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I started disagreeing with this immediately, since I take walks all the time. But it occurs to me that I do it a lot more now that I've moved to Europe. It's

I started disagreeing with this immediately, since I take walks all the time. But it occurs to me that I do it a lot more now that I've moved to Europe. It's just a lot more walkable here. In Pamplona I could walk out my front door and be blasted with the fact that I was in a medieval walled city with cobbled streets and narrow alleyways. Any direction I went had some guaranteed Cool Stuff to pass by and probably would end me up perched on some 600 year old military fortification looking out over the farms. Contrast that to living in a typical LA suburb with no sidewalks and nothing to see apart from apartment complexes and possibly a Starbucks if you press on far enough. It sorta sucks the fun out of the experience. I've definitely done my share of walking in the 'states too, but then I've made a point of living in some pretty walkable places. NW Portland and Venice spring to mind as places I spent a ton of time simply wandering around. Other places I've lived... San Gabriel, Tigard, Gresham... Not much walking. I think maybe it has more to do with where you are than who you are.

ews 16y ago
I did the opposite. Moved from Spain to California few years ago. I was so shocked for the complete lack of sidewalks on San Francisco's South Bay that I ended up taking a complete collection of pictures about it. It's somewhat common in some areas in the US, and literally unthinkable in Europe. I am lucky that I live in San Francisco now, where most of the city (besides some areas I found between the Sunset and Glen Park) has sidewalks. In fact, the first think I heard about SF before moving here was that it is 'very walkable' My impression is that the tendency is somewhat reversing. I am an spoiled Franciscan now, so I don't know how is it on other parts of the country, but I have been hearing more and more people talking about moving closer to their offices (when they can) and walking or biking to work. Again, this is from a pure SF perspective, not sure how is it on other places in the US. P.S. Gosh, I love Pamplona, you are lucky. The txistorras are one the best unknown meals in the world.
- LiteralPolice 16y ago
  Incorrect usage of the word "literally." Please remove it.
  - alextgordon 16y ago
    Please. This isn't reddit. Novelty accounts (and pedantry for that matter) don't really belong.
- ltr 16y ago
  San Francisco is a walker's paradise. In particular, there are the off-street stairways that take you to all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies. There has even been an excellent book published about San Francisco's stairways: Stairway Walks in San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky. There is also a good web site: http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/ http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/
torpor 16y ago
I live in Europe, and I walk to work. And home again. Those walks are awesome .. my mind is clear and free of cruft each and every day. I think the better advice would be "don't commute to work". People need to get away from their cars. 2 hours a day spent driving is misery defined ..
mschaecher 16y ago
I agree wholeheartedly that location matters. I just moved to SF from Nebraska. I've 'taken more walks' as described in the article in the last month than I did in the last 3 years since living in SF.

ews 16y ago

I did the opposite. Moved from Spain to California few years ago. I was so shocked for the complete lack of sidewalks on San Francisco's South Bay that I ended up taking a complete collection of pictures about it. It's somewhat common in some areas in the US, and literally unthinkable in Europe. I am lucky that I live in San Francisco now, where most of the city (besides some areas I found between the Sunset and Glen Park) has sidewalks. In fact, the first think I heard about SF before moving here was that it is 'very walkable' My impression is that the tendency is somewhat reversing. I am an spoiled Franciscan now, so I don't know how is it on other parts of the country, but I have been hearing more and more people talking about moving closer to their offices (when they can) and walking or biking to work. Again, this is from a pure SF perspective, not sure how is it on other places in the US. P.S. Gosh, I love Pamplona, you are lucky. The txistorras are one the best unknown meals in the world.

LiteralPolice 16y ago
Incorrect usage of the word "literally." Please remove it.
- alextgordon 16y ago
  Please. This isn't reddit. Novelty accounts (and pedantry for that matter) don't really belong.
ltr 16y ago
San Francisco is a walker's paradise. In particular, there are the off-street stairways that take you to all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies. There has even been an excellent book published about San Francisco's stairways: Stairway Walks in San Francisco by Adah Bakalinsky. There is also a good web site: http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/ http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/

torpor 16y ago

I live in Europe, and I walk to work. And home again. Those walks are awesome .. my mind is clear and free of cruft each and every day. I think the better advice would be "don't commute to work". People need to get away from their cars. 2 hours a day spent driving is misery defined ..

mschaecher 16y ago

I agree wholeheartedly that location matters. I just moved to SF from Nebraska. I've 'taken more walks' as described in the article in the last month than I did in the last 3 years since living in SF.