In cultures like Korea and Japan, taking off your shoes at home is a long-standing tradition. I'm curious about how this practice varies across different regions and households in the fediverse.

How does your household handle shoes indoors?

@hongminhee I have a related question: is it traditional to provide slippers for guests? My Korean friend says no!

@hongminhee originally (I'm italian) we kept shoes on. Once I moved to Poland, I started having slippers or no shoes at all indoor, both for family and guests. Guests are allowed to keep shoes on if they feel more comfortable to, and it is polite to offer them either slippers or to not bother removing shoes at all.

@hongminhee Norway: shoes off, unless formal shoes for a party

@hongminhee We’re a shoes off household, but I’m the number one rule breaker.

@hongminhee just commenting to say guests almost always do take them off when they see that's the practice, but I would never ask, unless they're going upstairs.

@hongminhee

In Switzerland usually family members take them off, guests ask to take them off what is usually answered with no.
If the shoes are wet or muddy, everyone takes them off.

@hongminhee Here in Quebec, about one third of the year or more there is snow outside. So, we always take our boots off at the door so we don't track slush around the house. In your own home, you have slippers or house shoes near the door; some hosts provide extras for guests. Sometimes, visitors bring their own. Most households continue this requirement even when it's warm outside, but some will soften it, especially for visitors. In our house, we go shoes-off all year round.

@hongminhee there is no rule in my house so I chose the last answer, but also I take my shoes off in my house simply because I'd rather be barefoot than wear shoes.

@hongminhee Western Pennsylvania is all over the place.

Residents tend to wear socks or slippers in the cold months and flip-flops or barefoot or socks in the warm months.

If the weather is such that guests may track something in, it is normal to be asked to remove or to offer to remove footwear, especially when the house has carpet, which most do.

Some houses are always shoes off.

Some houses are always shoes on, especially those with multiple pets running around or kids with Legos.

@hongminhee I live in Canada, and taking off your shoes is kind of mandatory here. But it is less of a cultural thing and more of a physical constraints thing.

Much of Canada lives under his 6 months or more of snow. So you have to take off your snow boots on the way in. This means that every place in Canada has some type of front landing specifically for handling these wet outdoor boots.

Even west of the mountains, where they mostly tend to get rain instead of snow, the rain is quite heavy. The city of Vancouver is nicknamed Rain City. So everyone has some type of landing area for wet boots and clothes and umbrellas.

@hongminhee

In Germany it's a mixed bag, kinda somewhere between France and Poland.

When it's wet, muddy or snowy, or the shoes are generally dirty, people take them off, of course. I think this is the case everywhere?

If you are a house owner in a a suburb or village, the house often comes with a garden/terrace/lawn. During the warm season a lot of gatherings are in part outside (like BBQ), and folks are pragmatic about shoes.

For flats, shoes off seems the default for guests by now.

@hongminhee

Everyone takes off their shoes.

This was the case even before I met or got married to my wife — who is Korean.

@hongminhee We live in New York City with a dog. The dog does not tolerate booties or socks. So the idea of a clean floor is a fantasy. I take off my shoes at home only because I don't much like wearing shoes.

@hongminhee I have no choice. I have problems with my feet so I can't wear shoes indoors. However, my mother always insisted people took their shoes off when they came in.

@hongminhee theoretically top one but practically middle one cause my flat isn't super tidy usually and I don't wanna impose on people

@hongminhee In Czechia, it's also normal to take your shoes off.

@hongminhee answering for my previous life; it was pretty common to wear shoes in the house. Or socks. Or barefoot. It didn’t actually matter that much as long as the shoes weren’t super dirty.

It also somewhat depended on the floor of the house. Basement shoes always okay. Main level shoes sometimes. Upstairs shoes almost never.

@hongminhee outside shoes at the door, in a pile here in Thailand. Inside slippers or barefoot, except in the bathroom, bathrooms have a pair of separate slippers only for bathrooms.

@hongminhee as long as the footwear isn't tracking in a mess it doesn't matter. in winter the muddy boots stay at the door though

@hongminhee in general the top one but there are exceptions for people who find it difficult like my dad.

@hongminhee Ideally I would like everyone to take their shoes off in my house. But I'm not inclined to demand that anyone does. Not that many people come here anyway.

@hongminhee In France very few households take shoes off, but when I moved to Poland I was surprised about how much stricter it is to do it even for guest. A repair man will still not bother taking off their shoes but guest usually do!

Still less strict than in Japan when I briefly visited, and we don’t provide slippers for the guests

@hongminhee In my family (I'm Danish) we always took our shoes off inside but it varies from family to family--I'd estimate 90% of people don't wear shoes inside.

@hongminhee Then there's the Australian option... No shoes inside because nobody is wearing shoes outside (summer months), but when shoes are worn outside then often worn inside too.

@hongminhee Vietnamese household here... no shoes! Also not barefoot... slippers all the way or socks.

@hongminhee I have shoes or slippers that are for indoor use only. Guests take their shoes off in winter without being asked because I live in a very cold, snowy climate.

@hongminhee to 99% everyone takes of their outdoor shoes when going into someone's home, some rare exceptions can for instance be during summertime when it is dry outside and a barbecue party goes on when you occasionally need to go inside to use facilities.
Slippers may be worn inside though, but that's probably a 50/50 practice and perhaps more prominent in winters when it is colder.