First thing I (another Canadian) noticed when we switched from the car to a shuttle to the airport (crossed the border by car to take a flight to Florida) was that there were multiple people on that shuttle that were at least as big as the most obese person I’d ever seen in person up to that point.
Even though our cultures overlap quite a bit, there’s something different in that aspect.
In Canada or the US? At least where I am, the Walmart shopping population doesn’t seem that different from the general pop, though I generally avoid going there so maybe I’m just not looking enough.
Disclaimer that I am aware of the people of Walmart meme, but kinda assumed that it was more of a “Walmart is popular therefore you’ll run in to people who live at the extremes” than a “Walmart uniquely attracts those who live at the extremes”.
The obesity epidemic really depends on where you are. I don’t see any fat people where I live now, but they were absolutely everywhere in the city I lived in before.
This was in Detroit. It wasn’t as noticable in Florida, or on separate trips to California. Like I’m sure I saw some pretty obese people in those locations (as I do in various places in Canada), but it wasn’t to the point where my mind made specific note of it for me to remember over a decade later.
Central California has tons of fat people, especially at places like Walmart. They all seem to congregate there. But then places like Huntington Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco, have almost no fat people. I think the better the socioeconomic situation is, and the more accessible walking is, the less likely people are to be overweight in an area.
Yeah, I was in SF and then LA and spent the free days of the LA trip hiking Hollywood Hills and visiting six flags, which probably skews more towards people fit enough to hike or fit in rollercoaster seats.
I also visited a market near the hotel that had prices low enough that my assumption at the time was it had to be mostly stolen and got a great duffel bag for like a quarter of what I’d expect to pay for that back home.
Amusement parks tend to bring some pretty hefty people off the couches. The Hollywood Hills are usually pretty healthy. What did you think of SF and L.A.? SF used to be my favorite city in the world. That was twenty years ago though. I’ve heard that it is in serious decline now. Some parts of Hollywood can be cool to visit, but L.A. in general is completely overwhelming to me. I want to get the fuck out after 2-3 days. To be fair to L.A., I have the same reaction to NYC. I think they’re really neat and amazing for a day or two and then I just want to escape and get away from the oppressive concrete jungle.
I was only in SF for one day and had an event most of that day, unfortunately, so I didn’t get to see much of the city. I think I saw the golden gate bridge from the plane. The hotel they put me in was nice, though, most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.
LA was hot and the traffic was pretty crazy. I was there for about a week for siggraph with work. Santa Monica was nice, it was cool seeing the Hollywood sign in person, and I do remember looking back at the city and seeing all the haze.
Six flags had rollercoasters that lasted longer than the longest one at Canada’s Wonderland (at least at the time, their 3 newest ones are a bit more comparable). I won a giant Scooby Doo stuffy because they had a game where I figured out the trick to it on my first play and returned later to upgrade my small Scooby-Doo to the large one (and bought the bag for the plane trip). The stuffy was pretty cheaply made though, so they might have still made money from the two plays I paid for lol.
Other bits and pieces I remember are the different vegetation they had (my first time seeing palm trees) and noticing the barbed wire on a bunch of flat roofs. Also it was weird to see commercials for prescription drugs.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot one of the highlights of the trip, going to Fry’s during it’s heyday. I was buying my own hardware at that time but it was the first time I saw an aisle of motherboards where you could actually see the boards on display. I think we ended up going there twice, once for cables we forgot to pack for our booth, then later for our own shopping trip.
First thing I (another Canadian) noticed when we switched from the car to a shuttle to the airport (crossed the border by car to take a flight to Florida) was that there were multiple people on that shuttle that were at least as big as the most obese person I’d ever seen in person up to that point.
Even though our cultures overlap quite a bit, there’s something different in that aspect.
You need to visit a Walmart and good luck trying to forget.
In Canada or the US? At least where I am, the Walmart shopping population doesn’t seem that different from the general pop, though I generally avoid going there so maybe I’m just not looking enough.
Disclaimer that I am aware of the people of Walmart meme, but kinda assumed that it was more of a “Walmart is popular therefore you’ll run in to people who live at the extremes” than a “Walmart uniquely attracts those who live at the extremes”.
Walmart’s in the USA. I am amazed how the electric scooter frames hold together.
The obesity epidemic really depends on where you are. I don’t see any fat people where I live now, but they were absolutely everywhere in the city I lived in before.
This was in Detroit. It wasn’t as noticable in Florida, or on separate trips to California. Like I’m sure I saw some pretty obese people in those locations (as I do in various places in Canada), but it wasn’t to the point where my mind made specific note of it for me to remember over a decade later.
Central California has tons of fat people, especially at places like Walmart. They all seem to congregate there. But then places like Huntington Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco, have almost no fat people. I think the better the socioeconomic situation is, and the more accessible walking is, the less likely people are to be overweight in an area.
Yeah, I was in SF and then LA and spent the free days of the LA trip hiking Hollywood Hills and visiting six flags, which probably skews more towards people fit enough to hike or fit in rollercoaster seats.
I also visited a market near the hotel that had prices low enough that my assumption at the time was it had to be mostly stolen and got a great duffel bag for like a quarter of what I’d expect to pay for that back home.
Amusement parks tend to bring some pretty hefty people off the couches. The Hollywood Hills are usually pretty healthy. What did you think of SF and L.A.? SF used to be my favorite city in the world. That was twenty years ago though. I’ve heard that it is in serious decline now. Some parts of Hollywood can be cool to visit, but L.A. in general is completely overwhelming to me. I want to get the fuck out after 2-3 days. To be fair to L.A., I have the same reaction to NYC. I think they’re really neat and amazing for a day or two and then I just want to escape and get away from the oppressive concrete jungle.
I was only in SF for one day and had an event most of that day, unfortunately, so I didn’t get to see much of the city. I think I saw the golden gate bridge from the plane. The hotel they put me in was nice, though, most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.
LA was hot and the traffic was pretty crazy. I was there for about a week for siggraph with work. Santa Monica was nice, it was cool seeing the Hollywood sign in person, and I do remember looking back at the city and seeing all the haze.
Six flags had rollercoasters that lasted longer than the longest one at Canada’s Wonderland (at least at the time, their 3 newest ones are a bit more comparable). I won a giant Scooby Doo stuffy because they had a game where I figured out the trick to it on my first play and returned later to upgrade my small Scooby-Doo to the large one (and bought the bag for the plane trip). The stuffy was pretty cheaply made though, so they might have still made money from the two plays I paid for lol.
Other bits and pieces I remember are the different vegetation they had (my first time seeing palm trees) and noticing the barbed wire on a bunch of flat roofs. Also it was weird to see commercials for prescription drugs.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot one of the highlights of the trip, going to Fry’s during it’s heyday. I was buying my own hardware at that time but it was the first time I saw an aisle of motherboards where you could actually see the boards on display. I think we ended up going there twice, once for cables we forgot to pack for our booth, then later for our own shopping trip.