Funny/weird question I always wanted to ask from US or UK citizen

[nefilim]

Here we go : do you keep your shoes on inside ? I mean in many films and TV series people do have their shoes on, even when they lie on the bed resting or something they have their sneakers on.

Here in Finland we take our shoes off and leave them in the hall. ( I`m not sure if hall is the right word ) but we do not enter into living room etc with our shoes on...

I once saw this TV series "come dine with me" and one contender asked other to take their shoes off - and they were surprised ...

[perdition]

shoes come off as anyone in my family enters the house. why would I want to bring dirt from my shoes all over the house.

[kpkelley]

Depends on whose house it is.

At my parent's house and my apartment, the shoes stay on(unless really dirty). One of my friend's parent's house we had to take our shoes off when we came in the door.

[Blu-Benny]

it depends, if people are coming over for a party or something, i keep my shoes on.

if i'm coming home after work @ the end of the day, they are taken off before i come in the house.

[tilallr1]

Every person I know take off their shoes at the front door. We have slippers for cold feet in the house.

[jakeneff]

Good question. In my house it completely depends on how I/we feel at the moment or how much I have going on. If I'm going in and out of the house a lot, I'll typically leave them on. If I'm going to spend a lazy day on the couch, chances are I'll kick them off or will have never put them on in the first place.

If I've been out tromping through mud or snow, then of course I take them off at the front door.

My grandma's house is a completely different story. Shoes absolutely must come off there the moment you step in the front door.

[THE_FORCE]

Yo Nef !

First of all, I watch Come Dine With Me most nights lol. Cracks me up.

Secondly, I always take my shoes off at the door and leave them in the hall (you were correct !) and then get in to my jim-jams and slippers.

In the UK, if you were to go round someone's house for dinner, then I imagine most people would leave their shoes on just as a formality. Asking someone to take their shoes off at a dinner party would probably seem a bit weird I reckon ?! That's the reason the dinner guest was a bit shocked on Come Dine With Me.

If it's just your family or mates coming round informally then I reckon alot of people would take their shoes off.

I don't have this problem though as I just don't invite people round !

[Al_The_Strange]

US citizen here; our family always take our shoes off in the house. I can't really fathom why some other families keep their shoes on inside, but I guess that's just the way they do it (probably good for stepping on hard surface floors and stuff, but I find that shoes can be a bit heavy and cumbersome, so I'm glad to take them off). Like others have said, it's not one singular social norm; everybody does it differently.

We do have a Finnish ancestry, so it might have been an inhereted tradition.

[silversnake]

I take my shoes off in a house or condo. Friends apartment i'll probably keep them on unless it's winter or they specify to take them off. Once it's winter it doesn't matter where you are you take your boots / shoes off.

Most people bring another pair of shoes / slippers for the house though.

[shaft_jaffa]

I'm in the UK. Everyone in our house takes shoes off after you get home from work. If I go to someones home I will always ask them if I should take mine off....Polite I guess!! Different people have different preferences

[timhollerbach]

my family all take our shoes off in the hallway by the garage as we come in...I don't like walking around in my house with shoes on, its just too dirty, too easy to ruin carpets....I'd prefer anyone that comes to my house to do the same, but rarely do people.....they'll walk right in the house thru the grass then into the carpet....pisses me off everytime.....

[crxvtec]

I live in Arizona now and rarely do I see a house where shoes are taken off. When I lived in Hawaii, rarely did I see a house where shoes were allowed to stay on inside. When I moved here, I kept doing it but as time went I started to where shoes in the house. Friends were like" are you serious?" Some were embarrassed by it. Some had holes in socks and some stank, bad.

[MaCruz]

The one thing I'm anxious about is during TV shows or some movies that they have the actors hanging out and talking on their bed with their shoes still on. Take for example, "Saved by the Bell". To me that's nasty.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by tilallr1

Every person I know take off their shoes at the front door. We have slippers for cold feet in the house.

Same here. My house is carpeted, so everyone takes off their shoes in the foyer. As a courtesy, I do the same when I visit someone else's home unless they specify otherwise.

Originally Posted by perdition

why would I want to bring dirt from my shoes all over the house.

Exactly.

[emoxley]

I wouldn't ask people to take their shoes off when entering my house. I, personally, think it's very rude to do so. Some people have very stinky feet, and can't help it, because their feet sweat bad (I used to have same problem when I was younger). It's very embarrassing for them to take shoes off in someone else's house. Once I put my shoes on, they don't come off until later that night, unless my feet hurt, which isn't very often.

My parents removed carpet once, and refinished hardwood floor underneath. Then my mom told everyone that came to visit to take their shoes off, when they came in. After awhile, my mom wondered why people didn't come to visit anymore. I told her it was because she made them take their shoes off. She stopped doing it, and they got people visiting again.......... so I guess I'm not the only one that thinks it's rude.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by timhollerbach

my family all take our shoes off in the hallway by the garage as we come in...I don't like walking around in my house with shoes on, its just too dirty, too easy to ruin carpets....I'd prefer anyone that comes to my house to do the same, but rarely do people.....they'll walk right in the house thru the grass then into the carpet....pisses me off everytime.....

Put a sign on the door with a smiley face that says "Lose the shoes"

[timhollerbach]

Originally Posted by emoxley

I wouldn't ask people to take their shoes off when entering my house. I, personally, think it's very rude to do so. Some people have very stinky feet, and can't help it, because their feet sweat bad (I used to have same problem when I was younger). It's very embarrassing for them to take shoes off in someone else's house. Once I put my shoes on, they don't come off until later that night, unless my feet hurt, which isn't very often.

My parents removed carpet once, and refinished hardwood floor underneath. Then my mom told everyone that came to visit to take their shoes off, when they came in. After awhile, my mom wondered why people didn't come to visit anymore. I told her it was because she made them take their shoes off. She stopped doing it, and they got people visiting again.......... so I guess I'm not the only one that thinks it's rude.

I think its rude to ask visitors to take their shoes off, which is why I dont' ask people, but I wish as they came over, they'd be courteous and take them off or at least ask.....When I go to a house, I step in and see if the people there have shoes on, if they do, I typically leave mine on...if they don't, I usually ask, do you want me to take my shoes off......but at my house, I never ask because I do think its rude to ask, but I do wish the visitors would ask, because then yes, I'd tell them to take it off.

[timhollerbach]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Put a sign on the door with a smiley face that says "Lose the shoes"

haha....good one....I might do that.....

[silversnake]

I don't see how it can be conceived as rude. I mean, it's your house, your rules.

If you spent the day cleaning your place up only to have it dirty up because you have people over, doesn't make any sense or incentive to have people over. Especially if you have carpet in the house

[Chordata]

I loathe taking off my shoes in someone else's house, but it's the polite thing to do.