I’m asking because it’s a very normal thing to do here.
When you enter a room, but also things like a hairdresser or say a small cafe, you say hello to the people there and say goodbye when leaving. Or when taking a bus, you say hello to the driver and goodbye or thank him when getting off.
I was only recently told by some online friends of mine that this is pretty weird in other places. So I’m wondering if I’m (or my country) is the weird one or them
American here. Really it’s about context. On busses is can be polite to thank the driver when exiting. Depending on the barber saying hello to everyone might be normal too. But no I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a dentists office and been like’ hi! Everybody!” It’s more a walk in tell someone you’re here and sit on your phone until called.
That’s pretty much what my friends said as well, but it somehow sounds odd to me. Like, “why wouldn’t you be nice and say hello to everyone there, it’s just the obvious thing to do.”
In the UK you might say a sheepish hello to the person(s) next to you in the waiting room but never to the whole room, that would be… uncomfortable. It might also prompt a conversation when you just want to ignore the world until you’re called.
It’s hard to describe, maybe it’s the feeling that you don’t greet someone unless you’re going to engage in conversation with them? If someone came into the doctor’s waiting room and said hi, it wouldn’t feel rude, just… odd.
I’m from the Midwest and we never really said goodbye when leaving a place. Living in specific parts of Los Angeles though it’s super common to say “thank you” or “have a good day” to employees when exiting a restaurant like Subway. Now when I go back to the Midwest I feel so cold/rude leaving without a word.
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I’m from small town Iowa, hello neighbor!
My parents moved to Colorado a few years ago. I’ve been to Minneapolis a handful of times for concerts and MSP while flying back here, but other than that I’m not super familiar with Minnesota.