Questions tagged [europe]
Questions that have a specific focus on people in the European region, more specifically when it is not necessary to use country-specific tags (such as [united-kingdom]).
93
questions
137
votes
17
answers
39k
views
How do I deal with a coworker who unplugs my monitor because I didn't turn it off?
Background:
I have a coworker - let's call her Anne - who believes that saving energy wherever possible is everyone's most important responsibility.
Anne has made that clear from the day that I joined ...
- 4,849
130
votes
12
answers
42k
views
I'm 24 with a 4-year-old son. How to handle uncomfortable questions from people?
I'm 24 years old and I have a 4 year old son who was conceived by accident. I don't know about other countries but that's definitely not usual in mine (Spain).
My son's mother and I broke up about ...
- 1,021
126
votes
14
answers
49k
views
How to tactfully check whether my new partner is a man or a woman?
I know this is a weird question, but I'm kinda annoyed.
I met someone at my local gym. We started to talk from time to time and one thing leading to another we made out (not sexually) and are a ...
- 1,151
88
votes
9
answers
25k
views
I'm in a committed relationship and I'm being hit on in the workplace - how do I stop it without bringing it to HR?
Some Background
I'm a 21 year old female
I'm living in west Europe
I am in a committed relationship with my boyfriend
The Problem
I recently started an internship for the summer which is amazing ...
- 1,772
77
votes
17
answers
46k
views
How do I react when a girl I like has a new haircut that I don't like very much? [closed]
I've had a past teenage experience (~10 years ago) where a girl I liked (only friends) asked me about whether I liked her fake nails. I answered honestly and say I didn't like them at all and prefer ...
- 808
76
votes
6
answers
64k
views
Ask a girl whether she would like to come back to a hotel with me on a night out without being creepy
A bit of a background, I am in my early 20's, I was in a relationship for 8 years, we have broke up on good terms, and I have never experienced "single life" so I don't have any experience in this ...
- 903
66
votes
10
answers
33k
views
What could you possibly say to a friend who cooked a meal you didn't enjoy at all?
Some friends invite you to their home. There's just the 4 of you (2 couples). S/he is cooking. At the end, s/he is asking you how was the meal s/he made for you. You didn't enjoy it at all, food was ...
- 21.9k
65
votes
12
answers
23k
views
Stopping a relationship with a good friend because It's too overwhelming and new for me
Context :
I'm in my early forties and I've always been a loner and never really made friends. Until recently I didn't even know what was so great about them.
I don't have any problems socializing, ...
- 651
62
votes
12
answers
17k
views
How to ask why I was not included without causing a scene?
My partner has a friend from way-back, T. We sometimes hang out with him and his family and go on day trips together. I've known them for 5 years but the contact is not always as frequent.
While we ...
- 8,510
60
votes
17
answers
24k
views
Answer to: "Why aren't you with your boyfriend right now?"
I have a boyfriend, but still live with my parents and siblings. We've been dating for 8 months.
It seems that every time I have a spare moment with my significant other (SO) not present, someone's ...
- 693
56
votes
11
answers
14k
views
How to respond to questions that feel like I have to defend the relationship I'm in
I'm 18, my girlfriend is 23. We've known each other for a few years, been together for a few weeks. Sometimes people (a mix of family and acquaintances) will ask questions like "Isn't that a too big ...
user9800
51
votes
16
answers
25k
views
How to communicate to my co-workers that they don't have to say "bless you" when I sneeze?
I am slightly annoyed by my co-workers who say "bless you" everytime I sneeze. It feels awkward to me to reply with a "thank you". I usually only thank people when they really ...
- 1,256
49
votes
4
answers
14k
views
How to make a gift without seeming creepy?
This month I'm going to visit London, how Pokémon fans knows for a very limited time in London will open a Pokémon center and I'll be there in that period. I'm very happy for what was a lucky ...
- 1,111
46
votes
11
answers
71k
views
How to deal with my boyfriend’s mother without affecting my relationship with him?
Background
I have been dating my boyfriend for 5 years now and even if everything is perfect with him and I couldn’t be happier, it is not the same with his family and especially with his mother, who ...
- 669
43
votes
9
answers
15k
views
How can I talk to my boyfriend about chores "sharing"?
Background
I have been living with my boyfriend for three months. Both of us are working as trainees in different companies, but while he has 2 hours of daily commuting, I can reach my workplace ...
