Comment by kia | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kia | Hacker News Reader

In US (not counting downtowns of large Cities like NY or SF) it is much harder to enjoy walking compared to most other places in the world.

First you just look weird here when you walk somewhere and you are the only person walking in the street. Drivers usually look at you like you are crazy (especially if you walk in the evening when it's getting dark).

The second and most annoying thing is that sidewalks here can end suddenly without a warning. You can walk somewhere enjoying the nice weather and the sidewalk ends suddenly! WTF? You have to turn back or continue walking using the side of the road looking even more weird.

And the most strange thing is that Americans use their cars to drive to places located within just a couple of thousand feet from their home. For a person from Europe THIS is really weird.

I used to live in a neighborhood without sidewalks. People would often stop their cars to ask me if I was OK and if I needed a ride somewhere when I was walking to the local convenience store. It was less than a mile away.

One of the many reasons why I will probably not be moving back to the suburbs if I can possibly avoid it. Most the others seem to center on walking, too: Not being able to walk to the grocery store; not being stuck in a situation where going out to the bar would be synonymous with drinking and driving, not spending my after-dinner strolls in a ditch. . .

> And the most strange thing is that Americans use their cars to drive to places located within just a couple of thousand feet from their home. For a person from Europe THIS is really weird.

That's definitely true. When I lived in Strasbourg I thought nothing of walking 20 minutes to the hypermarche. I enjoyed it. Now, back in America, I live ~5 minutes from a major grocery store but I would never walk there.

Not only are there no sidewalks but I'd have to cross a major street and the intersection doesn't have pedestrian signals. It'd be suicide.

And this isn't Middle of Nowhere, USA. I live in the middle of San Antonio, TX. Five minutes from the Riverwalk. It's nuts but it's the way it is.

(Though the Texas heat may have something to do with not walking as well)

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