I read a blog post by a person from Maui where she said people there are so laid back that they wear bikinis while shopping at Costco. That reminded me that I took a bus trip with a woman who wore only a bikini–in Tacoma! Do you ever see people outside of beach areas who wear swimsuits?
Not really. Of course, we don’t really have beaches here, either (Scummy Lake doesn’t really count).
Not *just *the swimsuit, but I’ve seen bikini tops, tankini tops or the top of a tank suit with a coverup or skirt or pair of shorts in the summer. Not sure if it was a fashion choice or someone on the way to or from the beach or pool, though.
I have to admit, I have one tankini top with a built in bra that’s pretty much indistinguishable from a nice halter top. I’ve been tempted to wear it as a top in the summer, but I don’t have quite enough nerve. You probably couldn’t tell it’s a swimsuit, but I’d still know. 
To answer the OP, yes.
I live in the desert, so it’s not uncommon for people to go to a swimming pool as the first thing they do in a day with friends, then go to various other public places like a mall or shopping center in their swimwear. Males are usually harder to tell that they were swimming before but females sometimes just throw a tank top or other shirt over their bikini top and then wear some short cotton shorts or one of those dress things that WhyNot mentioned.
Here in Austin, one of the official uniforms is the bikini top with cutoffs. And a straw cowboy hat, the more beat up the better. And oversize shades. And flip-flops. Sometimes the women will wear this uniform as well.
Quite a bit. There’s a large public park nearby with a complex of swimming pools and water slides and such, and you’ll often see whole families in swimwear before/after visiting making stops at restaurants and discount stores.
Well, yes, but I live in Florida. A friend moved down here from South Dakota and it took her a while to get used to how little people tend to wear in the summer.
In the summer, people will walk down my street on the way to the beach in just swimsuit and shorts. On the bus, too, especially the North Av bus on the way to the huge North Avenue Beach.
There are no real lakes or rivers within ten miles of where I live, so I never see it here.
No, but there are usually a few topless women downtown in the hottest part of the summer.
The thread title reminded me of A & P, by John Updike.
Having lived most of my life in a beach town, yes, I have seen plenty of people walk around in swimsuits. Women usually wear at least some kind of wrap around their hips if they are not actually on the beach, but this can be so insubstantial as to be invisible - or it can be a muumuu leaving only the arms and shoulders bare and trailing on the floor.
Dudes in boardshorts are also pretty common. Both sexes will wear flipflops if they are going into any place that serves food, and the dudes will wear something resembling a shirt.
Today I saw a kid running up a busy road with a Speedo on and his skateboard in hand. The downhill to this road has about a 6% grade in certain sections. I wonder if he is in the hospital tonight with major road rash and a couple of broken bones.
I see kids and teens in swimsuits with shorts or minor cover-ups in the summer, coming and going from the pool, but otherwise, not really. It’s Pittsburgh, we’re not known for our long stretches of blistering hot summer weather. (We get them, but usually the afternoons are punctuated with a delightful thunderstorm.)
It depends on where I am in L.A.
Westwood, no.
Santa Monica, yes.
I see it (and do it) all the time, but swimming is usually involved in some way or other.
It wouldn’t be unusual for me to go grocery shopping or to a restaurant in my swim suit. But if I do, it’s because I’m on my way back from the beach.
Rarely. San Francisco, while it is in “Sunny California” (ha!), is almost always too cold for skimpy clothing. But on the few days it is genuinely hot, you might see some women walking to/from Dolores Park in a bikini top. Dolores Park because even on hot days, the beach might still be cold, plus it’s like three whole miles away, and who wants to deal with that?
Of course. Many of the Québécois who visit Old Orchard in Maine think nothing of shopping in bikinis and speedos.
Now for those people who say they see people in swimsuits in restaurants you mean with some coverup right? Because I’d be suprised if restaurants let you in just wearing swimsuits.