- 14.3k
42
votes
11
answers
11k
views
How can you distance yourself from people you have nothing in common with without being a snob?
Over the last couple of months, I was entrusted by a few people in my workplace with the fact that I was considered a snob by a large part of the staff. That sort of hit a soft spot since I always ...
- 2,309
40
votes
13
answers
48k
views
How to ask a new friend about his sexuality?
A few weeks ago, I met a guy, and we started a friendship. We're still getting to know each other, but as time passes I have more and more reasons to believe he has different interests than I (a ...
- 653
40
votes
13
answers
19k
views
How to decline a job offer from a previous employer, without burning bridges?
A little over a year ago I changed my job. Now my previous employer (a small startup) has contacted me asking what it would take for me to come back. While the place was not at all bad and I left on ...
- 403
38
votes
9
answers
17k
views
Afraid of losing best friends, how can I tell them?
I have a group of friends with whom I've spent pretty much all of my time during high school and my childhood. We played on the same sports team, spent every free minute playing video games etc. I was ...
- 491
36
votes
8
answers
14k
views
How to react to someone pushing me in public transport? [closed]
Backround
Today I was on my way to work on a bus that was really packed. A woman boarded at some point pushing the people already on board and near the entrance (including me) really hard. My ...
- 2,612
33
votes
5
answers
24k
views
How to tactfully ask a housemate to leave
Background: Me and my fiancée have been living together for three years, two in our actual residence. Half a year ago we invited a friend of mine, who was coming to the city we live in to study, to ...
- 722
32
votes
6
answers
11k
views
How to properly reject an intimate suggestion?
This question comes from a situation that was quite a while ago. At the time I was 16, while I'm 22 now. I'm a guy and was at my girlfriend’s house while we were cuddling. She suggested that I touched ...
- 1,400
30
votes
7
answers
10k
views
How to deal with discussions about finances with SO without it escalating?
My SO (legal life-partnership status1) and I have been together for 6 years and bought a house together 1 year ago. He has a great paying job and earns about 3 times my salary. I have a decent pay.
...
- 8,510
30
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Is there a way in the European culture to consistently refuse to do small but annoying favors to coworkers and friends without alienating them?
I have recently relocated from my home country, Japan, to Europe to work here for a while in an international team, and I am experiencing a big cultural problem about interacting with Europeans. The ...
- 449
26
votes
7
answers
11k
views
How to divulge good exam results without coming across as bragging?
I’m a graduate working in another industry than the one I studied for my BA, so I’m undertaking lots of external training relevant to my job. I've been studying quite hard and have been doing really ...
- 1,666
26
votes
8
answers
6k
views
How do I tell someone that I need to fire him for lack of talent?
I messed up. Hiring good programmers is a hard problem, and I failed. A few weeks have passed since the new replacement for the junior developer position started, and it is becoming increasingly ...
- 271
26
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How to explain to someone that expecting a favour from you is rude?
Context
My partner and I are co-habiting, living with my parents. I commute to work Monday to Friday, working 38 hours a week. My partner works from home. He wakes up with me in the mornings to see ...
- 319
25
votes
6
answers
4k
views
How to refer to someone by name in an online community?
Forgive me if this sounds stupid, but I'm not familiar with the "First Name" and "Last Name" system, although I know last name means "family name".
Case 1
Suppose someone use his real name as an ...
- 8,458
25
votes
5
answers
8k
views
How to deal with a person that does something wrong like littering or hitting a dog and yells at you when you tell them that they did something wrong?
In my life I come across people that do things that are wrong (and most of the times illegal) like littering, hitting animals, parking on the pavement without leaving an inch for pedestrians to pass.
...
- 501
25
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How can I notice if someone is speaking with sarcasm or irony?
I ask this question from a European country; consider your answers this way.
Some people are unable to differentiate serious talking, jokes, and irony or sarcasm. Specifically for the latter, as it's ...
- 1,134
24
votes
12
answers
9k
views
How to ask my partner not to postpone chores?
We've been living together for about a year. Things don't always go as well as they should due to my partner postponing chores A LOT. I on the other hand like to be organised as doing things on time ...
- 2,612
23
votes
5
answers
11k
views
Etiquette when riding a taxi in Germany?
So I just recently rode a taxi again in Germany and I was wondering about the proper etiquette if there is one. I rode a total of like 3 taxi in my life and I never was sure on how to behave (I always ...
