It amazes me what a small geographical area this phenomenon follows (or seems to – my evidence is admittedly anecdotal). My wife and I moved from the US to the Flemish part of Belgium, not far from the Dutch border. In the US I was pretty average height for a man and my wife was above average for a woman. In Belgium, I felt short and she felt average.
Then we moved to France. Not a big move, mind you, we’re not all that far from the Belgian border. I once again feel average height, and not only does my wife feel tall, she literally cannot find shoes in her size – she has to order them from Benelux, the UK, or Germany and hope they fit. Her main local options are shops that cater to drag queens, and while she would love to support them, she is not of the opinion that she needs to look fabulous while she walks the dog.
