[discussion] This is what walkability means for me ( lemmy.world )

Living in a walkable city means my weekly shop is a few hours of walking or biking instead of being stuck in traffic, and I'm only mildly tired afterwards since I use a bike with pretty large pannier bags. Since I have no car related costs I can afford more fresh food, a healthier diet, and I can afford to be more choosy about the ethics of what I buy. There's a twice weekly farmers market about a ten minute walk away, and quiet walks through parks to get to the shops. Living somewhere with car centric infrastructure, as I used to, this lifestyle was far less feasible.

Have your experiences been different with moving to walkable/bikeable cities? Any questions or points to be made? I'm not very up on the theory side of city planning, but my experiences line up with the whole "fuck cars" thing.

bstix ,

I'm blessed with a recently priced grocery store within 1-2 minutes walking (less than 200m/ 0.1mile).
I have some nice large reusable bags, so no car needed for daily stuff.

However, due to this, I also shop there every single day instead of making weekly trips. In weekly totals I still spend 10-20 minutes transport and probably a lot more spontaneous purchases than I would from just one weekly trip.

Whenever we do plan weekly shopping, we usually use the car to go elsewhere because one shop doesn't have all the things.

However, I recently found an app that can plan the cooking recipes based on this one store, so I could potentially use a handcart and get everything in one walk. I haven't done this yet though.

anivia ,

A few hours for your weekly shopping??? Bruh, you are throwing your life away

Gradually_Adjusting OP ,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

https://lemmy.world/comment/10526644

RageAgainstTheRich ,

A few hours!? I live in a walkable city and the nearest store is 3-4 minutes and 3 others within 20 minutes.

Gradually_Adjusting OP ,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

https://lemmy.world/comment/10526644

nifty ,
@nifty@lemmy.world avatar

is a few hours of walking

Hmmm, I dont think people want to walk for hours to complete a grocery shopping trip? Walkable means you’re done in 20mins max, that’s a reasonable standard given what some urban areas already have.

Gradually_Adjusting OP ,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

I double checked the stats. It was more like 1.5 hours total walking over 2 miles, though I was out and about four 3 hours. I wanted to go to a bigger shop outside the city centre and the farmer's market in town, had to stop at home to empty the cart. If I was less choosy I could do it in 20, but the shop near me is a little depressing.

nifty ,
@nifty@lemmy.world avatar

I think it’s cool you’re doing what you like. I walk long distance for urban hiking, which can take up to six hours with breaks. I am not sure I’d like a routine walk for groceries though, if it’s not 20ish - 30ish total. To each their own 🤷‍♀️

Rai ,

Fucking hell… I’ll walk all day for fun but I HATE grocery shopping, I’m not walking an hour each way and carrying shit… I’m so lucky to have a little bodega about three minutes away from me, where I can pick up a bunch of dope stuff. But actual grocery shopping? I noticed the community I’m commenting it (I only browse /all/) but I’m driving a few minutes, not hauling all that back over a 30+ minute walk.

Grass ,

I can walk endlessly in dirt trails, even mid to advanced hiking trails while hauling shit in a huge backpack, but the moment I touch pavement I can only manage a couple minutes.

jjjalljs ,

I live in NYC. It's pretty great.

I can walk a couple minutes to some bodegas. A couple more minutes to some small groceries. Looking at the map, there's a couple supermarkets I forgot existed within 15 minutes of walking, in addition to the two I usually go to. There's also other useful stuff like pharmacies, hardware stores, libraries, and so on. This isn't a fancy or especially expensive neighborhood.

I have a hand cart for when I want to buy something heavy.

I haven't had a car for like 15 years. I have no regrets. None of the "But what if it rains??" fears have ever been a problem. I can only remember twice in 15 years I needed to borrow someone's car to move stuff.

AA5B , (edited )

I feel like NYC is playing this game in easy mode. There are definitely many other places in the US where being carless is possible, but nowhere else with as many options

jjjalljs ,

This is part of why I plan to never move out of the city. Almost anywhere else in the US is going to be car centric. So I could move somewhere that's "cheaper" but it wouldn't be as good in ways I care about.

AA5B ,

I do somewhat miss this, but a while back I moved to where I can own my own house with a bit of yard.

Carless can mostly work for Boston as well. In my case it was road trips and friends in the suburbs that made it difficult, but transit and walking was mostly easier than car. No Bodegas, though. Of course that was before Uber/Zipcar so it may be easier now.

Currently I live in a somewhat walkable town just outside Boston. We have a walkable town center focussed on a transit hub, and plenty of shops and restaurants. You could make carless work, if you lived a bit closer in than I am. We even used to have a grocery express near the train, that os similar to a bodega, but unfortunately died during COViD

LainTrain ,

Y'all really eat like this?

yrmp ,

I’m 5’10”, 200 lbs with 15% body fat and so not a particularly thin guy. I’m primarily a vegetarian/occasional pescatarian. My cholesterol/blood pressure numbers were terrible until I started eating this diet. You don’t need to eat meat (especially sausage) in 2024. Take a supplement for B6 if you’re concerned about it.

People eat different things. It’s fine and probably better for you than what you seem to think is good.

LainTrain ,

Damn, that's crazy. Well good for you. I eat mostly meat and I'm pretty good

yrmp ,

You’re probably pretty young so enjoy it while it lasts.

LainTrain ,

Thanks!

iagomago ,
@iagomago@feddit.it avatar

why are cucumbers wrapped in plastic? WHY ARE THEY WRAPPED IN PLASTIC?

Gradually_Adjusting OP ,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

I dunno man, they literally aren't sold any other way in this whole country AFAIK. It was the same in the states, the only ones they sell out of plastic are the gross ones with thick skin

AdamEatsAss ,

Can confirm all the "good" cucumbers in the USA are shrink wrapped, unless you buy at a farmers market. I think it's a distribution and storage issue and the plastic keeps it fresh longer. My wife and I both hate it, it so hard to get the plastic off, and its no good for the planet.

AA5B ,

I don’t know about all the good ones, but yes, at my grocery, two of the three types of cucumbers sold are wrapped in plastic. I prefer the “normAl” cucumbers in bulk anyway, but occasionally get the English cucumbers or mini cucumbers despite them being 8n plastic

GissaMittJobb ,

One of the best things about living in a walkable place is that the concept of a weekly shop is basically dead - access to grocery shopping is available enough that I can go as many or as few times to shop as is warranted.

Granted, this usually adds up to once a week or less, but yeah. Big benefit.

This is an important concept to be imparted on those who do not understand the benefits of walkable places - a frequent question is how they can manage to complete their weekly shop without a car, since the car is in their mind needed to transport enough groceries to last the entire week. This is of course necessitated by the fact that their ideal location to shop for groceries is a significant distance away that can only be completed in a practical manner by car.

With where I live, this is unwarranted because I have access to convenient grocery shopping about 200 meters away by foot, and for ideal pricing I go 1 km away on a bike with storage on the rack. I do not want for variety either, I've got multiple speciality shops and 5 different grocery chains within a 1 km radius.

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