Ask Lemmy @lemmy.world dch82 @lemmy.zip 2mo ago

To Americans: How far apart is everything in the US?

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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I live in a suburb in the U.S.

To the nearest convenience store: 322m

To the nearest chain supermarket: 2.4km

To the bus stop: 2.6km

To the nearest park: 5.5km

To the nearest big supermarket: 6.1km

To the nearest library: 7.7km

To the nearest train station: N/A

Notes:

The "convenience store" in my example is a gas station, technically you can buy lottery tickets, candy, cigarettes, beer, and a few things like that - but very limited inventory, it's mostly for people buying gas. It's also very unusual to have a gas station like this located basically in a suburban area, most places you would have to go much further to find one.

no sidewalks or safe passage, you walk on a dangerous road with ditches on either side to get to the convenience store.

the only public transit is a bus, it is used only by poor people, and it doesn't cover the west half of the city (for example I was unable to use public transit to go to school)

I have run to the park before despite being far away, but I think most people would (rightfully) think I was suicidal for doing so. A lot of the way to the park requires walking on dangerous streets where people drive fast around blind curves and where there is little to no shoulders to squeeze by if there are cars, most of the way has no sidewalks, and I have to cross busy roads where drivers are going 80+kmh.

Owning a car here is considered a part of being an adult, people without a car are seen as childish or immature, and usually suspected of being drunks who have lost their license due to DUIs or felons who cannot have a driving license and aren't allowed to leave the state. It is assumed everyone drives everywhere, alternatives are unthinkable to most people here.
- Those distances would be perfect for a bicycle if you had save bicycle lanes
  
  Well, those distances use a nearby highway, and there are no bike lanes anywhere (let alone sidewalks). As mentioned earlier, being suicidal means I did use a bicycle anyway, and after a couple years I had a brain injury, was hit by cars twice and ended up with permanent injuries. So... yeah, I don't recommend cycling (if you feel like being alive and able-bodied, anyway).
  
  What is also not mentioned is that the nearest supermarket is a shitty Walmart, the nearest park is very small and not really worth going to, and the bus is not a practical form of public transit here.
  
  I have to drive 20 - 30 minutes to actually get to stores, parks, or other places I would actually go to. I think that's pretty good relative to most people, I live in a centralized location and most places are equidistant. I used to live in a nearby more rural town and I had to drive 45 - 60 minutes to get most places, and that was much worse.
  
  (That's why I said if you had safe bicycle lanes. But are there no local politicians who'd be willing to do anything about that? A gravel road isn't that expensive and would suffice.)
  
  The county mayor describes himself as a Rothbardian, and the government here sometimes feels openly hostile to people, but especially to bicyclists. I received a lot of harassment for cycling, it is not supported culturally, and is even viewed as though I am a political enemy of the people. Huge, lifted emotional-support trucks are pretty common here.
  
  Damn
  
  Rothbard opposed egalitarianism and the civil rights movement, and blamed women's voting and activism for the growth of the welfare state.[24][25][10][11] He promoted historical revisionism and befriended the Holocaust denier Harry Elmer Barnes.[26][27][28] Later in his career, Rothbard advocated a libertarian alliance with paleoconservatism (which he called paleolibertarianism), favoring right-wing populism and describing David Duke and Joseph McCarthy as models for political strategy.[29][30][24][31] In the 2010s, he received renewed attention as an influence on the alt-right.[32][10][33][34]
  
  Oh and bicycling also wasn't popular in Europe when my grandfather was young (50s/60s), when you were cycling people thought you were too poor to buy a motorcycle. But mindsets can change, now bicycling is hugely popular both for moving around (especially in cities) and for sports.
  
  yeah, during COVID the mayor became famous for running attack ads against the health department, and as a result of his leadership the state legislature stripped the health department of their ability to implement any policies or directives

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