Moving from NOVA to Tampa- Anything I should know?

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by bavariantransplant

Oh please, Europe has plenty to drop a jaw at, get over it and stop concerning yourself with what others do.

Well, it's a discussion forum and that's what people do. They discuss.
And of course Europe also has similar, if not quite so pronounced, problems with obesity. It's happening the world over, just a decade or two behind the USA.
But I'll offer one observation. There is not a single supermarket anywhere in Europe that offers motorised transport at their door for shoppers too fat to walk around unaided.
Similarly, I have never come across any airport anywhere else in the world where there are super-wide wheelchairs at arrival gates for people too fat to walk off a plane.
Obesity, and the health problems associated with it, is the single biggest preventable cause of the massive strain being placed on America's healthcare system. It's not a natrual disease but a man-made one and the reasons behind it are directly traceable back to the huge portions of poor quality food that Americans consume and their willingness to use a car rather than walk.
And the real shame in Florida is that there is so much natural fruit and produce grown here.
One other quick observation from my visit to my local supermarket today - the breakfast cereal aisle was three times as long as the produce aisle.
Just saying.

[bavariantransplant]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

Well, it's a discussion forum and that's what people do. They discuss.
And of course Europe also has similar, if not quite so pronounced, problems with obesity. It's happening the world over, just a decade or two behind the USA.
But I'll offer one observation. There is not a single supermarket anywhere in Europe that offers motorised transport at their door for shoppers too fat to walk around unaided.
Similarly, I have never come across any airport anywhere else in the world where there are super-wide wheelchairs at arrival gates for people too fat to walk off a plane.
Obesity, and the health problems associated with it, is the single biggest preventable cause of the massive strain being placed on America's healthcare system. It's not a natrual disease but a man-made one and the reasons behind it are directly traceable back to the huge portions of poor quality food that Americans consume and their willingness to use a car rather than walk.
And the real shame in Florida is that there is so much natural fruit and produce grown here.
One other quick observation from my visit to my local supermarket today - the breakfast cereal aisle was three times as long as the produce aisle.
Just saying.

I agree. I was just talking about this with a friend today, these such things are creeping into Europe. Fast food and high processed food, not 24 hour stores but megastores that offer more for less, they are starting to take hold.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by bavariantransplant

I agree. I was just talking about this with a friend today, these such things are creeping into Europe. Fast food and high processed food, not 24 hour stores but megastores that offer more for less, they are starting to take hold.

I'm afraid you're wrong. These things are not " starting to take hold " they've been around for decades in Europe.
Funnily enough, we even have McDonalds,Burger King,Pizza Hut et al.
And 24 hour megastores selling more for less.
The difference, I suppose, is quantity.Portion sizes are huge in America.Just massive.So much so that often when I eat in an American restaurant an entrée is sufficient.
Size is also important in the country. America is so vast that there are few constraints in building environments for people to live in , hence the use of a car to get around.
But in Tampa the big plus is the weather. It's rarely too cold or wet to make exercising outdoor uncomfortable and working up a sweat in the heat is a great way to stay fit and lose weight.
But trying to beat nature by cutting yourself off from it in air-conditioned and clinically sealed environments is a waste of time.
Florida is built on a swamp. Bugs, snakes,wildlife, heat,humidity are perfectly at home here. We're the interlopers, not them.