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[–] 6 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Maybe it's a cultural thing? Apparently America is unusually friendly compared to the rest of the world, and striking up conversations with strangers is pretty normal.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 weeks ago

    America is huge huge, there are several different norms across the country. The people who live in the Southern states have a wildly different approach than people who live in the Pacific Northwest, for example.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago

    unusually friendly

    It's more how we define being polite in social situations. In much of the world it's considered rude to intrude on other people's time uninvited. I think the term is "negative politeness". How one feels about that is the cultural difference.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    Yeah, I've met Americans who somehow manage to do that. As a European, it never happened to me and if I think about doing it myself it just seems creepy and weird.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    That's probably it then. I'd say it feels weirder in America if you're completely shut off to random small talk. It varies a bit by region, and certainly by individual, but I've never been anywhere in America where it's strange to strike up a conversation standing in line or waiting for a bus or something.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago*

    I've been to the famously rude Boston area as a European, and I found the people waay to chatty and friendly. I'm buying groceries, for fuck's sake, don't ask me how I am doing!

    Yeah, it's cultural. I tend to joke that if someone smiles at me in public here, I'm discreetly checking where my wallet and phone are and which direction I should best run away to.

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