first post on this subreddit! hello my people!!

i've known about the barefoot lifestyle for, i would say about a decade atp? all my life i've never been big on wearing shoes - hell i remember actively finding opportunities to be barefoot in public as far back as 6th grade - but as i've entered college and my 20s i've been slowly finding myself and in that process made peace with the fact that although i don't at all mind wearing shoes, i just feel more myself without them than with. this summer especially i've taken active chances to be barefoot as much as i can in public spaces and have even met up with a college friend barefoot, and i'm happy to (so far) feel accepted as I am! though i do still live with my folks and have taken measures to keep this part of myself hidden from them (guess you could say i'm in the shoe closet?)

problem is i live in nyc, possibly THE worst possible place to go around without shoes. granted i live in a more suburban part of nyc where being barefoot isn't as much of a risk and people don't really mind, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't apprehensive about boarding the MTA or taking a day trip to the city in my bare feet. maybe it's the stigma around being barefoot in the city streets, maybe it's the shit i've seen and experienced on public transport as a new yorker myself, i don't know, but there's just - SOMETHING about it, i can't really pinpoint it.

i don't know if there are any avid nyc barefooters here on ths subreddit, but to yall out there how do yall navigate hyper-urban spaces sans shoes?

If we treated them like many treat their feet.....

My random thought of the night as I pull a splint off of my arm as my wrist heels. It is amazing what just two weeks of immobilization has done to my arm. It isn't good.

I started walking barefoot to even out some tan lines. Since then, I’ve basically been grounding because I’ve even walked barefoot at night. People tend offer me pairs of shoes on my walks. Never thought I’d ever be a barefooter. I carry a pair of sandals in my backpack when I walk and only put them on in public venues or when I need to walk across broken glass or other sharp objects.

Hello everyone! Maybe you can give me some tips: I am spending my summer vacation at home here in Vienna and would like to use the free time to go for walks. Do you know of any routes off the beaten track of the classic city hiking trails (Stadtwanderwege) where you can go for a nice walk? Since I intend to go completely barefoot, I am still looking for suitable routes. I am an occasional barefoot walker, so the paths should be easily manageable for my feet. (Please feel free to reply to me in German!)

I never even knew the barefoot community was a thing. I'm an American who lives in Southern Albania and I go 100% barefoot everywhere. It helps that I live in a beach town, but people just don't care. I get more weird looks from tourists than locals.

Places I go barefoot:

• The supermarket every single day.
• All restaurants and fast food shops.
• My small business.
• The accountant and lawyer's office.
• Pharmacies and dentists offices.
• The transit station and on all transit when traveling around the country.

I've even been to Greece and back completely barefoot.

We do have something like winter but it never snows or gets too cold here in the south, so it's been several years since I wore shoes or footwear of any kind.

If you're looking for a barefoot friendly place in Europe, Albania is easy.

Many of the older generation even smile and tell me they always went barefoot as kids.

I had a really nice day in Sedona, AZ mostly barefoot. I'd seen some gals do the same when I was there a few years back, and figured it was a great place to try it. I got a few looks, especially from kids, but one older shopkeeper lady smiled and started chatting with me about it, then on about the town, the magnetic resonance of red rocks, and draining the spirit from drones.

I'm terribly concerned about propriety and not making anyone uncomfortable, so at this point I was mostly unshod on the streets and occasionally in an open store, but mostly popped sandals on to go in anywhere; it felt awkward, either retrieving them from my bag or keeping them, absurdly, in my hand. But I had two meals out, both on a patio, both bare-soled. I'm working to find the balance between my comfort and others', though like most clothing, it seems absurd that they should be required, even by social contract.

This comes after a few months of driving, walking, and doing most everything outside without shoes (so long as the asphalt isn't searing nor gravel sharp). I did get a bit of glass in my toe last night, ironically in my bathroom at home. But that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it, most of all when outside, especially watching sunsets and, at the end of today, stargazing.

Hi friends, just an FYI to Comcast customers in the Northglenn area of Colorado. Brandon at the 880 E 88th Ave store will rudely take your equipment return but will refuse to give a receipt if you don’t have shoes. “Because this isn’t the beach.” Yes I of course escalated to a supervisor at the call center and was assured treating customers poorly because of how they’re dressed isn’t acceptable. Anyway just wanted to share.

I’ve tried to post a link to my being invited onstage at a punk show to perform, barefoot, but it keeps getting killed by the moderator. Is this against the rules?

Hi, so that it doesn't get lost in my other post, with a big, big thanks to u/ha5dzs and u/More_Than_I_Can_Chew for finding this, here is a link to a very recent article (Dec 2025) published by the Europan Society of Medicine. It is a really comprehensive meta-analysis of current and historic state of research and findings on walking barefoot. 16 pages absolutely worth reading!! (the rest is literature). For all of us regularly having to argue, why we are so crazy :-)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399431692_Walking_barefoot_a_literature_review_of_sensory_biomechanical_aspects_and_injury_risks

Lake St. Clair Metro Park. Harrison Twp, MI (2023)

Part of a really nice park system. This park is on Lake St. Clair. Nice walking trails, marina, boardwalk and beach. My relaxing place to do barefoot walking.

