Why are guys in LA rather short? (transplants, office)

[disgruntled la native]

Yeah pretty much Germanic/Nordics are the only consistently tall group. There are tall people of any background, of course, but Mediterranean/Jewish/Slavic whites are not so tall. Compared to the rest of the US (states like Minnesota and Wisconsin are overwhelmingly Germanic/Nordic for example) LA is a very diverse, ethnic city hence people are not as tall.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by trancedout

I noticed in Chicago, compared to Des Moines...I felt relatively tall for the first time in my life. I'm 5'9 - but 5'10 in dress shoes, lol.

It seems like the only ethnicity that produces males that are consistently 6ft & up are the Nordic, Germanic, or Scandinavian descended whites. Most black guys I have seen and known haven't been that tall, I think a lot of that is still attributed to a basketball stereotype - at least in the midwest.

It really seems like any city with a large minority populations skew shorter (whether it be Indian, Asian, Middle-eastern, Hispanic, etc). Non-Aryan whites also generally do not seem to be as tall as the Nordic whites.

As for dating in the midwest, it does matter. The small percent of attractive women past a certain age generally prefer the regular tall white guy in khakis and a button down shirt. You rarely, if ever see a taller woman than man if they are a couple in the midwest, even if she's in heels.

Well if a woman in LA is looking for only that tall Northern European descent male, she will have to wait in line or go outside the metro area because they're not the majority.
I've noticed a lot more ethnic whites; Armenians, Persians, Jewish, Italians, Russians. A lot of them mixed with Anglos and what not. Lots of mixed Asians, Hispanics, etc.

LA isn't really short-short. I mean 5'8 and 5'9 isn't that short but in comparison to places like Boston where they have these tall Irish/English and German guys or the Midwest where a lot of people are part Swedish/Norwegian and Texas full of Germanic, Dutch folks.

Again, I am still surprised by how one of the tallest groups in LA are the Koreans.

[yamota]

some of the tallest non-white guys in LA can be seen at the Staples center during NBA season

[moonsparkle]

This could also depend on neighborhood. I've heard before that West LA has a lot of "Abercrombie looking midwest guys". All-american types are probably found there more than most of LA.

[LA Fan]

I too have noticed this as well, and I was born and raised in LA. At 5' 10 3/4" I feel tall and when someone describe me I am always mentioned as tall. Yet when I lived in Fresno I felt short compared to the majority of the men around me. In the office I worked in I was the shortest guy in the department.

Same with Chicago, I didn't feel very tall compared to most of the men. Anyway both my wife and I are considered tall among people in LA, she's 5' 9". With heels she's taller than me, and with no shoes on her legs are actually longer than mine so her hips are slightly above mine. I often joke with her calling us the twin towers, even though I'm not all that tall compared to men in cities such as Dallas, or Fresno.

[Lorielicious]

In LA I was pretty tall, especially living in K-Town, where at 6'2" and 5'7" respectively, my husband and I were the tallest people around by a long shot. In Minneapolis we fit in better size-wise, as I was pretty average height, but very skinny. Minnesotans are a hearty bunch! Here in Chicago, I'm somewhere on the border of average height and tall. These are, of course, only anecdotes and I have no real data to back up where I stack up comparatively in each place.

[BarcelonaFan]

I don't think anyone has any hard data to back this up but for most part it seems like poeple have noticed that LA guys are generally not the tallest in the country.

This could also depend on neighborhood. I've heard before that West LA has a lot of "Abercrombie looking midwest guys". All-american types are probably found there more than most of LA.

The Pretty Boys are tall but not 6'2 and up. I've noticed they're usually my height or a straight 6'0 for the most part.

Point is, you will be in the minority if your over 6'0 in LA. This is actually the only city I've ever been to where the white guys are shorter than I expected them to be.

[9162]

I would agree that TX seems to have a lot of very tall white men.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

The measure of a man is more than height. How about the thickness of his wallet or the length of his, well you know. Then again I guess we could place thickness in there as well. LOL

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by 9162

I would agree that TX seems to have a lot of very tall white men.

Corn fed tall white good ol' boys of Scots/Irish, German and Dutch descent that also wear two inch tall boots on top of their already 6'0 height.

If you're less than 6'0 and are insecure about your height, then do not go to a country western bar in TX. LOL.