Expat Life: how weird are the locals?

bodice ripper

So, we have established that many of the posters here have emigrated. I myself have technically been an expat since I was 3. I am currently living with the Dutch, and they are far, far weirder than I ever could have imagined.

These people have no curtains, the kids beg their parents for raw herring rather than ice cream, I frequently see mopeds with dogs wearing flight goggles in the basket in the front, and going for a beer means arriving strictly on time and having ONE beer.

Madness. How weird are your locals?

Alun

Pretty weird, I'm English living here in Ireland

jester77

What I found weird at the start, and probably has a lot to do with being born and raised in Ireland, is that people don't conform to some idealistic view. For example, you could walk into a doctors office here and the doctor could be a long haired guy with piercings and tattoos. This would most likely be frowned upon in Ireland, but here no one gives it a second thought. You are rarely judged by how you look.

anncoates

bodice ripper wrote: »

and going for a beer means arriving strictly on time and having ONE beer

I used to work for a Dutch company.

You're drinking with the wrong people.

Muise...

which pat is your ex-, OP? I thought only British people become ex-pats; everyone else just emigrates.

bodice ripper

anncoates wrote: »

I used to work for a Dutch company.

You're drinking with the wrong people.

I am working for a tattoo parlour. They oughta be able for a pint or two...

Legs.Eleven

Madrid and the locals are not weird at all or else I've just got used to them (over 4 years here). Fairly conformist nationality, the Spanish and people don't really go for individualism at all. If they do do anything a bit left field, they do it in ma-hoo-sive groups.

Dunno if it has anything to do with their fantastic healthcare but it's rare to meet mad people about (or "Characters" as we call them in Ireland). There are things that are done differently alright but very little that'd make me think, "Oooh that's weird!".

keeponhurling

British people fake laugh a lot, not sure why

bodice ripper

Muise... wrote: »

which pat is your ex-, OP? I thought only British people become ex-pats; everyone else just emigrates.

I was born in the US. First ten years of my life were New York - Artane - Geneva - Celbridge.

Legs.Eleven

What's the difference between an ex-pat and immigrant?

razorblunt

Irn Bru, it tastes like a melted bag of penny sweets!

Muise...

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What's the difference between an ex-pat and immigrant?

direction.

immigrant: someone coming in to a country.
ex-pat: still defined by country they left.

The_B_Man

keeponhurling wrote: »

British people fake laugh a lot, not sure why

They're probably doing that awkward fake laugh people do when they don't understand a word u just said to them!

Duckworth_Luas

razorblunt wrote: »

Irn Bru, it tastes like a melted bag of penny sweets!

I could feel my teeth rot just watching someone drink it!

mikom

jester77 wrote: »

What I found weird at the start, and probably has a lot to do with being born and raised in Ireland, is that people don't conform to some idealistic view. For example, you could walk into a doctors office here and the doctor could be a long haired guy with piercings and tattoos. This would most likely be frowned upon in Ireland, but here no one gives it a second thought. You are rarely judged by how you look.

Hamburg has come on a lot......

The Backwards Man

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What's the difference between an ex-pat and immigrant?

An immigrant is there for the money, an expat is there for the sun or are on the run.

bodice ripper

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What's the difference between an ex-pat and immigrant?

To be honest, over here expat is generally used to describe people from the US/EU/Australia/Canada. Everyone else is an immigrant.

drquirky

Pretty weird. They've no problem using their police force to take your child off you, if you're brown.

Realt Dearg Sec

I lived in southern Hungary. They wouldn't be famous as the friendliest in the world, but I found them really welcoming and happy to meet me when I first moved to a fairly obscure town that would have been well off the tourist trail. As soon as they realised I was living there, and had learned some Hungarian, they were as grumpy and hostile as any Hungarian stereotype. That, I was assured, meant that they now regarded me as one of their own...

jester77

mikom wrote: »

Hamburg has come on a lot......

Not really, still a lot of not so pleasant things about this city. As a western European I don't experience any problems, but for anyone who comes from anywhere east of Germany, then it can be unpleasant experience.

anncoates

keeponhurling wrote: »

British people fake laugh a lot, not sure why

Your jokes are shit?

Specialun

Im in cork so yeah the locals are kinda weird alright

alrite boi how ya getting on loike,anything strange or startling...

Stingerbar

Well after almost a decade living abroad in various places, it's not so much how weird the locals are but a realisation how damn weird we are in comparison

We have to stay till closing time and get plastered.. foreigners don't feel as compelled (on the continent)

We eat gallons of greasy food in comparison.

