What do you consider "walking distance"

[DCnDC]

?

Poll to come.

[Acid Lamp]

A mile to a mile and half. Anything farther than that and you need a bike.

[Hampshire]

Seeing that the average walking speed is about 3 mph I'd say that "walking distance" shouldn't be much more than a 20 minute walk (about a mile).

[runner pat]

I used to consider up to three miles as a maximum that was practical.

Now a mile is about the maximum I can walk.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Depends on the situation. I mean, I could walk to Taco Bell for lunch without difficulty, but it's a mile and a half away and it would take my entire lunch break to get there and back.

[TriPolar]

Not enough options in the poll.

The fridge is kind of far away. And if the distance from the couch to the TV was walking distance I wouldn't have a remote.

They have chairs with wheels and here I am using my legs like a sucker! - H. Simpson

[One And Only Wanderers]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

[DCnDC]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

Ah, that leads into my follow-up question: are you willing to walk farther to do/see stuff when on vacation?

[Anaamika]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

Ah, that leads into my follow-up question: are you willing to walk farther to do/see stuff when on vacation?

Haha, I was just going to say that. I don't walk much and prefer to bike, but when we went to Toronto last month, we walked everywhere. I got blisters on my blisters, but it was marvelous.

[Really Not All That Bright]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

Ah, that leads into my follow-up question: are you willing to walk farther to do/see stuff when on vacation?
Totally. We spent out honeymoon in Manhattan and walked everywhere (well, between subway stops, at any rate). Probably walked more in that week than in the entire preceding year.

[delphica]

I'm a little torn between 1/1.5 miles and over 1.5 miles ... I don't think over 1.5 miles is too far to walk, but depending on what you need to walk to, it can be a little time-consuming making it not that practical. Also, are you carrying stuff? Like if you are bringing a tray of cupcakes to a potluck, 1.5 is going to feel a lot longer.

[Alpha Twit]

Too many variables. For example, I live 5 blocks from a grocery store, easy walking distance even by my standards. Until you realize I'm going to be burdened with heavy shopping bags on the return trip.

[Baracus]

I'm a little torn between 1/1.5 miles and over 1.5 miles ... I don't think over 1.5 miles is too far to walk, but depending on what you need to walk to, it can be a little time-consuming making it not that practical. Also, are you carrying stuff? Like if you are bringing a tray of cupcakes to a potluck, 1.5 is going to feel a lot longer.
And what is the weather like? Too wet, too cold, and too hot will definitely shorten the acceptable walking distance.

[kferr]

Like Really Not All That Bright says it depends on the situation. My local pub is a mile away but sometimes I take in another pub so the total walk that day would be more like 5 miles. If I'm picking up a Chinese or Indian take-away a mile away I'll take my bike so the food stays hot. If I'm in London and in no particular hurry I'll walk several miles instead of using the hot crowded tube.

[Skald the Rhymer]

I voted over a mile and a half, but it depends on where I'm going. When I lived in downtown Memphis, I used to regularly walk from my apartment to Overton Square, which Mapquest says is a distance of 4 miles, if the weather was good and I was in no particular hurry.

The same apartment building had a hot tub on the roof. I would only let myself use it if I walked the entire distance from lobby to roof (twelve stories) four times.

[sandra_nz]

If I'm 'going for a walk', then I'll happily walk for a couple of hours. If I'm going to the shop to get some milk, then 10 minutes each way is as long as I want to take. So it's really situational.

[Swallowed My Cellphone]

I walk to and from work regularly, it's about 3 miles each way.

[Small Hen]

A mile to school or a cafe is no big deal, because I'll be sitting down when I get there. I wouldn't walk a mile to work, though, because I'm a nurse, and on my feet for the better part of 12 hours a day. So, yeah, it depends. I would walk pretty much anyplace that was within a .5 mile, so I erred on the side of inclusive.

[pbbth]

I voted .5 to 1 mile based on having a somewhat tight schedule. If I have places I need to be I will gladly walk a little distance but I don't want to be late for work or an appointment if I can help it. If it is something that has no real scheduling need I am willing to walk quite a ways. I used to live at 157th St and several times my fiance (now husband) and I walked down to Zabars, so we would walk 70 blocks to go buy cheese and baked goods. It was always a fun way to spend an afternoon but we did always take the train back so our stuff wouldn't spoil on the trip home.

[Ravenman]

I'm thinking mostly in terms of giving someone directions, like to my house, tourist sites, the metro, etc. I think 20 minutes is pretty much as long as I would give the average person as a reasonable distance to walk.

