No supermarkets open on Sundays or in the evenings
No noise after 10pm, or on a Sunday depending on your neighbours
Building regulations that require a high degree of conformity
There's also a general cultural attitude that encourages no sympathy if you haven't followed the rules. Lost your ticket? You should have your ticket. Don't have the exact amount of change? Too bad. This is particularly uncomfortable for newcomers who, by no fault of their own, are often unaware of the rules. Of course not everyone is this annoying about it, but it is a difference you notice when you come from other countries.
Something else that interests me is that when there ISN'T a rule, generally people do what they want. There are fewer social norms or taboos than in my home country - e.g. during COVID, as soon as the mask mandate went off, everyone stopped wearing them, whereas in other countries mask-use persisted much later. Similarly with queuing, playing music in parks etc (much more taboo in my home country.
Honestly, your list sounds really good to me. No noise after 10? Sure. No supermarkets on Sunday? I’ll shop on Saturdays. People follow the rules but do what they want when there are no rules? Here in the US people do what they want even when there are strict rules. 🤷♂️
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u/seriously_perplexed May 13 '26
- No washing on a Sunday
There's also a general cultural attitude that encourages no sympathy if you haven't followed the rules. Lost your ticket? You should have your ticket. Don't have the exact amount of change? Too bad. This is particularly uncomfortable for newcomers who, by no fault of their own, are often unaware of the rules. Of course not everyone is this annoying about it, but it is a difference you notice when you come from other countries.
Something else that interests me is that when there ISN'T a rule, generally people do what they want. There are fewer social norms or taboos than in my home country - e.g. during COVID, as soon as the mask mandate went off, everyone stopped wearing them, whereas in other countries mask-use persisted much later. Similarly with queuing, playing music in parks etc (much more taboo in my home country.