Foreigners love big long dinners, they all want to cook, partake, not just grab a burger and get to nearest pub

-They can all cook, all of them

The trust, a beer machine on an Irish street would last 5 seconds before there was a riot, over here in foreigner land, normal

Less macho, dudes kiss other dudes on the cheek, very touchy feely altogether - we need to keep people at arms length at least

Slim, slim women everywhere.. (sorry but it's true)

Street parties, at 3am, with kids and families, all having a great time

All sorts of stuff is legal and sold over the counter, knives, air rifles, fireworks, bangers and the place isn't like Beirut (Bray-rut)

Theme parks aren't swarming with knackers, in fact, very few knackers at all

Local publican generally closes up about 5am to 8am or whenever last person leaves

but creme eggs are rare, can't get taytos and no chance of a supermacs, so I guess it evens out

jester77

Stingerbar wrote: »

but creme eggs are rare, can't get taytos and no chance of a supermacs, so I guess it evens out

Have you tasted a creme egg since you've been away?

I used to love them when I was living in Ireland, can't get them here. Most Cadburys products are not so sold as they have too much vegetable oil, so stuck with the local, Belgian and Swiss chocolate. As a result I no longer enjoy eating creme eggs, it's like eating a mouthful of pure sugar. Or maybe the recipe has changed.

WesternZulu

I live in Wales.

Find the Welsh grand, if a bit more stand-off-ish than the Irish.

They seem to complian more though, if that's possibe!

They definitely curse more.

A lot think Ireland is part of the Uk.

They like the Irish though and once they hear the Irish accent they nearly treat you as some sort of long lost celtic cousin.

They really don't like the English at all.

National identity is very important to them and they really cherish their language/

They like their sheep as well...but you knew that already :pac:

Zebra3

bodice ripper wrote: »

So, we have established that many of the posters here have emigrated. I myself have technically been an expat since I was 3. I am currently living with the Dutch, and they are far, far weirder than I ever could have imagined.

These people have no curtains, the kids beg their parents for raw herring rather than ice cream, I frequently see mopeds with dogs wearing flight goggles in the basket in the front, and going for a beer means arriving strictly on time and having ONE beer.

Madness. How weird are your locals?

People move to a foreign country and view the locals as weird. :rolleyes:

bodice ripper

Zebra3 wrote: »

People move to a foreign country and view the locals as weird. :rolleyes:

Maar echt, jonguh.

The irony had escaped me until your incisive use of roll eyes. Thank god you were here.

Realt Dearg Sec

Zebra3 wrote: »

People move to a foreign country and view the locals as weird. :rolleyes:

You're totally right. The best thing for you now would be to not post in a thread with that title again.

anncoates

Zebra3 wrote: »

People move to a foreign country and view the locals as weird. :rolleyes:

A lot of Irish people don't so much as move to a foreign country than merely geographically locate there while reamining in a agonized intellectual counterpoint with Ireland and generalizing about the 'natives'.

Oranage2

In China - the locals a pretty weird.

FTA69

The_B_Man wrote: »

They're probably doing that awkward fake laugh people do when they don't understand a word u just said to them!

Yup, fierce common.

The Brits are pretty much the same as us with a few minor differences I think.

Irish people tend to be slightly more nuanced in how they interact with each other, a lot of it can be "wink nudge" type stuff which the Brits don't get at all. Similarly in Ireland you can go out on the lash with someone all night with someone you met and barely give them the nod when you see them on the street next week. The Brits tend to see this kind of thing as a bit insincere or even a bit sneaky.

Middle-class English people have this ridiculous habit of shaking hands all the time and kissing women on the cheek. I find the latter to be a ridiculously effete and stupid custom which makes me a bit uncomfortable.

I am pie

Over here. Drink less, eat more beef. Talk funnny.

I want to know how that guy ended up in Southern Hungary! ....has to be a woman?

stefan idiot jones

I've lived away from Wales since 1998 in Scotland, Ireland and now Australia, I'm trying to live in all the countries that loathe the English.

This barefoot nonsense here in Brisbane is something I cannot understand. It's warm here for twelve months of the year so flip flops (thongs) are the norm. Is it too much trouble to slip them on rather than having manky, leathery soles ?

Saying that, the wierd thing is about the locals here is that they're all working and cheerful.

Savoir.Faire

I had the utter misfortune of having to live in Australia for 9 months. Well, I didn't have to live there, but I was thinking with my penis rather than my brain.

I didn't find the Australians overly weird, apart from their utterly misguided belief that their mass-produced beer was somehow palatable. I did find them uncouth, vulgar and ignorant though.

Legs.Eleven

Wouldn't the weird stuff in foreign countries make sense in the context of the country?

Bog Standard User

Alun wrote: »

Pretty weird, I'm English living here in Ireland

GET OUT!!!!

just kidding the more the merrier

Hoop66

I'm Scottish by birth, but grew up in England, with various diversions to far-away-places on the way.

Been living here in Ireland for the last 13 years. More than a quarter of my life, which is just weird.

