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I always interpreted that as them being selfish or idiotic. When I see people drive somewhere that's less than 2 miles away it blows my mind.

by ck425 6y ago

avalys 6y ago
It takes 30-40 minutes to walk 2 miles. If I have to go to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner, do you really think I should spend an extra 60 minutes walking there and back vs. driving?
- mzzter 6y ago
  Depending on one’s pace of life, 60 minutes is not very long, and also gives enough time to enjoy the travel to the store.
- ck425 6y ago
  I'm admittedly biased as I'm tall and have walked everywhere all my life. 2 miles only takes me 25 min. In that case the whole journey is really 4 miles. I was thinking in terms of a continuous or largely continuous journey (such as walking to the shops and back) being 2 miles. That said longer journeys can be treated as exercise. Why go to gym for an hour each day when instead you can spend that hour going to places you're going to go anyway.
  - WanderPanda 6y ago
    Working out at the gym and walking to the grocery store are very different exercises considering heart rates involved etc. Also in many cases the air will not be very good on the way to the grocery store vs. when you go for a run on a track that you specially chose for running.
    - balfirevic 6y ago
      Also, you can do actual strength training in the gym.
    - foldr 6y ago
      That's true if you take the gym seriously. A lot of people would probably get more health benefits from putting that energy into walking more and doing some simple isometrics from time to time. Most people are just spending way too much time sitting on their butts, and a few sessions at the gym isn't really counteracting many of the effects of that.
- ChuckMcM 6y ago
  Would it be weird for you if I told you yes? My guess is that if you spent those 60 minutes a day walking back and forth to the grocery you would see tremendous benefit in your life in many areas. If you have a headset for your phone. Call someone. You're interpersonal relationships get stronger. If you're working through a issues, spend the time thinking about different alternative approaches. If you're learning a new subject, review in your head what you've been learning. If you're preparing a talk, dictate different ways of presenting it to a voice recorder. If you're stressed out about the world, spend the walk finding things you are grateful for. If you're in a relationship, compose a poem or two for your partner.
  - riffraff 6y ago
    or my favourite: listen to audiobooks![0] I've been taking a 1-2 hours walk in the morning for a few years, which I usually use to get groceries, and miss it dearly when I can't. [0] Or music, but I admit I don't listen to much of that.
  - smabie 6y ago
    Sounds like you don't understand why people make different choices than you. To be clear, I love walking, but to say that people are stupid for acting different than you is monumentally narcissistic.
    - rfrey 6y ago
      Where does this come from? Your parent was asked if he thought one should walk an extra 60 minutes to get groceries, he replied yes and gave a lot of reasons why. Completely respectful and polite.
  - vram22 6y ago
    Agreed. It's also good because of this: :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24860432 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24860432
  - avalys 6y ago
    Sure, but does it “blow your mind” that I might choose not to do any of those things and prefer to just get to the grocery store as fast as possible so I can spend my free time on other things?
- achempion 6y ago
  I think it depends. 60 min fast evening walk with your spouse could count as a light workout. I wouldn't count as a wasted time because you're walking, having fresh air and working out at the same time. If you take a car ride, that time may be considered as wasted.
- raffraffraff 6y ago
  I'm in my 40s and have never (and will never) own a car. So I chose to live within reasonable walking distance of places I need to go. I walk everywhere, and carry groceries in a backpack. I do these things without even thinking about it. I'm the same weight I was when I was 19. I wear the same size clothes. I don't bother with gym membership. The way I see it, it's just a different way to live. Kinda like when people say "I'm not gonna have kids because that's not what my life is gonna be about". Now, this is only possible in a city that was built (at least) hundreds of years before cars. Having visited the US I can honestly say that some cities (not the ones like New York) are designed completely around the car. Trying to walk everywhere in a city like that is futile and you'll just hate life and everyone around you.
  - balfirevic 6y ago
    > The way I see it, it's just a different way to live. The comment you responded to was prompted by this: "When I see people drive somewhere that's less than 2 miles away it blows my mind." > So I chose to live within reasonable walking distance of places I need to go. I'm glad that works for you, but - depending on your life interests - it's pretty literally impossible for many people.
    - ALittleLight 6y ago
      It may be implausible for most people, but there are probably some people for whom it is an option they haven't considered. I personally rent a car if I need to go out of the city, and walk or (rarely) bus at all other times. Very convenient for me.
- einpoklum 6y ago
  1. This is a false dichotomy. Take the bus, or better still - take a bike, if you're in a hurry. 2. It might be better to not always be in a hurry. 3. Try to live in a place that's not so alienated as to have a grocery store that's 2 miles away (unless you're in a rural / countryside area in which case you're probably doing a lot of walking anyways).
- tonyedgecombe 6y ago
  Mostly I would say you need to be a bit more organised with your shopping.
- ralfd 6y ago
  I also would avoid walking 4 miles. But Jesus, don’t you Americans have bikes?
- andrewjl 6y ago
  I used to do just that some years back. Worked up a great appetite for dinner. And it was a great way to build in exercise into my day.

