It is customary in Hawaii to remove your shoes on the outside of someones home before entering. If you are new to the island, you may be surprised to even see signs at the front door requesting you to leave your shoes there.
My parents also had us remove our shoes inside the back door before we went upstairs (the back door that had a mud room inside). We never went into the living area of the house with our shoes on. The only exception was if we went into the basement which was just inside the backdoor and immediately down the stairs.
My wife is a local girl from Hawaii and she had the same beliefs. When I arrived in Hawaii, I was accustomed to this sort of thing and I thought it would just be natural for everyone. Apparently, everyone did not grow up doing that. I have found that a lot of my buyer clients had no idea that they should take off their shoes. I have learned to give them the dress code before I pick them up so that they will have easily removable shoes.
The TV show "Million Dollar Listing" had a lot of people inside the house with shoes on. How is it in your city? Is there an "un-written rule" that says you only have to take them off if it is raining outside?
Comments(7)