Do you ever feel like you'd like to live in a different culture?

All the time.

While I am happy to be American, I also find other cultures fascinating. If I were to pick some to be a part of, or at least learn more about, they would be (in no particular order):
Japanese
English
Scottish
Irish
Russian

 

I kind of wish that I was raised more in my own actual culture. My grandparents were sent to residential school though, they were taught that their own culture was dirty and when they were older, they didn't know any of our traditions or even most of the language. Residential schools hit my res really hard. Regardless, we are trying to reclaim our culture and the language.

 

I can somewhat understand how you feel. I'm much more close to American culture (generally Western culture), but not very close to Chinese culture. I'd rather raise my kids in a more "American/Western" household than a Chinese household, so I guess that means I would like to live in Western culture. Right now in my family, I've had a Chinese upbringing, but I'd prefer to live in a more Western one.

Of course, I know some Chinese customs to follow, and I still like East Asian food more than American food, but I feel a bit disconnected from it like the religion my parents practice. It's like a form of Buddhism, but I'm very distant from it and the stuff I have to do for this religion is simply halfheartedly following instructions.

I'm multilingual, though I speak more English than Mandarin, Teochew, and Cantonese. This causes me to clash with my parents because they fear that I'll forget those languages, which might become true some day...

I don't have an interest on learning more about Chinese culture, nor do I have an interest to even visit China or Vietnam. Maybe one day I will, but right now, I don't want to see China.

I've met some people that are in touch with their Chinese heritage. They even watch Chinese dramas and listen to Chinese music. They look at me as if I've betrayed them. Just because I have minimal interest in learning Chinese culture doesn't mean I want to diss Chinese culture, being Chinese is part of my identity. I wish some people would understand that.

 

Yeah definitely. I went on a school trip to Costa Rica once and lived with a host family in a little village. It was amazing to me how simple life there was and how friendly everyone is and how close to nature, and I think I'd love to live like that. The food was great too

 

Yes I hate the United States. I think Japan Canada UK or Sweden would be a better place for me.

 

I think there would be all kinds of pros and cons in having to switch to living under a different culture. If I had to choose, I would go with a Caribbean culture -laid back, relaxed, funny, and jovial. It also includes religious acceptance, which is something quite foreign to many cultures.

I'm feeling a little cheeky today, so I have to ask, does this mean that Swedes don't engage in 'cat calling' for fear of being thought of as a loon?

If so, that would be a refreshing change.

 

I'm Chinese through and through, born there as well, but I was raised in Canada from an extremely young age. I don't necessarily feel like an outsider in my culture (both Chinese and Canadian I guess), but having had this upbringing it's interesting to have one foot in my family's culture and one foot in Western culture. I know and understand things from both, but I have a lot to learn about either one as well. I do a lot of things that are tied into Chinese culture within my family, but a lot of my actions and ways of thinking are very tied into my years in Canada too.

I'm not complaining though. I'm really grateful for having had experiences in both cultures/perspectives, and it's interesting when I visit relatives who have never been out of China, ever, from the perspective of someone who has spent the majority of their years in Canada.

 

I live in England and I have for 3 years now but I completely grew up in a different culture- Cambodian culture.

I pretty much feel like an outsider to the culture I'm living in at the moment pretty much everyday. Culturally, I'm so different to all my friends, I had a completely different childhood to them in a place across the world for them. I've experienced different things, like different foods, have very different traditions. I wouldn't have traded this upbringing for the world.

England, in my opinion, doesn't really have much in terms of 'culture', it's so modernized, there really isn't much culture. Because of this, I feel so blessed to have been brought up in such a rich culture and be apart of it.

But the con is that I feel like an outsider all the time now. I've never felt like England was truly my 'home'- I feel like a visitor and I get extremely homesick sometimes, to the point where I'm bawling my eyes out. I miss my home, I miss where my true heart lies.

 

Often, yes, though I'm not sure exactly where:

But one in which:

-People did have so many guns, and there wasn't such a mania about them. I hate how gun-crazy the US is.

-People were less up-tight and judgmental about sex, in general

-You had less emphasis on violence in TV and the movies, and more emphasis on other things

-You had a much more even distribution of wealth, and a lot less poor people there here in the US

-A place in which there wasn't as much greed and selfishness, and everyone could access healthcare, unlike here

-A place that valued writing, music and the arts as much as technology


Where is this? I dunno.

 

Yes, I think German culture would be a much better fit for this misplaced German. A lot of my family's heritage (especially on my mother's side) is German, but I've lived in the USA my entire life and I don't quite feel like I fit in here.

