Oh, that's interesting re: adjusting from the north to the south. I do think that the looking-ahead-but-not-making-eye-contact thing is the better option.

While I will say that I generally do not attract attention - I'm damned good at being invisible - I get MORE (positive) attention when I'm in a bad mood. Which I've never understood.

re: walking alone after dark et al
Yeah, I grok. :(