My mom married a guy from Austria when I was 12, and we lived in Austria for about a year.
It gave me so much perspective on the world and especially on America.
In Austria I was in old houses that were built before the constitution was even signed.
Coming back to the states, the biggest culture shock was the amount of trash and pollution everywhere. In Austria they respect their communities a lot more.
This is the difference between visiting a place and living there. I agree traveling is something everyone should experience. But living in a country very different from your own, even if for just a summer, is truly mind altering. Not just hitting the tourist spots and gift shops, but getting up every morning for a 9-5, commuting with locals, working, blowing off steam at a local watering hole, learning where to go for what you need, dealing with a local bank, doctor, or cellphone company, sorting trash for garbage day, picking up the local language beyond “where is the toilet”, etc. the mundane things that really steep you in the culture and day to day life of another world. Not to mention having a base there from which to go on excursions to the nearby destinations where locals like to vacation. It lets you see not only the beauty of a place and its people but also the frustrations beneath the veneer. It’s all beautiful and interesting and it invokes a sense of camaraderie that we’re all people dealing with different circumstances in shockingly similar ways.
Lived and worked in 5 countries outside the US, across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Life changing experience and one I tell everyone to try if they have the opportunity.
Yes thats normally the distinction between traveling and tourism no ?
I traveled in country for 9 months, when you are lot times on the move, you cannot ssay or fell you are living there
I feel like Japan really isn’t that much different from the UK. I’d say it’s one of the countries where I’ve had the least culture shock.
Both countries are crowded, historic island nations built on politeness, restraint, and orderly public life.
Cars drive on the left, towns are compact lived-in areas, and commuting is rail-centered. There is a social scene built around pubs or izakayas and a shared love of tea and ritual.
Add the understated, self-deprecating humor and the habit of apologising for everything, and it all adds up to a familiar feeling place.
If you remove the highly efficient and bright light cities and robots I feel you get very close to the UK in my opinion.
Not to say I didn’t have culture shock the first time I visited, but the 2nd and 3rd times I went there I started really comparing it to the UK.
I also think Japanese media and other coverage has meant that I was somewhat familiar with the culture before visiting, so while it was enjoyable to visit and experience it for real, there wasn't too much "shock" (also from the UK). Thailand was far more "different" to me.
I’m surprised you say that because the thing that shocked me about Japan was how empty the countryside was and how decidedly uncrowded it was (apart from Tokyo of course).
London is crowded, like any major city is crowded.
While I've not been to Tokyo yet (soon), I've spent time in a decent number of the major Asian cities (Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore to name a few). London's crowds just feel worse than any of those places despite it having a lower population density than any of the Asian cities.
I felt this with Japan. Coming back from a quiet and polite country to the parking lot of my home airport where people were shouting and the high level of noise pollution was night and day difference.
Yeah. It isn't just the bright neon lights of Tokyo that a lot of people probably think about when thinking of Japan.. It's the entire culture & place. It's how quiet & peaceful it is just walking about the streets, it's how safe you feel wondering around even at night in a busy city, it's how clean everywhere is. It's how respectful & organised the people are. The ENTIRE "Vibe" of the place is like nowhere I've ever been before.
I had the opposite effect in all honesty. I've traveled a good bit around Europe but going to Japan was like the only time that made me feel so underwhelmed with the UK.
If you're referring to Japan, I tend to agree. My experience of living there was that their attitude towards foreigners changed dramatically if they found out you weren't just a tourist. Their hospitality culture is strong, but so is their culture of conformity.
But, then, I lived there in the '80s, and it's my understanding that they've become less xenophobic as the younger generations have started to gain influence and political power.
You're making it sound like it wasn't way worse before! Glasgow was an absolute tip until very recently (as beautiful as some neighbourhoods are). It was renowned for having the worst slums in the country, and had the most violence and crime until really only a few years ago. It was called the 'murder capital of Europe'!
Originally from the uk, I visited Japan for the first time when I was 22, and stayed.
That was in 1996, so I’ve been living here 30 years. I visit the UK every two years or so, and it’s always fun, but I have no desire to live there again.
That reverse culture shock is so real. Landing back home and immediately noticing all the litter, the noise, and the general wear and tear makes you look at your own country completely differently
Preachhhhh! I love Japan and now only want to travel there because everywhere else doesn’t seems as good….including my own country (which isn’t saying much at the current moment)
Visited NZ with my mom and she was stunned at how clean it was, even in the cities. Really eye opening when we got back to the US, made us notice the relative amounts of trash littered about.
The entire population of Austria (9.2 million) is barely bigger than the most populous single city in the U.S. (8.6 million in NYC)... and if we make that the metro area of NYC, Austria is less than half of its 20 million people.
