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submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by dch82@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I've heard the legends of having to drive to literally everywhere (e.g. drive thru banks), but I have no clue how far apart things are.

I live in suburban London where you can get to a big supermarket in 10 minutes of walking, a train station in 20 minutes and convenience stores are everywhere. You can get anywhere with bus and train in a few hours.

Can someone help a clueless British lemmyposter know how far things are in the US?

EDIT

Here are my walking distances:

  • To the nearest convenience store: 250m
  • To the nearest chain supermarket: 350m
  • To the bus stop: 310m
  • To the nearest park: 400m
  • To the nearest big supermarket: 1.3km
  • To the nearest library: 1.2km
  • To the nearest train station: 1km

Straight-line distance to Big Ben: 16km

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[-] MagicShel@programming.dev 1 points 3 weeks ago

I love in a suburb of a Midwestern state capital.

Here are my walking distances: (I'll do my best to convert distances)

  • To the nearest convenience store: 3.2km
  • To the nearest chain supermarket: 4km
  • To the bus stop: 2.75km
  • To the nearest park: 1.5km (it's a pretty decent park with a swimming/fishing pond)
  • To the nearest big supermarket: 12km
  • To the nearest library: 2.4km
  • To the nearest train station: 10km (this isn't a commuter line, but a long distance city to city line). This is also where intracity buses are boarded.
  • To State Capitol: 13 km

Of all of these, only the walk to the Capitol is shorter than the drive (by about 1.5km) due to walking paths. I've never walked it all in one go, but I have walked both halves of the trail.

[-] Sabata11792@ani.social 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I live in a small shithole town in Pennsylvania about an hour drive outside a major city and 15 minutes outside of a smaller city.

The liquor store a dollar store and a few tiny shops are within ~4k Big Macs(top to bottom length) away, but everywhere else needs a car. There is nothing in town other than a few small shops, everything else was closed long before my time.

It's about a 15 minute drive to get to the next town over since all the stores are there. There is no other non car transportation infrastructure near by other than county buses that you shouldn't use unarmed.

The nearest landmark of any cultural significance (outside of going into the city) is the empty field in Somerset county a few hours away.

Basically if I want something other than whiskey or bread, it's a 15 minute drive. Still better than when I was still living with my parents because they were even further out from civilization.

Getting to the next closest state is about a 3 hours trip and I'm close to the border.

[-] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 weeks ago

I live in a planned community where everything is supposed to be accessible by walking or biking. There are greenway paths all over the place. I generally drive because I can't carry a weeks worth of food on my bike and most destinations don't have a safe place to lock your bike up. An unattended bike seems to be considered a free bike.

[-] papalonian@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I live in a newly developed area. The nearest convenience store to me is a ~10 minute drive. Also, since people only started living here a few years ago, the city has only just started paying attention to quality of life things like shade trees, so you'd be walking a good 45 minutes there and back in direct sunlight.

I fucking hate this country 🙃

[-] Donebrach@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

According to wikipedia, the contiguous 48 states of the US (which occupy the middleish part of North America) are 8,080,464.3 km2, compared to Europe’s 10,180,000 km2, so that should give you an idea. My country is nearly as big as your entire continent, thus things are very spread out. Also our entire modern culture was designed around cars, suburbs and racism, so towns are flat, expansive and nothing is close to anything useful unless you have a car—woe to those without (myself included).

[-] HuntressHimbo@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Same figures for me:

  • Convenience store: 2.7km
  • Supermarket: 2.5km
  • Bus stop: 4.2km (this may be incorrect I think there was a closer one that didn't show on the map)
  • Park: 6.2km
  • Big Supermarket: 3.5km
  • Library: 6km
  • Train station: 7.9km
  • Hart Plaza(nowhere really analogous to big Ben around me): 46km
[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Corner store with basics: 5 min Supermarket: 15 min Restaurants: 5 min Park: 3 min Bus stop: 5 min Library: 15 min Local rail: 20 min Regional/National rail: 40 min

All walking distances. I live in a neighborhood that was designed before cars existed so it’s more like Europe in terms of distances/amenities. Except our transit infrastructure is shit.

[-] pyrflie@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago

The only measure on here that matters to most of the US is the Big Ben, and that is only our daily commute.

The US is big.

Meter measures are for rifle shots or bike rides. Maybe runs. It's not a real measure of travel for us.

[-] tburkhol@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Wow. I thought I lived in a pretty walkable part of Atlanta. I really only use my car for the grocery or a 'big' shopping trip.

  • Convenience store 2 km
  • Chain supermarket 1.5 km
  • Bus stop 1.3 km
  • Park 300m
  • Big supermarket 2.5 km
  • Library 2.7 km
  • Train (subway) station 1.3 km
  • Downtown Atlanta 13 km
[-] dch82@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

And I don't even live anywhere the centre: I live in one of the only London boroughs without an Underground station, that borders ~~no man's land~~ the outside of London

[-] SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

Where my friend lives, in a typical American suburb:

  • To the nearest convenience store: 1.5km
  • To the nearest chain supermarket: 1.5km
  • To the bus stop: >1km
  • To the nearest park: 400m
  • To the nearest big supermarket: 1.5km (they're all the same thing lol)
  • To the nearest library: 1.4km
  • To the nearest train station: 1.7km

(These feel like clues to Jet Lag: the Game - Hide and Seek...)

[-] Platypus@lemmings.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

250 m to the nearest mini market

400 to the nearest mini mall

1k to the railroad station

400 to the park

150 to the (unreliable) bus stop

[-] DancingBear@midwest.social -1 points 3 weeks ago
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this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
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