imported post
It's my experience that people rarely notice much of anything.
Modern Americans have let their skills of observation atrophy nearly as much as their sense of smell. They are no more able to visually identify non-immediate threats in the environment than they could track a deer with their nose. Confronted with an attacker, they are unprepared by the "unexpectedness" of it all. Even though the clues are almost always there, and not subtle.
The most obvious scenario where you might lift a coat or shirt to tuck the pistol/holster behind your back still goes without notice 99.9% of the time. Simply tucking something into a jacket pocket or into a holster in the front of your belt is so innocuous as to be invisible.
Half the time people won't even notice an openly carried pistol immediately. If I openly wear my Glock model 22 in a belt holster with a black t-shirt, it goes unremarked in most cases, particularly if it is not silhouetted against a lighter colour from the perspective of the observer.
We Americans are too complacent. Most of us are over-coddled and unable to take care of ourselves. Those of us who sound the warning on this complacency are often taken for paranoids. My experience in traveling the world has made me at least somewhat more observant of body language, interpersonal range, escape routes etc. than most people I know. Girlfriends have noted my insistence on where I sit in relation to the doors and thought it strange (to say nothing of the fact that I carry concealed all the time). To me, that just goes to show how little the average person thinks about their own personal safety, a product of the generally, (but not perfectly) safe society we live in.
However, to more directly address your concern, I would try to find a way to carry that is more versatile and comfortable for you. Depending on how you typically dress, you might consider a shoulder holster. Personally, I tend to wear t-shirts withhalf-buttoned work shirt over it a lot, especially in our Washington winters. This is pretty convenient for shoulder holsters. I can also get to it even with a seat belt on while driving, and I drive far more often than I am a passenger. (I'm right-handed, gun under left armpit.) My shoulder rig is also balanced with spare mag carrier, where my other concealed holsters don't have a provision for extra magazines. I'm not entirely happy with my current shoulder rig, which is a fairly cheap leather setup that I bought in the PX. But I will almost certainly be looking for another, better shoulder rig, even if I end up having it custom-made. In fact, I think it would be great to have one that securely and comfortably attaches different holsters to the rig for carrying different models of sidearm.
I also carry in a SOB holster, which is fine unless I am going to be driving for a long distance, in which case it can be uncomfortable. It's also not convenient to pull out in a hurry if I needed it while actually driving, like a car-jacking scenario. However, while I drive a pretty nice car, it's not high end enough to be a prime car-jacking target for the car itself, and I don't look like an easy target (big guy) so that's a pretty minimal risk.
On my motorcycle, I find the small of the back (SOB) holster feels sort of insecure, but my other concealed holster (a Galco)fits inside my belt in front in the hollow of my thigh/groin area, and is very uncomfortable on the bike. I just started riding again this summer during the short time I was home, so I haven't figured that out to my satisfaction yet, though again, the shoulder rig may be where I end up. Needing to wear a heavier jacket that has to be tightly fastened may interfere with that.
Comfort is an important issue. If you are comfortable, you will carry more often. It's also a long-term health issue. An unbalanced weight, of even just 3 or 4 pounds, can cause long term problems with your back, hips, etc. It's like a repetitive stress injury, it creeps up on you unnoticeably until it just hurts all the time.