Americans and personal space

#32
Interesting topic. I never thought about it. In Australia. On our trains. If it is full. There is no space. We have alot of different cultures. Esp one particular - dont believe in deoderants. On a hot summers day - phew. So imagine sitting next to a smelly bo.
 
#33
Caz71 said:
Interesting topic. I never thought about it. In Australia. On our trains. If it is full. There is no space. We have alot of different cultures. Esp one particular - dont believe in deoderants. On a hot summers day - phew. So imagine sitting next to a smelly bo.
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I'm so happy I don't need to catch public transport any more.. I know exactly what you mean. Waiting to get off the train at Townhall... Just OMG!
 
#34
It's certainly a North American thing. I grew up in the States and moved to Germany a few years ago and it did take some getting used to. Most people do respect personal space, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
 
#35
LabelLover81 said:
I was recently in Europe, and I noticed that when I was standing in line, people were RIGHT behind me, like a space of two inches. When I would move forward an inch to give myself some room, the person behind me would move forward too!! If I turned around and gave them a look to back off, they looked confused.
My husband said that Americans need more personal space than a lot of other cultures, and sure enough I googled it and that seems to be the case! Does anyone have experience feeling this way? And if you're not originally from the US, did you have to adjust to how close/far away you stand and or sit from others? I find this whole subject fascinating!
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I grew up in England, lived there for 17 years, now I live in Canada. Honestly, everywhere is so different... I have travelled extensively and have simply adopted a "when in Rome" mentality.
I worked in Delhi, India for many years and there is NO such thing as personal space in stores or on public transit there. No one is going to honor your sense of personal space, not because they are willfully trying to be rude. But the reality is, you won't get on a bus if personal space is a priority, no one will stand aside and let you off either - you have to shove and it's expected and nothing is taken personally.
I think it really boils down to intention, if it's just the culture then it's not an intended violation. You can protest but the locals will think you're insane and it's a loosing battle, you'll just be miserable.
There's a big difference between this and to someone trying to rub up on you in a perverse way.
 
#36
I actually think most English people have the same personal space concern as North Americans. In the UK, I find it's everyone else that gets very close in a queue or when speaking with you. I've lived in different countries and found this to be very true in Spain and several Asian and Eastern European countries.
 
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