However, if I'm on vacation, I'll walk all over the place, for many hours. That doesn't mean that I would say going from the British Museum to my hotel in Kensington (three and a half miles) is something I'd describe as walking distance, no more than a 10 miler is "jogging distance."

[Vihaga]

I put 1-1.5; I'll happily walk to the store or train station from my house (a little more than a mile) even if I'm in a hurry or the weather isn't perfect. Much longer than that, though, and it's not worth the time unless I feel like going for a walk.

[Fried Dough Ho]

Before I moved to San Francisco, anything under six blocks was walking distance -- I was that reliant on a car for even the simplest things (groceries).

Knowing that the entire city of San Francisco is only six miles from end-to-end, I have a new appreciation of how close things are to one another.

My first two year in the city were with a guy who cabbed every where and I never really had a perspective on how close things were until we broke up and I realized some places we took taxis to were less than a ten-minute walk!

Now I map out my destinations and if I can walk there within an hour or so and have the time to do so, I will forego public transportation or taxi cabs.

When I visited my friends in New York, they were shocked that I walked from one end of Manhattan to the other; after the giant hills of San Francisco, New York was a <ahem> walk in the park...

[Beware of Doug]

Not enough options in the poll.And when I looked at is, I thought there was not just a maximum walking distance, but a minimum one. "If I choose 1 - 1.5 mi," I mused, "how do I cover distances under 1 mi? Reach?"

[Omi no Kami]

Before I lived in the Himalayas, anything under 3 miles.

After, anything under about 28km.

[TriPolar]

Not enough options in the poll.And when I looked at is, I thought there was not just a maximum walking distance, but a minimum one. "If I choose 1 - 1.5 mi," I mused, "how do I cover distances under 1 mi? Reach?"

I won't reach very far either. I just use one of those 'grabber' things.

[Hello Again]

Up to a mile (20 minutes) I don't consider it a "long walk." I walk further than that all the time, but I do consider it a "long walk." I live in NYC. I've lived other places where people looked at me like I was insane for walking even 10 minutes to get somewhere.

[JRDelirious]

Varies per weather conditions, obviously. In my hometown's heat and with my admittedly eroded physical condition, the mile mark would do it as my benchmark for "routine" walking distance. But I have done 3+miles in cool weather with no second thought while visiting cooler climates.

[Mr. Accident]

Depends on the weather, but generally 10 miles or so. If the weather's nice, I might up that to 15 miles. It's not unusual for me to walk 5 miles or so just to get a coke or visit a friend.

[even sven]

A mile is "easy walking distance." I'd consider up to two miles to be "walkable."

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

The church is near, but the road is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.

[GHO57]

Obviously I need to take a nap every 50 miles or so, but anything less is walking distance. Not that I really walk all that much normally... except to buy groceries (I get exercise, and I avoid buying stuff I don't really need).

[Leaffan]

1 mile to 1.5 miles

Over 1.5 miles includes infinity, so I didn't choose that.

[rhubarbarin]

I don't drive, and I don't have a bike currently. I'll walk up to 2 hours to get somewhere I need to go.

[Ludovic]

The longest I've walked to a place without specifically doing it for exercise, and not involving hiking, is about 8 miles and back, but that's only when I plan on imbibing and am too cheap for a cab.

But if I were to describe something to someone else as "walking distance", if they aren't physically handicapped in some way I'd stick to around a mile or so.

[Yarster]

In addition to what others are saying about weather, I would also add that time pressure, what I am wearing, and anything I am carrying factor into the equation in a major way. Walking distance to the movie theater can be two miles, but if the movie is starting in 20 minutes, I'll drive. Am I dressed in a business suit or a t-shirt and shorts? The latter will get me to walk a lot farther, particularly if I am on vacation and everything is 'new' and not just a boring street I've walked down a thousand times. Money factors in as well. Is it free parking two miles away, but $10 if I park in the lot next to the event? Yep, I'm walking. In fact, I've been hassled by friends for parking outside of a concert venue to save money in the past. Except that these same people sing my praises when the parking lot turns into a clusterfuck after the event is over and 10,000 cars are all trying to get out the two lane entrance and taking well over an hour to do so, but meanwhile we can walk to our car in 15 minutes and be right on the road going home.

[Peremensoe]

"Walking distance" means a distance that you would readily walk even when other transport options are available. Obviously pretty much everybody is able to walk much longer distances in extremis.

[MeanOldLady]

Typically, I'd say about 1.5 miles. When it's butt cold in winter, "walking distance" is something like three blocks. On a beautiful day, I'd gladly go for a half hour walk (however many miles that adds up to), but generally a mile, mile and a half, is what I'd call "walking distance."

