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I spent six months living in a rural New Zealand town when I was 11. About 95% of people there (including me) were barefoot everywhere—in the home, at school, a

I spent six months living in a rural New Zealand town when I was 11. About 95% of people there (including me) were barefoot everywhere—in the home, at school, at the grocery store, at the doctor's office. Some sports were predominantly barefoot too (I was on my school's cross-country team and everyone ran barefoot, but I was also on a soccer team where we used cleats). There was no stigma against wearing shoes anywhere, but the majority of people still chose not to. Did I ever get thorns or glass in my foot? Yes. Did I ever regret going barefoot? No. It was completely liberating in a way that's hard to describe.

shoes_for_thee 8y ago
That sounds lovely. I imagine the weather must have been fairly warm? I spent a few summers in my youth similarly barefoot in Virginia from June until September. I remember enjoying it, and it's something I often wish I could revisit as an adult.
jacobolus 8y ago
I have been walking around San Francisco barefoot with my 2-year-old kid for a year. We get told on a daily basis that we should watch out for broken glass on the sidewalk, but the only (minor) foot punctures we’ve had are (1) I stepped on a fish bone in my own kitchen, and (2) my kid stepped on a thumbtack near a picnic table at the playground. (Edit: to be clear, there is regularly broken glass on the sidewalk, which we step around.) I suppose there is some chance of not paying attention, stepping on something big and sharp, and getting a serious injury, but it frankly seems less likely than getting hit by a car. I think people are in general quite poor at evaluating and balancing risks. In the advantages column: my kid’s “toddling” phase lasted like 2 months, and he is a faster and more graceful a walker/runner than any kids his age here. (I’m sure compared to someone in a hunting tribe he would be no better than average, but young city kids are weak and awkward.) There is so much information picked up from the ground while trying to move, and so many additional muscles in the foot/lower leg to use when not in a stiff shoe. Not being barefoot when learning to walk is a huge handicap for the little developing brain. The only places we typically go that really insist on shoes here are occasional restaurants and the public library. More people could get away with walking barefoot in more places than they might expect.
- mises 8y ago
  I would be concerned about dirty needles etc. as much as anything, especially in a place like San Francisco. Junkies can carry God-knows-what, but I can respect you for braving that risk.
  - williamdclt 8y ago
    I mean I don't disagree, but living in a big city (London) it is •very* rare I see a needle in the street (once in the past year?). It never was on a walkable path, always in some sort of gutter. I'd assume the risk to be so close to zero it's negligible, I'd be more worried about breaking my toes hitting them on stuff
  - jacobolus 8y ago
    There are some homeless drug addicts in our neighborhood and I would not be surprised at needles at night or early morning in some nooks or gutters here or there, but the only place I have seen needles in the middle of the day on the sidewalk is near Civic Center. Still, even if there were regularly needles lying around, the chances of stepping on a needle are vanishingly small. (Have you ever stepped on a needle while wearing shoes? People going barefoot are paying a lot closer attention to the ground.) The chances of picking up something from that are much smaller still. Needles pass diseases when people re-use them to inject stuff into their blood, not when they accidentally step on one. If worried about disease, there is probably a (still very tiny but) significantly higher risk of stepping on disease-carrying poop while having a cut on the foot.
- texuf 8y ago
  Ever tried vibrams?
  - jacobolus 8y ago
    Yes, I wear vibrams when it is uncomfortably cold on the ground, or when going to the library.
- JadeNB 8y ago
vram22 8y ago
>It was completely liberating in a way that's hard to describe. That's very interesting. I can imagine what you mean, because even though I take off my shoes only once or twice during the day (and at night to sleep, of course), I feel a lot of freedom or relief when I do. Washing the feet and then letting them get some air, does feel quite good, although you stop noticing it after a while, until you put shoes on again for some time and then take them off again.

shoes_for_thee 8y ago

That sounds lovely. I imagine the weather must have been fairly warm? I spent a few summers in my youth similarly barefoot in Virginia from June until September. I remember enjoying it, and it's something I often wish I could revisit as an adult.

jacobolus 8y ago

I have been walking around San Francisco barefoot with my 2-year-old kid for a year. We get told on a daily basis that we should watch out for broken glass on the sidewalk, but the only (minor) foot punctures we’ve had are (1) I stepped on a fish bone in my own kitchen, and (2) my kid stepped on a thumbtack near a picnic table at the playground. (Edit: to be clear, there is regularly broken glass on the sidewalk, which we step around.) I suppose there is some chance of not paying attention, stepping on something big and sharp, and getting a serious injury, but it frankly seems less likely than getting hit by a car. I think people are in general quite poor at evaluating and balancing risks. In the advantages column: my kid’s “toddling” phase lasted like 2 months, and he is a faster and more graceful a walker/runner than any kids his age here. (I’m sure compared to someone in a hunting tribe he would be no better than average, but young city kids are weak and awkward.) There is so much information picked up from the ground while trying to move, and so many additional muscles in the foot/lower leg to use when not in a stiff shoe. Not being barefoot when learning to walk is a huge handicap for the little developing brain. The only places we typically go that really insist on shoes here are occasional restaurants and the public library. More people could get away with walking barefoot in more places than they might expect.

mises 8y ago
I would be concerned about dirty needles etc. as much as anything, especially in a place like San Francisco. Junkies can carry God-knows-what, but I can respect you for braving that risk.
- williamdclt 8y ago
  I mean I don't disagree, but living in a big city (London) it is •very* rare I see a needle in the street (once in the past year?). It never was on a walkable path, always in some sort of gutter. I'd assume the risk to be so close to zero it's negligible, I'd be more worried about breaking my toes hitting them on stuff
- jacobolus 8y ago
  There are some homeless drug addicts in our neighborhood and I would not be surprised at needles at night or early morning in some nooks or gutters here or there, but the only place I have seen needles in the middle of the day on the sidewalk is near Civic Center. Still, even if there were regularly needles lying around, the chances of stepping on a needle are vanishingly small. (Have you ever stepped on a needle while wearing shoes? People going barefoot are paying a lot closer attention to the ground.) The chances of picking up something from that are much smaller still. Needles pass diseases when people re-use them to inject stuff into their blood, not when they accidentally step on one. If worried about disease, there is probably a (still very tiny but) significantly higher risk of stepping on disease-carrying poop while having a cut on the foot.
texuf 8y ago
Ever tried vibrams?
- jacobolus 8y ago
  Yes, I wear vibrams when it is uncomfortably cold on the ground, or when going to the library.
JadeNB 8y ago

vram22 8y ago

>It was completely liberating in a way that's hard to describe. That's very interesting. I can imagine what you mean, because even though I take off my shoes only once or twice during the day (and at night to sleep, of course), I feel a lot of freedom or relief when I do. Washing the feet and then letting them get some air, does feel quite good, although you stop noticing it after a while, until you put shoes on again for some time and then take them off again.