Ask Lemmy

At my parents' place, it's about 9 miles (~14km) to the nearest gas station/convenience store, which has super limited hours, or roughly a 15 minute drive. It's about 14 miles (~23km) to the nearest grocery store, or about a 20 minute drive.

I live in the suburbs of a major city, so the nearest stores from me are around a mile (1.6km) away. The nearest big supermarket is like 2 miles (3.2km) away.

Depends on the state. There are places where stores are 2+ hours away by car.

In my area, it falls into 2 categories-

1. Things are 20-30 min by car and are 20-30 miles away (highway)
2. Things are 20-30 min by car and are 3-5 miles away.

This is totally based on traffic and roads- I’m in the woods outside Washington DC, so while the density is high in the cities, I’m 15 min from literally everything minimum (by car). I couldn’t walk or bike to a store, I’m 30ish min from work combination highway and local roads.

If you live in a city, you might live literally on top of stores in the same building. Shopping centers with above condos and apartments are becoming a popular replacement for shopping malls in my area, but are very very expensive (often over $1million) for a townhouse in one of these shopping “communities”.

I buy nearly everything online and have it delivered, most stuff (groceries, goods, electronics, housewares, etc) come between 0-3 days.

I live out west. Think of how far would be intolerable to walk in 45 degree heat and then add 30 minutes standing by the road, waiting for traffic lights to change, so you can attempt to cross without a crosswalk or a sidewalk, while you roast in the added heat from car exhaust.

In my home town getting to most basic necessities took 20min driving. Mind you that was the capital city of my state

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.

Bank: 24 miles / 38.6km Grocery store: 4 miles / 6.4 km Work: 50 miles / 70km Parents house: 703 miles / 1131 km

I need to move closer for work, but couldn't afford it do to dumb choices for a bit there.

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

Small town in Oregon here (all measured along the routes walked, not 'as the crow flies'):

• Convenience Store: ~150 meters, right down the road
• Supermarket: Will get back to later
• Bus Stop: The local bus company runs a loop around town so there's technically one closer to my house than the convenience store, but the busses that can take you to another town stop at the one ~400 meters away.
• Park: Three parks, which are ~400, ~500, and ~580 meters away respectively, though there's not much of anything at the 400 meter one but some sports fields.
• Big Supermarket: Will get back to later
• Library: ~500 meters (the 500 meter park is right across from it)
• Train Station: 29 kilometers by car to the nearest passenger rail station I can find. Without a car I'd need to walk ~400 m to the bus stop, take a $1 bus ride with the local company to Town B, then take another bus ran by this town's company, and then walk another ~480 meters because they don't have a stop at the station. Google Maps predicts that trip will take about 1 hour 20 minutes one-way, and it would cost $2 (or $4 round trip).

Now, I'm not entirely sure what separates a supermarket from a "big supermarket" in your mind, because to me all supermarkets are quite big by definition, so I'm going to explore three different trip options: one each to two supermarkets in or near my town, and one to the nearest Walmart, which I'm 100% sure should count as a "big supermarket", but which is a couple towns away.

• Supermarket A is close enough that walking to it is a viable option, which would be ~730 meters to the edge of the parking lot or ~875 meters to the front of the store. Alternatively, if I can plan the scheduling of my trip around it or I'm not picky about the timing I can walk ~100 meters to the nearest stop in the city bus loop, wait a while, and walk of right at the front.

• Supermarket B is 2.6 kilometers by foot, but a large part of that trip is walking along the side of a lightly-developed highway with no sidewalks, so I don't consider walking here a viable option. By bus it's the same 100 meters to the bus stop, wait, then directly to the storefront.

• The nearest Walmart is ~25 kilometers away by car, but the local bus company doesn't offer a direct route to that town so I have to take a bus to Town C, take the Town C Bus Company's bus to the east edge of Town D, then take Town D's bus to the Walmart on the western edge. Google Maps says this would take just over 2 hours one-way, and it would cost $2 ($4 round trip) because Town D's busses are all free to ride at the moment.

Depends on location, but I don’t think I’m too bad.

• To the nearest convenience store (more than that, really; a drug store and mini grocery store): 400m
• To the nearest chain supermarket: 2km
• To the bus stop: 100m (but the bus doesn’t go many places
• To the nearest park: 600m (a small park, a much larger one 2km away)
• To the nearest *big* supermarket: 6km
• To the nearest library: 2.5km
• To the nearest train station: 2km for local rail, like 25km for rare intercity trains

it takes half an hour to walk (one-way) to the nearest store

Walking?

5 minutes to cafe for toast and coffee, or the closest corner store/gas station

10-15 minutes walk to the closet big grocery store, or pharmacy, better corner store/gas station, also to roller skating and bowling, a jewelry store, like 15 churches, lawyers, medical supply, doctor offices, a hospital, a bank, fast food and small independent restaurants, lots of stuff.

20-25 to work or to the good grocery

It's certainly not London!!! But if you are inside a mid-sized city there is stuff within easy walking distance, and more within short drive (5 minutes) My husband came from the suburbs and that's a different story - house farms ringed by roads too dangerous to cross, everyone drives everywhere. He used to think of "close" as anything a 15 minute drive or less! Not anymore.

83 miles from Disney World, that's probably the closest international landmark, lol. But maybe 4 miles from the beautiful Tampa Theater, which ought to be an international landmark.

about 20 minutes to the grocery store, 5 to the convenience store, about 10 to the bus stop 20 to the park. West coast.

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...)