4 ms·

For a lot of people, "45 minutes by car to get to a city of any real size" is very much in the middle of nowhere.

by TulliusCicero 2y ago

jes5199 2y ago
and yet plenty of people have a commute _within_ the city that is longer than that
- TulliusCicero 2y ago
  Oh for sure, but they're still 'somewhere' while commuting.
  - jes5199 2y ago
    I would so much prefer an hour on a rural highway over an hour stuck in city traffic!
bigstrat2003 2y ago
Those people very badly need some perspective, then. That is not remotely the middle of nowhere.
- TulliusCicero 2y ago
  It just depends on your perspective. Honestly, Americans are probably more tolerant and accepting of long distances compared to most peer countries. 45 minutes of driving to hit some kind of city is very far most of the time in Japan or most of Europe, where the population density is higher than the states.
  - froh 2y ago
    that again depends on where you are in Europe... in most of Germany you're right. large parts of Norway Sweden Finland? not so much...
    - apelapan 2y ago
      It is probably true that in a majority of those land areas (Finland, Sweden, Norway) you are more than 45 minutes of driving from the next proper city. However, the proportion of people who live like that is not very high. People mostly live where other people live.
    - bawolff 2y ago
      Northern canada on the other hand is a very different story.
  - jrmg 2y ago
    Growing up in the UK, 45 minutes was about the ‘if we’re going there in the evening we’re going to need to get a hotel’ boundary. Now I live in the US it’s a short drive. It’s amazing how perspective changes. If you haven’t experienced it I suspect it’s impossible to understand, because this feels crazy to write. It’s true though.
pavon 2y ago
Branford is within 15 minutes of Piqua and Greensville which are both mid-sized towns that have everything you need for everyday life, and a lot of what you'd want. To me that is much more relevant than how far it is to a large city, which you would be visiting much less frequently. 15 minutes is a normal commuting time within a city, so not really the middle of nowhere.

For a lot of people, "45 minutes by car to get to a city of any real size" is very much in the middle of nowhere.

jes5199 2y ago

and yet plenty of people have a commute _within_ the city that is longer than that

TulliusCicero 2y ago
Oh for sure, but they're still 'somewhere' while commuting.
- jes5199 2y ago
  I would so much prefer an hour on a rural highway over an hour stuck in city traffic!

bigstrat2003 2y ago

Those people very badly need some perspective, then. That is not remotely the middle of nowhere.

TulliusCicero 2y ago
It just depends on your perspective. Honestly, Americans are probably more tolerant and accepting of long distances compared to most peer countries. 45 minutes of driving to hit some kind of city is very far most of the time in Japan or most of Europe, where the population density is higher than the states.
- froh 2y ago
  that again depends on where you are in Europe... in most of Germany you're right. large parts of Norway Sweden Finland? not so much...
  - apelapan 2y ago
    It is probably true that in a majority of those land areas (Finland, Sweden, Norway) you are more than 45 minutes of driving from the next proper city. However, the proportion of people who live like that is not very high. People mostly live where other people live.
  - bawolff 2y ago
    Northern canada on the other hand is a very different story.
- jrmg 2y ago
  Growing up in the UK, 45 minutes was about the ‘if we’re going there in the evening we’re going to need to get a hotel’ boundary. Now I live in the US it’s a short drive. It’s amazing how perspective changes. If you haven’t experienced it I suspect it’s impossible to understand, because this feels crazy to write. It’s true though.

pavon 2y ago

Branford is within 15 minutes of Piqua and Greensville which are both mid-sized towns that have everything you need for everyday life, and a lot of what you'd want. To me that is much more relevant than how far it is to a large city, which you would be visiting much less frequently. 15 minutes is a normal commuting time within a city, so not really the middle of nowhere.