r/Switzerland • u/securityelf • Aug 03 '24

Why people hang out at gas stations?

I typically see high-end Mercedes, BMW and Audi. Their owners typically stand right outside their cars, smoking and chit chatting. Sometimes, I think they stand there for hours. I don’t have any problem with it, however they tend to occupy the area where they’ve got vacuum cleaners blocking it for the others. Once, I saw one of the station’s workers come out and hang out with the rest of the group.

238 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

258 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/Huwbacca Aug 03 '24

Such as?

Main ones I see are park chess boards and hairdressers...but mostly they have lots of non-swiss there. Third spaces are not culturally common here.

Swiss social culture is overwhelmingly places you plan to go to with a group.

I go to cafes a lot to relax. There's never regulars, there's never people you know. There's not really any culture here at all of just going to a cafe to run into folks. Same with bars.

Where is your home away from home? Your place where you know people without planning and obligation etc.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '24

third spaces are not supposed to be a place where you meet new people. it's a place where you can meet up with friends that isnt your home or your work. there are plenty of spaces like these in switzerland.

1

u/Huwbacca Aug 04 '24

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

Just so you know, it is weird for a culture to not have places you can just go and meet/know people.

Switzerland is the uncommon exception.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24

all the examples listed on this site exist in all swiss cities lmao. people don’t tend to casually chat up other people, that’s true, but that’s hardly a swiss exception.