One thing Americans can agree on is that America is an extremely diverse country. Each state has its own personality, traditions, and customs, so if you’re traveling from one state to another, you’re bound to come across a surprise or two. Recently, I asked the Americans of the BuzzFeed Community to share the “culture shock” moment they experienced while visiting another state, and some of them are wild. Here are some of the culture shocks that, depending on where you live, you might consider totally normal or completely strange:
1.“I come from a West Coast family of big, hearty eaters, and I was shocked when we drove through the Midwest one year and saw the huge portion sizes at restaurants. One to-go plate would easily last me two or more meals.”
2.“I’m from Upstate New York and moved to Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, they do this thing called the ‘Pittsburgh Left.’ It’s when you’re at a green stoplight with no left arrow and take the left despite not having the right of way. If someone from Upstate NY did that, it usually means you’re aggressive and a jerk. I’ve been informed that the ‘Pittsburgh Left’ is common in Massachusetts, too.”
3.“Going from New England to the South and asking where the water bubbler is. I guess it’s just a New England thing to call a ‘water fountain’ a water bubbler.”
4.“When I taught in high school in Kentucky, I bought a cookbook that the school band was selling as a fundraiser. Among the pages were recipes for BBQ raccoon and baked opossum. Talk about culture shock.”
—Vic, 32, Ohio
5.“I grew up in bone-dry Arizona and have lived in Texas most of my adult life. I recently spent time in Florida, and, having spent time in the Midwest, I’ve seen screened-in porches due to mosquitos before. However, it was bizarre seeing all of the houses in Florida with screened-in backyards. Like, the ENTIRE yard was screened. That’s when you know the mosquito situation is wild.”
6.“I moved from Philadelphia to Tennessee. People burn their garbage here and/or just toss it in their yard.”
7.“Sprinklers! I grew up in Pennsylvania, where we always had a lot of water (sometimes too much). When I moved to Montana, where it was drier, I wasn’t prepared for the sprinklers they use to keep the grass alive. I was walking along a path, confused at the jet of water that was spraying in intervals around the lawn next to me before it suddenly changed course and hit me in the face! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the idea of having to waste water on grass to keep it alive.”
8.“I come from a town that is about 99% white. When I went to LA, I was a minority, which was a very different feeling for me.”
9.“I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana! In 2019, my family and I visited Washington, DC, for a vacation. My sister and I went to a CVS near our hotel, trying to find anything alcoholic, but the joke was on us — we were told we could only buy alcohol from an actual liquor store and only during certain hours! In Louisiana, you can buy alcohol anytime from nearly anywhere, like Target, Walmart, gas stations, and corner stores. When my family and I got home, we more than made up for it with some daiquiris!”
10.“I lived in New York for the first 21 years of my life. When I moved to Colorado at 21, I noticed that strangers on the street just, like, smile at you. It took the first few years of living there to get used to it and not assume those smiling at me wanted to fight me.”
11.“I grew up in Southern California, where fireworks are illegal (like, you can’t get them at all, and you never seem them outside of professional shows). I visited my aunt in Nebraska for the Fourth of July once, and when I stepped outside that night, it was like a war zone! I was terrified and jumpy and was endlessly coughing from all the firework smoke. I went back inside and hid under the covers the rest of the night.”
12.“I’d moved to rural Tennessee from California and saw a flyer at a local grocery store advertising a Klan rally. Needless to say, I moved. I thought the KKK only existed in the movies nowadays and ended long ago. I can’t belive that nonsense still exists today.”
—Scott
13.“I’m from San Francisco, California, and recently visited Texas for the first time. The strangest thing I noticed was that none of the public restrooms had seat liners.”
14.“My family went to Florida in mid-January, and we were looking forward to the weather, which was forecasted to be in the upper 50s and mid-60s. We were all in t-shirts, and some of us were in shorts; meanwhile, the locals were bundled up. As my family and I walked around, we got a few looks, and one guy asked if we were cold. I told him that we were from the Midwest and that this weather is what we call ‘nice.’ His expression was a mix of surprise, awe, and seemingly a tinge of sadness as we enjoyed the weather. He was legit shivering.”
—Marc, 45, Iowa
15.“I’m a foreigner who’s been in the States for over eight years now. I started my journey in the Midwest, and even though I’d heard about Midwest hospitality, it wasn’t until I moved to Southern California that I started meeting people and making real friends. People in the Midwest gave me a super closed-off vibe — they all knew each other from school, so it was hard trying to become part of a group. Here in SoCal, everyone is from somewhere else, and nobody judges my accent.”