Austria also wasn't built on two genocides that have been going on for like 500 years.
Visit somewhere like Mexico or India and you'll think Americans respect their country a lot. Your 'perspective' on America seems to only go one way. Try visiting a place like Haiti right now and get back to me.
When I got to the airport in Mexico City, and there wasn’t the welcome wagon festivities that happen when you arrive in Cabo San Lucas, I realized that I am extremely far from home, and I need to be a big boy and figure my shit out.
I spent a few weeks in Peru for a school trip and I had my breath stolen from me the entire time. The culture and landscape was unfathomably beautiful to me as someone who was born and raised in Iowa.
Just take a year and go live in a country where you don’t know the language. I did and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Completely upgrades your brain.
Japan. And when I moved there I specifically asked for a remote low-English placement (JET Programme). Was the best 2 years ever. Also really really hard.
Actually living in a foreign country is so different from traveling. You learn new ways of thinking and gain new values. You come to realize that stuff you treat as immutable in your home country – really foundational stuff like how the government works, how people interact with each other, how you live and do business and get around – is the product of human choices and not "just the way it is." You gain empathy for people who have to live and work in their second language, for immigrants, for minorities, for people who don't fit in. You struggle through the profoundly humbling experience of learning a language – and then get the profoundly satisfying experience of realizing somewhere along the line you actually started thinking in that language.
When I go back to that country, I can’t speak well at all until I’m on the train from the airport and my brain sort of clicks into place and I can speak it well again. It’s amazing how setting affects our brains.
Living elsewhere gives you the best perspective on your own home. Invaluable if you don’t want to be “in foreclosure” psychologically.
The perspective, at least. You learn that life and culture can be so much different from our own, but by and large, people are generally the same, looking for the same things out of life. Humanizing the ‘other’ certainly helps in a day and age where leaders are constantly looking for ways to dehumanize people.
Experiencing a different culture is 10/10. Anyone who wants 10/10 comfort and convenience can stay at an all inclusive resort, insulated from the local culture. Despite my snark, there's nothing wrong with this type of vacation either.
My study abroad year was the best experience if my life. There were times it wasn't easy and times it wasn't fun, but it definitely enriched my life more than anything else I've ever done.
Hell, I’d even just say any place that is different from your own. Many countries, the US especially, have so many distinct areas. While going to a different country is even better, going to a different state or region of your own country is still a great experience.
As a person who has lived more than half of my life outside of my country, I always say that in order to graduate, young people should spend at least a few months in another country.
1000% - its the best growing experience you'll ever have. Traveling will make you realize we are more alike than dissimilar. Seeing other cultures is one of the most exciting things of this world.
Born and raised in India - moved to the US during junior year in high school. The move was a really fun experience and I loved every moment of it. It wasn’t all sunshine and flowers but being a teenager, comparing things, such as, the schools being different, teachers, the diversity and food options in US schools, the pedestrian rules, traffic, cleanliness, etc, everything was very unique compared to India.
I visited Japan in January 2025 and visited France and Switzerland last month, it opened my eyes. There are a lot of things that could make you stop and wonder about lives all over the world. Coming back from the Europe trip was really a difficult one. The streets, people, food, ease of public transport, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, vending machines, literally everything is different and an experience that I hope everyone in their lifetime gets to experience the feeling of being in a different country than your own.
Wholeheartedly agree. My life has forever changed since I traveled to a profoundly Muslim country as an American. Up until that point, all my travel outside the US was to all-inclusive resorts lol.
The obvious one is to not be scared of the unknown or the different. People are just that - people. If you treat them with respect, they will treat you the same. It's trivial now, but in the states we are taught to fear Muslim culture and up until that point, my limited exposure had me hesitant.
I was welcomed into homes, asked to partake in tea/meals, offered all sorts of gifts and blessings. I don't often hear about that same treatment within the US, people can be so caught up in the rat race of life, often selfish and close-minded. I still keep in touch with my host and hope my kids (someday) will meet the man who made me fall in love with his country.
I know going to Japan is all the rage right now and overdone as a result but I like to think I had more appreciation having taken some Japanese-related electives throughout college.
Just finished a 2 weeks solo trip in August to see the Unicorn statue before it got taken down and while I sound like a Japan glazer, the trip was 1000% the peak experience of my life. I sincerely haven't gone a day without missing its foot-traffic centric infrastructure, crazy ass malls (I miss you Aeon, Grand Front Osaka, Yodabashi Camera!), cultural/historic centers, variety of things to do, and curse the car-centric society we have in America that prevents us from having the same things.
I'm from New Zealand and am heading to Mexico for a month in December to visit my girlfriend's family over there. Cannot be more excited to experience another culture.
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u/BubbhaJebus 10h ago
Travel to a country that's very different from your own.