The locals? They're alright. I've become a moderate drinker since I came to Ireland.

I don't drink any less, it just seems that way...

Realt Dearg Sec

I am pie wrote: »

Over here. Drink less, eat more beef. Talk funnny.

I want to know how that guy ended up in Southern Hungary! ....has to be a woman?

Well, not A WOMAN, but certainly WOMEN probably had something to do with my thinking...I had a bit of a fascination with Hungarian language (just because it's completely weird), and with Budapest, and with Hungarian women of course, so I packed my bags. Hadn't intended winding up in some obscure spot in the sticks, but it was just the way the chips fell when I got over there and was offered a job.

I had wanted to live in Budapest, which is completely unlike the rest of the country in a lot of ways, but fundamentally all Hungarians just think they are completely unique in Europe, feel very isolated, are not terribly exposed to other cultures, think that the rest of the continent is very concerned with their daily to-ings and fro-ings as a country, and have a very inflated sense of their importance in the grand scheme of things.

So in that regard it was easy enough to fit in, coming from where I had...

Matt_Trakker

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

What's the difference between an ex-pat and immigrant?

And ex-pat moves country coz the company he works for offer him a job in the new place.
And immigrant...well y'know what that is.

lufties

Alun wrote: »

Pretty weird, I'm English living here in Ireland

Jaysus that made me burst my arse laughing:D

lufties

Here in Hong kong, the chinese are a bit annoying/strange, they can't make decisions on anything, hence everything is black and white with no logical thinking..In big companies,the gwailos(white foreigners) seem to be in positions where they run the show and won't rock the boat with the chinese so they can collect their fat salaries.

lufties

Savoir.Faire wrote: »

I had the utter misfortune of having to live in Australia for 9 months. Well, I didn't have to live there, but I was thinking with my penis rather than my brain.

I didn't find the Australians overly weird, apart from their utterly misguided belief that their mass-produced beer was somehow palatable. I did find them uncouth, vulgar and ignorant though.

I spent a year and a half there, they'd drive you bananas.

I Heart Internet

keeponhurling wrote: »

British people fake laugh a lot, not sure why

When living amongst the British (English to be precise) I noticed that they would laugh at really odd, unfunny, rather predictable jokes/events. The people I worked with, certainly, would find even the most mundane of things hilarious....a bit of the fake laugh about it too tbh.

This is despite them, as a nation, having a pretty advanced sense of humour and many talented comics.

I just found the people I worked with very dull middle-aged people who would laugh at their colleagues bad jokes. I was in my mid-twenties in an office with an average age of 50 tbf.

Plazaman

bodice ripper wrote: »

Maar echt, jonguh.

Yes I lived with Klingons once myself for a long weekend. Ka'ploch.




Although it could have just been a weekend on the beer watching the entire seven seasons of Star Trek. Still goes to show, you can be a ex pat in your own home.

cloud493

Alun wrote: »

Pretty weird, I'm English living here in Ireland

Yeah English people

bodice ripper

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Wouldn't the weird stuff in foreign countries make sense in the context of the country?

Yes, but since I am asking the opinion of expats, it would be in the context of their lives. ..

cloud493

In serious terms... I dunno. In some Ireland is a lot different to England, other ways it ain't. Same language, same basic food, same chain stores etc. But then there's other things that completely throw me for a loop, and I've been here 4 years :P

Grandeeod

Where I live the locals are great! Its the expats that are the problem.:D

Wompa1

I'm probably the wierd one but anyways.

Been living in Arizona for almost 2 years now. The people are very very friendly...some times annoyingly friendly. People are overly positive. It's infectous but when you are in a bad mood, it's the worst place to be.

Socialism is seen as a great evil. Even worse than that is that people seem to be against things which would help those worse off who do work. People protesting to raise the minimum wage get mocked on radio, tv and by people for working 'teenagers' jobs.

I haven't heard any man or woman on the street boast about freedom here but you do hear it every once in a while on tv. Seems like a very outdated ethos..like propaganda. Luckily, the majority don't seem to buy into it.

canadianwoman

jester77 wrote: »

Have you tasted a creme egg since you've been away?

I used to love them when I was living in Ireland, can't get them here. Most Cadburys products are not so sold as they have too much vegetable oil, so stuck with the local, Belgian and Swiss chocolate. As a result I no longer enjoy eating creme eggs, it's like eating a mouthful of pure sugar. Or maybe the recipe has changed.

Have you tried Ritter Sport? I bloody love that chocolate.

osarusan

In Tokyo...nothing too weird. Reserved but polite (have to be in such crowded places), good sense of humour when you get to know them. 24 hour places, great trains and clean streets...easy to live here.

To veer into generalisations, they are quite a conservative people, and the fact that they are self-sufficient in many ways means that they aren't always that up to speed on the rest of the world.