- 4,034
23
votes
8
answers
10k
views
How can I best let my once-close friend know that I think our friendship is over--if at all? [closed]
My once-closest friend and I have seriously drifted apart. It's come as far as that I do not want to invest any more energy in the friendship and I'd prefer it to just quietly end.
I am unsure, ...
- 341
23
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How to discuss that I have codependent behavior?
Codependence
I have codependent behavior, which means that I tend to get too attached to someone. Wikipedia does a better job at explaining what it is.
Background
I have a girl I fancy a lot and ...
- 1,400
22
votes
9
answers
4k
views
How can I respond to a false statement when the other person doesn't give me a chance to talk?
Sometimes it happens to me that I am having a conversation with some acquaintance that gets a bit out of hand or unpleasant due to a random comment.
Say I am meeting a friend of a friend. I may say ...
- 603
21
votes
11
answers
14k
views
How to tell a colleague to take care of how he looks
I am working in a software consultancy company, and our job has a good deal of direct interaction with clients. We are a very international bunch of people, but we are based in Germany, and all our ...
- 745
21
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Having a conversation with girlfriend over possible future, when she shuts everything down?
I dated a girl (early 20's) a bit about half a year ago, while she was on a break from her ex relationship. There's about 700 km between us, in different European countries. We chat every day all day ...
anon
18
votes
5
answers
11k
views
How do I prevent people from repeating to others everything I say to them? [closed]
I’d like to know how I can make people stop telling others every single thing I tell them.
Here’s a dialog between me and my high-school classmate, in class:
Me: In case you can’t eat any more, ...
- 567
18
votes
4
answers
6k
views
How to ask someone you see regularly out on a date, without making it awkward?
Here's the situation:
There's this girl, let's call her Jane, that I've known for slightly over a year.
We met pretty randomly when we were both looking for a dance partner for ballroom dancing, and ...
- 189
17
votes
10
answers
9k
views
How to ask someone not to lie?
A friend of mine asked me a question, which I answered. After 4 hours I got a message with "sorry I was busy doing homework, I'll come back to you tomorrow". While this on itself is not that big a ...
- 1,400
15
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How to ask people to speak softer?
I am suffering from a medical condition called hyperacusis, which makes normal levels of noise painful (and potentially damaging) for me. I have found ways to cope with this condition in my daily life,...
- 391
13
votes
4
answers
7k
views
How do I motivate my partner to study a certain field?
Background:
I am an engineer, but I like to do more than that. I have some hobbies that also bring some extra cash.
My wife, on the other hand, she doesn't work right now. She is looking for a job, ...
- 1,384
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How and when do I tell a potential partner that I do not want more kids?
I am male and in my late 30's. About three years ago, my marriage failed and since then, my now ex-wife and I are going separate ways. To make things more complicated, I have a son who was born ...
- 133
13
votes
5
answers
6k
views
How to handle a manipulative person who owes me money
Background
I broke up with my ex about some years ago. I've been through a lot all those (many) years I was in a relationship with her, due to the fact that she suffered from various disorders such as ...
- 2,612
13
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How to approach my Boyfriend on his opinion about having children eventually?
I've got a wonderful boyfriend who I can very openly communicate with. We've been together half a year, but we've been friends for years before that. I'm in my early twenties.
So far we have handled ...
- 139
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What to do if my family keeps trying to fix my relationship with a family member?
I've been estranged from my abusive mother for some time now. We always had problems and she suddenly stopped talking to me, which by no means upset me - I've been feeling better after this, because ...
- 2,612
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How can I communicate to my wife my concerns about her spending habits? [duplicate]
Some context to begin with: My wife and I have been married for two years now. I earn around 2500€ after taxes, and she used to earn around 1500€ after taxes. We both share one bank account, by the ...
- 231
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to ask ex-girlfriend to seek professional help
Background
My now ex-girlfriend and I have dated for nearly three years (both nearly in our 30s). Up until some months ago, our relationship was the perfect one everybody is looking for. In short, we ...
user24136
11
votes
5
answers
10k
views
How to get along with European roommates?
I am a white male engineer born in Brazil and lived also in United States and France. I usually opt to live with roommates since it is more affordable and also I like the atmosphere of a shared living....
- 271
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Should I ask about a colleague's obvious problem, even when I don't care much? [closed]
A colleague has returned to work after spending several months away to take care of her ill child. During this time, I took over some of her duties. She has returned and responsibilities have ...
- 2,041