I didn't overcomplicate the question; I read it as asking what I would call "walking distance" if giving directions to a stranger, not what would be my personal preference depending on the time of year, or what kind of mood I'm in.

[Peremensoe]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

That should be a great recreational walk--two and a half miles or so each way, entirely along the waterfront. But I wonder how much fun it actually is, how well the cityscape actually supports it; I see some spots in the streetviews where it's not clear where pedestrians are supposed or able to be, relative to the Embarcadero Freeway.

ETA: Unless you were there in the days of Candlestick Park. That would be something of a trek.

[jali]

Generally a mile to a mile and 1/2 - BUT.

I live in Atlanta and the muggy heat makes walking very uncomfortable for much of the summer.

There are many streets with no sidewalks and dodging trucks and cars isn't fun.

[Markxxx]

Anything up to one mile

[Caveat lector]

It also depends on the walking conditions. Downtown has nice side walks, shade, lots of crosswalks and a speed limit of around 35. I'll happily walk many many blocks. By my house? Few if any sidewalks, crosswalks are rare, and cars go absurd speeds even though the speed limit is 40. I won't walk more than maybe three blocks. It just seems unsafe and frustrating.

[elfkin477]

It also depends on the walking conditions. Downtown has nice side walks, shade, lots of crosswalks and a speed limit of around 35. I'll happily walk many many blocks. By my house? Few if any sidewalks, crosswalks are rare, and cars go absurd speeds even though the speed limit is 40. I won't walk more than maybe three blocks. It just seems unsafe and frustrating.
Yep. The library is only a couple of miles from my house, and when I first moved here, I thought it'd make for a nice walk considering at the time I was walking 10-20 miles a week with friends on campus at school in addition to the normal walks back and forth to classes. Then, within days I realized that a. there are no sidewalks, b. the speed limit is between 40-45 the whole two miles and c. no one actually drives as slow as the speed limit and that while driving up the crest of a big hill, a person on the side of the road would be hard to see. The idea of walking two miles each way on the sandy shoulder of the road suddenly seemed a lot less fun, and I've never tried it :(

[SciFiSam]

I'd say about 2 miles on average for an able-bodied person. More in good weather, less in bad weather or when carrying heavy things. 2 miles really isn't far at all.


However, if I'm on vacation, I'll walk all over the place, for many hours. That doesn't mean that I would say going from the British Museum to my hotel in Kensington (three and a half miles) is something I'd describe as walking distance, no more than a 10 miler is "jogging distance."

That's partly because of the other variable - traffic. Even a pedestrian is going to be delayed a lot by the traffic, due to having to stop at a road crossing every few metres. Also, many of the pavements will be packed. It'd take a lot longer than 3 miles in a quiet suburb.

[Quartz]

For a daily commute, two miles or so on the flat. For going to the shops, it depends upon how much I expect to buy. I'm not struggling two miles with a shedload of shopping bags. But I might well struggle half a mile.

[Cunctator]

It depends on how hot it is, how I'm dressed, how much I'm carrying etc. But generally around 3-4km.

I don't have a car, so I suspect I do a lot more walking than the average person.

[Kyla]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

That should be a great recreational walk--two and a half miles or so each way, entirely along the waterfront. But I wonder how much fun it actually is, how well the cityscape actually supports it; I see some spots in the streetviews where it's not clear where pedestrians are supposed or able to be, relative to the Embarcadero Freeway.

ETA: Unless you were there in the days of Candlestick Park. That would be something of a trek.

Nah, it should be easy enough. The Embarcadero is easy to walk on. It's also flat, which makes it super easy in comparison to most walks in San Francisco. It can be very foggy and chilly in the summer, though.

[Fried Dough Ho]

That should be a great recreational walk--two and a half miles or so each way, entirely along the waterfront. But I wonder how much fun it actually is, how well the cityscape actually supports it; I see some spots in the streetviews where it's not clear where pedestrians are supposed or able to be, relative to the Embarcadero Freeway.

ETA: Unless you were there in the days of Candlestick Park. That would be something of a trek.

Nah, it should be easy enough. The Embarcadero is easy to walk on. It's also flat, which makes it super easy in comparison to most walks in San Francisco. It can be very foggy and chilly in the summer, though.

GoogleMaps shows it as 7.3 miles and a 2 hour, 39-minute walk.

[DianaG]

I voted 'over 1.5 miles', but that's definitely dependent on reasonable weather, being relatively unburdened, and not being pressed for time.

