[abraham_s]

Strangers greeting me on the street was a culture shock when I moved from India to US (to Salt Lake City,UT). Often my brain won't process it in time to return the greeting before the person has passed me. Sometimes I will bungle the reply (saying "same to you" in reply to "Good Morning") or just smile in return or nod. If you have greeted someone on the street and hasn't gotten any response back, please don't take it to heart.

[Broken_Hippo]

I had the opposite upon moving from the US to Norway. In a way, I find it a relief - I'm not rude for simply listening to music while I walk, nor am I expected to check the bus to see if I know someone there (lest they be hurt that I shunned them by not saying hello). On the other hand, I got a great deal of my communication needs met by random conversations at gas stations and stores I went to regularly and actually meeting folks has been a challenge.

[jkaljundi]

This is how and Estonian or a Finn would feel: http://finnishnightmares.blogspot.com/

[Svip]

How odd, as a Scandinavian (more precisely: Dane), I can relate to almost all of those. Maybe it's a Nordic thing and not just a Finnish thing? Bus stops need a lot of place here, because people don't want to stand close together, for instance.

[sedeki]

I am a Swede with Danish and Norwegian heritage and I think this is pathological. If you try to resist and be social anyway, you will seem a bit strange or even feminine if you do it in a seemingly smooth way...

[Symbiote]

Can you relate to the final situation? I hope not...

> Bus stops need a lot of place here

They need a lot of space :)

[Svip]

Ah yes, space. But I must confess I once waited in my flat to go outside, because one of my neighbours were in the hall.

[tunap]

If that someone were intellectually, sexually or some-other-way attractive, would you have done the opposite and tried to meet up with them? There are a lot of people in the world, some more interesting than others.

[Svip]

The correct answer is: It depends. Because there have also been times when I went into the hall, fully aware that my neighbours were there. The mood required is one where one has enough energy to interact with people, and that includes ignoring them. But I'll confess - because I am unfortunately human - that attraction is likely to be a factor as well.

[afterburner]

Hmm... http://finnishnightmares.blogspot.ca/2016/03/especially-when...

[jcrei]

I tried for a few months when I first arrived in Estonia. I got mixed reactions and was about to give up, but then my neighbours were the ones greeting me. I have since made a point of greeting any neighbour I meet in my building.

[rpgmaker]

A lot of those seem to be pretty universal... http://finnishnightmares.blogspot.com/2016/01/just-browsing....

[PhasmaFelis]

For what it's worth, I think "same to you" is a perfectly fine reply to "good morning." So is a smile or nod.

[adriand]

Agreed, it's a totally normal response. But when you get into the habit of saying it, you also tend to use it when the boarding personnel say, "Have a nice flight!"