Wearing shoes in the house in the Netherlands: it’s a thing. For those of us who come from different cultures, it’s a strange phenomenon — but where does this custom come from?
I’ve already written about other interesting Dutch habits and have since bought a house in the Netherlands. That’s when a discussion came up when talking about visitors: will we have an Austrian household or a Dutch one?
Most importantly, how do we make Dutch guests understand my strange, urgent need that they have to take off their shoes in the hallway?
Cultural differences: Austria
Every time I enter a house, I take off my shoes immediately at the front door. I never considered that other people don’t do that or questioned why I do it. It’s in my system and has been a habit for as long as I remember.
My mom was especially nitpicky about it since we always had wooden floors, and she never liked dirty shoeprints on the floor.
That’s why my brother and I always took our shoes off so as not to drag any dirt or snow inside the house. We didn’t want to make our mom mad… or clean the floor afterwards. 🫢
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So, when coming to the Netherlands and visiting Dutch households, I always automatically took off my shoes — that is until my boyfriend told me that it is not common here.
At first, I was a bit confused. But it was summer, the weather was warm, and I wore sandals — so I just listened.
Looking around, I noticed that nobody else was walking in socks or barefoot either. People even wore high heels in the living room and walked on tiny stilettos, pinching holes in the wooden floor. 👠
So, why do Dutch people wear shoes in the house?
Afterwards, I couldn’t help but initiate a conversation about it with my boyfriend, who explained this Dutch phenomenon.
When I started to work here, I noticed that all the students ran around in their shoes too.
In Austria, that would never happen. From kindergarten on, every kid wears slippers. You come to school, take off your shoes, and walk in slippers all day long.
Our teachers and parents always told us that it would be healthier for our feet, and the cleaning personnel were especially happy because we dragged less dirt inside. Only the teachers were allowed to wear their normal shoes.
Once I became a teacher myself, I was a little bit proud to have that privilege. But seeing Dutch students coming to school completely soaked from cycling through the rain and then walking around on a carpeted floor at school left me quite surprised.
A quick search on Google
So, pretty obviously, we have a cultural difference here. I was so completely taken by the subject that I googled it.
“In Northern Europe and Austria, it is considered rude and unhygienic to wear shoes in the house.” I like how Austria even got its special position in this sentence.
Then I found out that “in the Netherlands, people don’t usually wear shoes in the house.” That means that it is not usual but still common, especially for visitors.
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I grew older, I grew wiser, and, to be honest, I inherited many characteristics of my mom. I know that I don’t want to have people walk around in my house in shoes.
I love walking around in socks, and I simply have this “no-shoe attitude” deeply anchored in my Austrian heart.
So when it comes to having our own house in the Netherlands, I am probably a pretty annoying host. My boyfriend at least stands behind my rule, but I guess his main reason is “happy wife, happy life.” 😆
What is your opinion on wearing shoes in the house? Tell us in the comments below!