16.“We’re from Oregon and were driving through Louisiana. We stopped for a soda, but at the drive-thru window, the gal offered alcoholic drinks. My brother-in-law yelled, ‘What?!’ Apparently, you can buy alcohol in a to-go cup, as long as there’s tape over the straw hole. In Oregon, if you get caught with ANY alcohol in the car where someone could hand it to the driver, they arrest you and take your car. We all got margaritas.”
17.“I moved to Pennsylvania from Illinois and stopped at a deli one day. I asked the woman at the counter for a quarter pound of ham. She asked me something like, ‘Do you want chips?’ I said, ‘No, a quarter pound of ham.’ She asked again if I wanted chips, and I said louder and clearer that all I wanted was a quarter pound of ham. Then, a lady beside me said, ‘She’s asking if you want it chipped.’ I’ve never heard that term used for deli meat slicing before. ‘Like chip-chopped ham,’ she explained, expecting some recognition from me with that phrase. All I said to the woman at the counter was, ‘Sliced is fine. Thank you.'”
18.“I’m from Texas, where sarcasm is the unofficial state language. In college, I spent summers in another state. After offending several people, I finally realized that not everyone ‘speaks sarcasm’ and that what’s funny in Texas isn’t necessarily a joke elsewhere. Lesson learned.”
19.“I’m from Washington. When I went to Texas, there were so many Texas flags everywhere we went. Texans are extremely proud of their state! In Washington, we might see our state flag on a government building once in a while, but being Washingtonian isn’t a huge part of our personality. Texans are Texan to the core.”
20.“I moved from a major city in North Carolina to rural Georgia. People were generally nice, but I couldn’t get over the nosiness of complete strangers. People who barely knew me asked about my religious and political affiliations. I even had a coworker ask me my views on abortions after only two weeks of starting there. The people were nice, but the nosiness was so off-putting.”
21.“Living in New Orleans most of my life, I was really surprised while driving in California by how many people actually use their turn signals. A lot of drivers in New Orleans see traffic laws as more of a suggestion than an actual law, so seeing people turn their signal on and wait before merging lanes really blew my mind. Also, I like how Californians say ‘you guys’ or ‘you all’ instead of just ‘y’all.'”
22.“I went from Chicago to Missouri. The people there move so slowly. There is no urgency to get things done there.”
23.“I’m from NYC and just visited Cincinnati, Ohio. The obsession with Skyline Chili is astounding; it’s essentially a food group. Another culture shock I experienced was when I visited South Dakota. There was a one-stop shop with ‘liquor, gas, and casino,’ and it was eye-opening. The ‘casino’ was basically a backroom with video poker games.”
24.“I moved to Oklahoma from North Carolina, and the culture shock was harder than when I moved overseas, I swear. The food portions were enormous, mayonnaise was mixed into everything, and people drove wild distances for minor errands (locals thought nothing of driving 80 miles to shop for clothes). Also, church was so ingrained in everything that I was told if I wanted to make friends, I had to join a church, even if I wasn’t Christian. It’s a whole other planet, I swear. But the people were incredibly nice, and I ended up making life-long friends (even without going to church).”
25.“I live in Connecticut, where, according to our ‘blue laws,’ last call is 1 a.m. during the week and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. When vacationing in South Carolina, the last call was at 4 a.m. during the week but at 2 a.m. on Saturdays. I was curious about this because it made no sense to me. The bouncer told me that since I was in the ‘Bible Belt,’ last call is earlier on Saturdays so that people can get up for Church on Sundays.”
26.“The New Jersey to Maryland shock of seeing Confederate flags celebrated in so many places, especially on trucks, cars, and even clothing. I’ll never forget seeing a sour-faced older man in a Confederate ensemble standing like a statue inside a Kohl’s.”
27.“I’m from a really small town in South Carolina, so I’m used to holding the door open and having the door held open for me. When I was in New York, people really just let doors shut in my face, and it wasn’t considered rude. I was also very overwhelmed by all the rushing around, and most people don’t say excuse me — they just shove you out of the way. I don’t plan on going back.”
28.“I went to graduate school at a public state university in Utah, and it was disconcerting seeing the Institute of Religion right on campus. While I’ve gone to other schools before and after that might have had religious groups or clubs, having such a large, visible, and permanent presence on public university property reminded me of just how dominant LDS is in Utah. I grew up with a clear sense of separation of church and state, so this bothered me a little bit.”
29.Lastly: “I moved from California to Maine. The amount of people who go into the store and leave their cars running was pretty surprising. Where I’m from, you’d come back to your car missing.”
As someone from California, this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone compliment our driving! If you’ve experienced a “culture shock” moment while visiting another US state, share your experience with us in the comments, or you can anonymously submit it using this form!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