[monstro]

Between seven to eight miles is my personal definition. Yes, it takes a long time and I have to travel light, but if you tell me you live 3.5 to 4 miles from me and I can use sidewalks all the way there, chances are I'll be walking to you and then walking home. I walk 7 miles every day, so it's no biggie for me.

When other people ask me if a place is within walking distance, I'll say no if it's longer than two miles.

[Otara]

I think we talk ourselves out of walking distance pretty easily so I try to go for longer rather than shorter when I think of it. Walking is easy incidental exercise that doesnt involve trips to the gym or the like so I try to make time for it given I save time elsewhere by doing it.

So mine is 5k total, ie 2.5k there, 2.5 back if a round trip is needed in short order, or 5k one way if a break is involved - Ill do more than that but worry about time pressures more with longer. But it also obviously depends on how many trips you need to do a week.

Otara

[sevenwood]

I regularly walk golf courses. That's about five miles after you've added the walk from each green to the next tee (and a few trips into the woods to track down errant shots). Over about four hours, of course, so it's not one long steady walk.

I'll also walk the two miles from the nearby "Tires Plus" store after I drop the car off to be serviced.

On the other hand, I drive the one mile trip and the one mile back when I go to the gym each day...

I'm 62.

[Roderick Femm]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

That should be a great recreational walk--two and a half miles or so each way, entirely along the waterfront. But I wonder how much fun it actually is, how well the cityscape actually supports it; I see some spots in the streetviews where it's not clear where pedestrians are supposed or able to be, relative to the Embarcadero Freeway.

ETA: Unless you were there in the days of Candlestick Park. That would be something of a trek.Closer to 3 miles, depending on where you start from. But pedestrians can walk unmolested all the way on the bay side of the Embarcadero (you must be looking at a very old map, there is no Embarcadero Freeway any more), and so it only depends on the weather as to whether it would be pleasant or not.

Knowing that the entire city of San Francisco is only six miles from end-to-end, I have a new appreciation of how close things are to one another.Nitpicking again, it's more like 7 as the crow flies. And if you're encountering any hills, that makes it quite a trek.

We spent out honeymoon in Manhattan and walked everywhere (well, between subway stops, at any rate). Probably walked more in that week than in the entire preceding year. Amen to that. My first trip to Manhattan last year, beautiful weather, we must have walked 10 miles a day (not all at once, mind you). I loved walking in Manhattan, it's so nice and flat compared to San Francisco (as someone has already said).

I took the OP to mean the farthest I would go if I had to choose between walking and not going at all. I hiked up the Grand Canyon this year, I forget how many miles (Bright Angel Trail) but it was pretty much the only way to go (allergic to mules).


Roddy

[Peremensoe]

GoogleMaps shows it as 7.3 miles and a 2 hour, 39-minute walk.

That's Candlestick Park, where the Giants haven't played for ten or eleven years.

(you must be looking at a very old map, there is no Embarcadero Freeway any more)

Apparently.

[Peremensoe]

I'm having a hard time reconciling the results of this poll with those of the fat poll (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577629).

[Chefguy]

Depends on how badly the plantar fasciitis is kicking up, but a mile or two round trip is no big deal.

[Hello Again]

(you must be looking at a very old map, there is no Embarcadero Freeway any more)

Apparently.
Yeah, that part of your post completely threw me. The Embarcadero freeway shook down in the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 and was fully demolished. Now there's a broad boulevard with a median and parks running alongside, and trolley service, all the way down.

[Peremensoe]

The Embarcadero freeway shook down in the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 and was fully demolished. Now there's a broad boulevard with a median and parks running alongside, and trolley service, all the way down.

I was looking at "The Embarcadero" on Google maps, and thinking that was the same thing. Just read my earlier post without the word "freeway" in it.

[Girl From Mars]

20-30 minutes would be walking distance for me - at 8km an hour that would be somewhere between 1.5-2 miles.

[Maiira]

I take the bus a lot, and my house is about a half a mile to a mile away from the stops nearest to us. So my definition of "walking distance" has to be fairly flexible. I once walked about five miles back from a bus stop after I'd gotten on the wrong bus. That was definitely too long a walk in an urban, non-pedestrian-friendly environment, though if I were hiking at a state park somewhere it'd probably be different.

