Have You Experienced Culture Shock Moving Within Your Own Country?

[wolfpup]

@Northern_Piper

Living in Quebec was a bit of an adjustment, but it was mainly the language, not the culture (except to the extent culture is tied to language, of course).

One of the differences that made me chuckle was that the “pause-fumé” (“smoking break”) was built into everything. Quebec City at that time was famous for everyone smoking. I was used to “coffee break”, “bathroom break”, 'morning break", but “smoking break” for everything was a bit of a surprise. That was a while ago, of course, so may have changed by now.

I moved from Quebec to Ontario in my youth, initially for college but ended up living here. Ontario wasn’t a “shock” in any way, but it was definitely a very different culture. The French or Montreal culture (not sure which was the predominant factor) was comparatively one of laid-back “don’t give a crap”. Ontario by contrast seemed structured and formal, much more Britain than France. I remember when there was an international event of some kind in Montreal, and world leaders like the US president flew in, even as I kid I wondered how they were ever going to get these nonchalant laid-back yahoos to organize security. Such things just seemed so counter to their nature.

To those who think I’m exaggerating, one need only consider the way they drive in Montreal (like maniacs). Also the reason that right turns on red are prohibited in Montreal. If they were allowed, drivers would just breeze right through on right turns – they wouldn’t even slow down.

@Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank

I remember moving to Tennessee from Pittsburgh around Y2K. The thing that I often used to explain my befuddlement was a commercial I saw. The commercial featured an older, weathered man wearing a huge cowboy hat, and a six-gun on a holster, talking from the porch of an old-timey, old-west-style wooden “General store”, and the commercial wasn’t for hats, guns, or the old-timey General store. I’m not sure now, but I think it was for insurance. . .

I can imagine. I’ve never lived in Tennessee or any place even remotely like that, but I was in Nashville for a few days once. We went to a bar and I was drinking beer out of one of those huge mugs that you could take with you as a souvenir. At closing time, I had still a bunch of beer left in it. We were informed that it was illegal to leave with any sort of liquor, and to prove it, there was a guy at the door who looked exactly like the one you’re describing – cowboy hat, immense beer belly, and, most impressively, a six-gun hanging from his gun belt. Somehow I had little doubt that if I tried to leave with any beer still in the mug, this character would shoot me. Yeah, to a Canadian, this was culture shock – the idea that transgressing a liquor law would be met with lethal force. And this was the largest city in Tennessee; I can only imagine what things are like in the rural areas.