The American mind cannot comprehend this
The American mind cannot comprehend this
i mean… I’m basically the only American i know that has actually chosen to walk as a real way to get somewhere in the last 5 years.
the idea that most Americans literally never walk anywhere isn’t inaccurate. especially for anyone living outside of a city.
Well, I was in a student exchange to Boise, Idaho about 20 years ago and did a daily walk around the neighborhood for some fresh air. Three days in, I was stopped by a frantic police officer with his fucking gun drawn because someone had reported me as some kind of child molester who was scouting for victims, because someone just walking was a completely alien concept there.
I was taken to the fucking police station because the policeman thought I was making shit up either. My host family had to wiggle around with my German passport and threaten to get the Embassy involved until they decided I wasn’t worth the hassle and dropped the whole thing… So I learned two things from that exchange:
8 miles isn't too far to bike! I used to ride about that to commute. When I started, it took me around 40 minutes to get there, and an hour and a half back. Slight incline one direction.
About six months in, I was down to 20ish there, and less than 40 back.
Winter sucked pretty bad, someone got me gore-tex mittens though. Still had my eyelashes freeze
get 8 miles across town and back for their job every day how silly of us
A half hour cycle commute really isn't far. Almost anyone can do that, almost certainly including your grandma.
The real problem is the lack of infrastructure.
I find these kinds of threads funny.
Someone makes an admittedly lame jokey stereotype about the US.
A bit like a broad stereotype about the French liking baguettes, the Scots hating Scots, the Brits having bad teeth and talking like Austin Powers, or Germans not having a sense of humour. Even the Germans don't get offended. They've been taught that this is meant to be funny, and that the rules of etiquette suggest they should not be offended by it.
But the real punch line is always some humourless Americans taking it at face value and getting genuinely offended. "They're saying we don't have public transport. They're clearly idiots!"
Do any of you see times square on various holidays or have been to a parade?
No. No one outside the US has ever heard of New York. Just like everyone in the US drives a pickup truck everywhere. lol