4 ms·

You mean there were no sidewalks? That's the thing, often in the US I felt very boxed into a place, simply because I couldn't just do a Cartman and 'go home' (

You mean there were no sidewalks? That's the thing, often in the US I felt very boxed into a place, simply because I couldn't just do a Cartman and 'go home' (or someplace else).

AstralStorm 8y ago
It is probably more than a few miles to get anywhere which makes what in EU would be a simple walk into an expedition. Reminder: originally one (Roman) mile was a measure of thousand paces, while a Dutch, Russian and such miles were related to an hour of marching. (later rescaled in feet)
ghaff 8y ago
You definitely have areas that are not designed for walking at all. I've been in a situation where I could see a shopping mall and restaurants from my hotel across a busy multi-lane road and there was literally no way to get there on foot. That said, it's not the US vs. everywhere else. For example, the UK has lots of charming little villages where you can walk to the pub and a few stores. Once you get out of the village though, some public footpaths notwithstanding, you're mostly talking very narrow roads with no shoulders, much less sidewalks, and no real way to walk off the road.
- m_mueller 8y ago
  In Switzerland one of the things we'd learn in primary school age was to walk roads without sidewalks - always on the left side such that incoming cars are in front, and by paying lots of attention and walking in single file. Since cars expect at least cyclists anywhere they generally should be mindful of slow traffic.
- hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
  I could see a shopping mall and restaurants from my hotel across a busy multi-lane road and there was literally no way to get there on foot. This is almost exactly the situation described by Bill Bryson in I'm a Stranger Here Myself. I believe he wanted to visit the shops across the street while his wife was at a mall and there was effectively no way to get there without a car.
Tor3 8y ago
There were sidewalks, but only for a limited range around certain landmarks (malls, hotel, etc). I managed to cross an eight-lane street, but that section (with malls) was also closed off to the next 'island' (i.e. the sidewalk stopped. There were some car-only tunnels here and there also.) All those islands, and only cars could go between them. Yeah, quite similar to what poster @ghaff described in a post below.
- m_mueller 8y ago
  That's just nuts. You'd think that there are at least state-level regulations to have sufficient sidewalks, car culture or not. I mean at some point it's a health and safety issue (when you can't even get to the doctor's office across the street).

You mean there were no sidewalks? That's the thing, often in the US I felt very boxed into a place, simply because I couldn't just do a Cartman and 'go home' (or someplace else).

AstralStorm 8y ago

It is probably more than a few miles to get anywhere which makes what in EU would be a simple walk into an expedition. Reminder: originally one (Roman) mile was a measure of thousand paces, while a Dutch, Russian and such miles were related to an hour of marching. (later rescaled in feet)

ghaff 8y ago

You definitely have areas that are not designed for walking at all. I've been in a situation where I could see a shopping mall and restaurants from my hotel across a busy multi-lane road and there was literally no way to get there on foot. That said, it's not the US vs. everywhere else. For example, the UK has lots of charming little villages where you can walk to the pub and a few stores. Once you get out of the village though, some public footpaths notwithstanding, you're mostly talking very narrow roads with no shoulders, much less sidewalks, and no real way to walk off the road.

m_mueller 8y ago
In Switzerland one of the things we'd learn in primary school age was to walk roads without sidewalks - always on the left side such that incoming cars are in front, and by paying lots of attention and walking in single file. Since cars expect at least cyclists anywhere they generally should be mindful of slow traffic.
hfdgiutdryg 8y ago
I could see a shopping mall and restaurants from my hotel across a busy multi-lane road and there was literally no way to get there on foot. This is almost exactly the situation described by Bill Bryson in I'm a Stranger Here Myself. I believe he wanted to visit the shops across the street while his wife was at a mall and there was effectively no way to get there without a car.

Tor3 8y ago

There were sidewalks, but only for a limited range around certain landmarks (malls, hotel, etc). I managed to cross an eight-lane street, but that section (with malls) was also closed off to the next 'island' (i.e. the sidewalk stopped. There were some car-only tunnels here and there also.) All those islands, and only cars could go between them. Yeah, quite similar to what poster @ghaff described in a post below.

m_mueller 8y ago
That's just nuts. You'd think that there are at least state-level regulations to have sufficient sidewalks, car culture or not. I mean at some point it's a health and safety issue (when you can't even get to the doctor's office across the street).