I always interpreted that as them being selfish or idiotic. When I see people drive somewhere that's less than 2 miles away it blows my mind.

by ck425 6y ago

I always interpreted that as them being selfish or idiotic. When I see people drive somewhere that's less than 2 miles away it blows my mind.

avalys 6y ago

It takes 30-40 minutes to walk 2 miles. If I have to go to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner, do you really think I should spend an extra 60 minutes walking there and back vs. driving?

mzzter 6y ago
Depending on one’s pace of life, 60 minutes is not very long, and also gives enough time to enjoy the travel to the store.
ck425 6y ago
I'm admittedly biased as I'm tall and have walked everywhere all my life. 2 miles only takes me 25 min. In that case the whole journey is really 4 miles. I was thinking in terms of a continuous or largely continuous journey (such as walking to the shops and back) being 2 miles. That said longer journeys can be treated as exercise. Why go to gym for an hour each day when instead you can spend that hour going to places you're going to go anyway.
- WanderPanda 6y ago
  Working out at the gym and walking to the grocery store are very different exercises considering heart rates involved etc. Also in many cases the air will not be very good on the way to the grocery store vs. when you go for a run on a track that you specially chose for running.
  - balfirevic 6y ago
    Also, you can do actual strength training in the gym.
  - foldr 6y ago
    That's true if you take the gym seriously. A lot of people would probably get more health benefits from putting that energy into walking more and doing some simple isometrics from time to time. Most people are just spending way too much time sitting on their butts, and a few sessions at the gym isn't really counteracting many of the effects of that.
ChuckMcM 6y ago
Would it be weird for you if I told you yes? My guess is that if you spent those 60 minutes a day walking back and forth to the grocery you would see tremendous benefit in your life in many areas. If you have a headset for your phone. Call someone. You're interpersonal relationships get stronger. If you're working through a issues, spend the time thinking about different alternative approaches. If you're learning a new subject, review in your head what you've been learning. If you're preparing a talk, dictate different ways of presenting it to a voice recorder. If you're stressed out about the world, spend the walk finding things you are grateful for. If you're in a relationship, compose a poem or two for your partner.
- riffraff 6y ago
  or my favourite: listen to audiobooks![0] I've been taking a 1-2 hours walk in the morning for a few years, which I usually use to get groceries, and miss it dearly when I can't. [0] Or music, but I admit I don't listen to much of that.
- smabie 6y ago
  Sounds like you don't understand why people make different choices than you. To be clear, I love walking, but to say that people are stupid for acting different than you is monumentally narcissistic.
  - rfrey 6y ago
    Where does this come from? Your parent was asked if he thought one should walk an extra 60 minutes to get groceries, he replied yes and gave a lot of reasons why. Completely respectful and polite.
- vram22 6y ago
  Agreed. It's also good because of this: :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24860432 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24860432
- avalys 6y ago
  Sure, but does it “blow your mind” that I might choose not to do any of those things and prefer to just get to the grocery store as fast as possible so I can spend my free time on other things?
achempion 6y ago
I think it depends. 60 min fast evening walk with your spouse could count as a light workout. I wouldn't count as a wasted time because you're walking, having fresh air and working out at the same time. If you take a car ride, that time may be considered as wasted.
raffraffraff 6y ago
I'm in my 40s and have never (and will never) own a car. So I chose to live within reasonable walking distance of places I need to go. I walk everywhere, and carry groceries in a backpack. I do these things without even thinking about it. I'm the same weight I was when I was 19. I wear the same size clothes. I don't bother with gym membership. The way I see it, it's just a different way to live. Kinda like when people say "I'm not gonna have kids because that's not what my life is gonna be about". Now, this is only possible in a city that was built (at least) hundreds of years before cars. Having visited the US I can honestly say that some cities (not the ones like New York) are designed completely around the car. Trying to walk everywhere in a city like that is futile and you'll just hate life and everyone around you.
- balfirevic 6y ago
  > The way I see it, it's just a different way to live. The comment you responded to was prompted by this: "When I see people drive somewhere that's less than 2 miles away it blows my mind." > So I chose to live within reasonable walking distance of places I need to go. I'm glad that works for you, but - depending on your life interests - it's pretty literally impossible for many people.
  - ALittleLight 6y ago
    It may be implausible for most people, but there are probably some people for whom it is an option they haven't considered. I personally rent a car if I need to go out of the city, and walk or (rarely) bus at all other times. Very convenient for me.
einpoklum 6y ago
1. This is a false dichotomy. Take the bus, or better still - take a bike, if you're in a hurry. 2. It might be better to not always be in a hurry. 3. Try to live in a place that's not so alienated as to have a grocery store that's 2 miles away (unless you're in a rural / countryside area in which case you're probably doing a lot of walking anyways).
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
Mostly I would say you need to be a bit more organised with your shopping.
ralfd 6y ago
I also would avoid walking 4 miles. But Jesus, don’t you Americans have bikes?
andrewjl 6y ago
I used to do just that some years back. Worked up a great appetite for dinner. And it was a great way to build in exercise into my day.