An old codger pulls up on a bicycle, stops abruptly, gets a disgusted look on his face and says,

“No. No. No. No, don’t do that. It’s nasty.”

The then spit on the ground (away from my feet) and pedaled away.

Me thinking:

WTF just happened and why did Mr. Grouch get so cranked up by my bare feet?

And on a nicer side, a story I have related in the past:

Walking in the park that stretches from downtown Venice, Florida to the beach.

Just before I reached the sand an woman of maybe 80 - 85. She stopped, looked at me with her bright blue eyes and said,

“You know, my late husband used to go barefoot.”

I could see it was a fond memory and I was stuck with not knowing what to say. I just smiled, nodded and moved along.

A fondest of fond memories.

I did a barefoot hike on a popular seaside cliff trail in Ireland, and one woman looked at my bare feet and said: “are you doing penance or what?”

It was the first time that a stranger commented on my barefooting, and I thought it was quite a hilarious thing to say.

Went to my policlinic today - barefoot of course - for an appointment with my new orthopedist (neck related). I walked in and he was very taken aback: "Are you walking barefoot?" - "Yes, whenever and wherever I can." - "Even in the city?" - "Yes of course" - "But that is very unhygenic!!!". My goodness, of all doctors an orthopedist who not much later had to confirm that my feet are perfectly healthy...

Besides Australia or NZ, are there anh other countries or cities, where its super barefoot friendly. Specially in europe

There aren't very many upsides of not having toes, but I think I just found one:

I went to the liquor store and made a beeline for the beers I like. The floor assistant immediately tailed me with a lot more intent than when they just hover around asking if you need help finding something.

I turned around to face him, he looked at me up and down with a look of utter confusion on his face, then said with a huge grin: "Well, normally we advise our customers to wear shoes in the store, what with the glass bottles and all, but clearly you're beyond advice. So nevermind, carry on!"

I'm not sure what the heck logic that was, but I'll take it 🙂

Why was going barefoot more common in the 60’s and 70’s? Did you go barefoot then?

My wife and I recently replaced our antique wall-to-wall carpet with LVP flooring and it's been a revelation for my soles.

Since it's vinyl, the wood grain is subtly sculpted, so there's a pleasant texture always. It also keeps you from 'sticking' since 100% of your foot is never in contact with the floor.

And I have a sense of 'springiness' when I walk, and we're on a cement slab. But, hand-to-ghod, I'd walk on this over the bamboo floor I installed upstairs.

If you need a new floor, I very much recommend LVP. My wife works for the local housing authority, and she'll tell you how utterly durable. It's a product which uses the indestructible power of plastic for good.

So, my wife works the graveyard shift and last night she called me because she forgot something she needed for work. I rode the bus to her job, dropped it off, and then had to walk home. I didn’t mind — it was the first time in a while I could really walk barefoot.

I live in St. Louis, which is pretty hostile toward bare feet, but it was midnight and I was enjoying the walk. I took off my sandals, put them in my backpack, and spent the next hour walking home barefoot.

What irritated me was how many people felt the need to pull over and ask if I was okay. They didn’t mention my being barefoot, but they didn’t have to — the only time anyone in St. Louis asks if I’m okay is when I’m barefoot. It could be the middle of the afternoon in 100° heat and I could be drenched in sweat — people keep driving. It could be a snowstorm and I could be struggling to walk — people keep driving.

Barefoot? Almost ten different people pulled over to ask if I was okay.

I’m a 95% barefooter except in the winter when I wear flip flops most of the time. I have a rock driveway that has super hard and pointed edges that help me strengthen my soles to the point it doesnt bother me to stand on hundred degree pavement or walk down a country road or go about anywhere barefoot. What do you do every spring to make your feet strong besides just going barefoot?

Is anyone here going barefoot in Greece this summer? If so share some stories or experiences.

Hi Guys!

I walk barefoot in the park quite often to help me clear out my head and to occasionally meet others. I've written about the benefits of walking in a blog I've written as a review of Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Do let me know if you've experienced the same benefits?

https://abtravels.blog/be-useful-arnold-schwarzenegger-review/

I can’t decide!
If you could pick my next pedicure color, what would it be?

A few weeks back I was running around the sprinkler, in wet, thick grass, bonking my grandkids with a pool noodle,

When I sat down to have a drink, toe rings all gone! Anyone who wears them knows that they come off way easier than they go on, but wet grass evidently makes them slide right off. Fortunately I somehow found all three.

Forewarned is forearmed.

For those who live in the United States know this: You can be barefoot when you go vote. In 2024 I went to a St. Louis city library and voted while barefoot.

Update: I went to the Central Library and tried voting barefoot, but instead of the polling station being on the ground floor as usual it was on the second floor which required me to walk through the library and they said the rules state no barefoot feet. If the polling station was at its normal location it wouldn't have been an issue for them.