 

I don't fit in very well with Indian culture, personally. I'm much more comfortable with western culture, and living in America and all. If I were to have kids, I would probably just raise them in a more western way, for a lack of better wording.

Indian culture has its good points, but a little conservative than what I'd prefer, and I prefer it here versus India because of the religious diversity here. In India, it's predominantly religious, and it's a big part of their culture, which is something I don't fit with.

 

Yeah, honestly there are times when I don't feel like I fit in with either my family's culture or the one I grew up in. For example: I don't quite have the accent my parents do, and American culture feels so foregign to me after living here my entire life. I'm curious about exploring a different one entirely.

 

I come from a Franco-African family. I have been born and raised in France by a French mother but my father is African and so is the man who raised me (my stepdad) so I grew up surrounded by both cultures even though more French.

If I am being honest I do not feel African at all. I don't really like the food, nor the music and haven't been to Africa yet even though I would really want to. My only regret about my African background is not having been taught the local language as a child since I love foreign languages. I don't feel very French either. I actually don't like a lot of things about the French culture and most importantly the French mentality and I often feel out of place there. I do want my kids to learn about their heritage and be fluent in French though as I feel it's important.

I currently live in Spain and it's a lifestyle that fits me and my personality much more. I love it here. I have lived in other countries such as Australia, America and Italy but Spain remains the most fitting one for me even though I loved all of the countries I have lived in.
I really don't have any interest in going back to France on a permanent basis unless I really have to because I really don't fit in, over there.

 

I used to dream of living in a different culture. Then I had the opportunity to do so and I moved. After many years abroad, I can say with all sencerity, I WANT MY ORIGINAL CULTURE BACK!!!

I guess as the saying goes with a twist - The grass may not necessarily be greener on the other side!

 

I was not meant to be an American.

I am not loud.
I am not consumerist.
I do not have an American accent.
I am considerate of others.
My partner and I save half our income.
I hate most pop music.
I hate most TV.
Even when I *like* a TV show, I don't want to watch it, because I have better things to do with my life.
I actively appreciate other cultures.
I don't want it all for me: I want enough for me, and for everyone else.
I watch maybe 1 new-release movie per year...if I push myself.
I appreciate intelligence, wit, and subtlety.
I don't believe in capitalism.
I believe socialism can and does work.
I do not believe in working 8-hour days, with 2-3 weeks of vacation a year.
I believe that time off is the heart of productivity.
When my partner and I travel, we are invariably mistaken for Canadians.

We have considered Canada, the UK (particularly Scotland), Scandinavia (particularly Sweden...a longstanding fascination for me, OP), or possibly Australia or New Zealand (though I don't love the isolation inherent with those two.

 

I don't fit in with Americans in general, much less southern United States... much less one of the most southern of the United States... the "Bible Belt" as they call it.

Everybody always asks me what country I came from when they first speak to me. I wish I could say "I'm from Canada, and this is just a horribly long vacation".
People here are not only hostile and close-minded as a majority... They make me feel like I'm from another planet, everything they do is so strange to me even though I've been around them my entire life. Knowledge itself is looked down upon here, and even feared.

So yes, I feel I would have a much more comfortable life above that northern border, Hoping to one day move to Canada and stop feeling like an outcast. I know there are far worse places, but I simply don't belong here.

 

Ugh, Kira I totally agree. I want to study abroad in Japan in college, and hopefully live there some day. Japanese culture just.... fascinates me. How respectful they are to each other especially. I really, REALLY hate America.

Americans are bigoted assholes in the whole, sorry. ESPECIALLY in the South, you are SO right. I just... I've never had a good experience with a very "proud American". Most of my friends are from Jordan, India, or Korea. They're so much more well-behaved and well-mannered.

I know this sounds pretty silly, but I'm so tired of bigotry and hatred and the absolute narcissism that I deal with every day. And guns. Guns terrify me to a completely irrational level, and I can't stand how much Americans like their guns. I actually have multiple plans of attack in case someone pulls a gun on me when I'm walking home from school- that's how scared I am.

 

I love my culture (Canadian). We're very multicultural and are a young country, but we are developing a strong identity around our values... such as tolerance, peace, kindness and family.

Sometimes I go to citizenship ceremonies because it makes me happy when I see all of the people from different cultures coming to join us to build our country.

If you don't feel accepted as gay or bi or trans in your country, come to Canada. The vast majority of us here don't care what orientation you are, and you will be treated as you deserve to be... as full equals.