoes. We aren't eating off the floor. I am also willing to sit on the ground outside, turn cartwheels, etc. Really just not that paranoid about dirt.

Up north I understand everyone has carpets.

Some places there is much more sitting on the floor.

It seems situational to me.

Nobody is putting their shoes on the furniture though, they are putting them on the floor.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago

It's not carpets that I take my shoes off for - it's so I don't track public bathroom and outside street debris into my house.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Thinking that there is no reason to take your shoes off is the most American thing in the world. There is poop, pee, puke, pollen, pollution, parvo and prions out there, among other things.

In Japan the entryway of a house is usually a step lower than the rest of the house. It is considered part of the outside, where the shoes stay, as well as all of the dirty things from the outside that are on the shoes. And symbolically, your troubles from the outside world are not brought into the house either. It's a major faux pas to wear your shoes in the house past this step and bring all that shit inside. Interesting contrast

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Thinking that there is no reason to take your shoes off is the most American thing in the world. There is poop, pee, puke, pollen, pollution, parvo and prions out there, among other things.

you're already breathing it, unless you're literally licking the floor it's probably not a huge concern.

Are you japanese? I know they generally have pretty strict social rules.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

yep, living in San Francisco made me a shoes off indoors guy, for every p you listed*

*except for prions. mmmm, delicious prions

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago

Ever walked into a public toilet? Well, that piss is now all over your floor at home.

As is spit from the street. Remnant dog poo, bird poo, etc etc.

Take your shoes off. Please.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I grew up in a home where we just never thought about wearing, or not wearing, shoes in the house. Like, we obviously didn't track mud all over the place if our shoes were that dirty, but if we were wearing our shoes inside, nobody said anything or cared, it was just whatever. Married a Kenyan who put her foot down and was like, "Are you crazy?" It's apparently a big thing elsewhere in the world. In Kenya alot of roads aren't paved, things get dusty, and it's just common sense that you don't walk all over the house with dirty shoes, so I get it from that perspective.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yeah that’s a huge part of it. Few Americans (me included) frequently walk outdoors on anything but sidewalks or paved roads in their normal day to day travels. When I go hiking I take those shoes off before I get back into the car, but my daily driver boat shoes which rarely touch actual dirt? I don’t have a problem leaving those on in most places, my house included. Same I imagine for Americans where their job is construction or something where your shoes are dirtied, take the work shoes off when you get home, but it’s fine to wear more casual shoes

Edit: what a strange thing to get downvoted about

Double edit: I guess the first downvotes were just from people who very much don’t like shoes in the house under any circumstances. That's ok. If I come to your house my shoes will come off. If you come to mine, feel free to leave them on if they aren't muddy.