[Cat Whisperer]

Too many variables. For example, I live 5 blocks from a grocery store, easy walking distance even by my standards. Until you realize I'm going to be burdened with heavy shopping bags on the return trip.
I got one of these carts just for that. (http://www.ihishows.com/smart_cart.php) I walk to Safeway or the Superstore about two times a week now, and trundle my groceries home with me. I still take the car every once in a while to stock up on heavy, bulky stuff, but the majority of my trips are on foot with my little cart. My stores are about a half hour there and a half hour back; I think they're both about a mile away (but it's uphill home from both of them).

We'll walk a lot on vacations or sightseeing; four or five hours of walking at the zoo is fairly normal. One of my favourite ways to exercise is shopping in the mall; shopping for hours gets you a lot of burnt calories. :)

[Hilarity N. Suze]

I put .5 to 1 mile, but it's an average. In good weather I consider anything I can walk to in an hour or less walking distance (3½-4 miles). In the winter I don't want to be more than half a block from some kind of shelter.

[Cat Whisperer]

I walk just as much in winter as in summer - all you need is a good pair of boots and multiple layers. :)

[Hilarity N. Suze]

I regularly walk golf courses. That's about five miles after you've added the walk from each green to the next tee (and a few trips into the woods to track down errant shots). Over about four hours, of course, so it's not one long steady walk.

I'll also walk the two miles from the nearby "Tires Plus" store after I drop the car off to be serviced.

On the other hand, I drive the one mile trip and the one mile back when I go to the gym each day...

I'm 62.

I drive to the gym, too, and it's even less than a mile. But it's a very unpleasant mile down a busy street with a narrow sidewalk that's too close to the traffic. Or, if I walk out of the way to avoid that, then it's more like two miles.

But also, on the way out of the gym it takes everything I've got left to get up the stairs from the locker room. I really wouldn't have another couple of miles in me.

[Brown Eyed Girl]

Since I started running, my walking distance threshold has gotten considerably longer. At least twice in the last couple weeks, I've walked to Walgreen's near my house which is about 2.5 miles roundtrip. Not far at all really. I stopped driving there unless I'm in a hurry or will be carrying a lot.

[Nava]

Hey, where's the good old "you left out"...?

Because you left out "depends". In good weather (10C-35C), with decent sidewalks... over 1.5 miles; my idea of "a nice walk" is about 3h walking. Last winter in Scotland? The convenience store in the next building, and I went cursing all the way! In South Miami, with no sidewalks? I walked about 50 yards to the uni and maybe half a mile to the supermarket, but at low-traffic hours.

[FuzzyOgre]

its 1 kilometer to my moms house. I walk that without much thought. It takes about 2-3 minutes tops. I generally dont get one song play on my MP3 player. I walk very fast.

The supermarket is 2.6 km away and thats about as far as I want to walk.

I'm fat and lazy and dont exercise much so these trips are sporadic.

I had a job a few years ago where I walked 10 km a day with stops every few feet and I could complete that circuit in about 3 hours(with a good deal of screwing around). The biggest delay was waiting to cross streets/waiting on traffic, and if I started early morning I could finish even faster.

[Askance]

I walk around 40 minutes to work and the same back every day (I'm 55 and not particularly fit). If it's cold or raining I don suitable gear. If I'm carrying extra stuff or I'll need to shop I put on a backpack. I get my exercise and my commute done in the same time package and when I get home my time is my own, and there are no gym fees or transport fares or car costs.

I would simply never choose to live where that wasn't possible.

[jjimm]

"Walking distance" means a distance that you would readily walk even when other transport options are available. Obviously pretty much everybody is able to walk much longer distances in extremis.This.

I live 35 minutes' walk from the city centre and about 40 from the train station (I walk fast - about 3.5-4mph). When the weather's good and I don't have a lot of stuff to carry then I choose to walk it. So for me up to 3 miles. But I do know that's unusual.

[FuzzyOgre]

I'm having a hard time reconciling the results of this poll with those of the fat poll (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577629).

Nah, its reasonable. Walking probably doesnt make you skinny, and endurance for a walk seems to have more to do with personality than size.

[pulykamell]

I would say 1 - 1.5 miles, in most circumstances. If it's a lazy day and I'm not in a hurry, 3-4 miles is reasonable.

[One And Only Wanderers]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

That should be a great recreational walk--two and a half miles or so each way, entirely along the waterfront. But I wonder how much fun it actually is, how well the cityscape actually supports it; I see some spots in the streetviews where it's not clear where pedestrians are supposed or able to be, relative to the Embarcadero Freeway.

ETA: Unless you were there in the days of Candlestick Park. That would be something of a trek.

It was May 2005. Don't remember the name of the stadium.

[One And Only Wanderers]

its 1 kilometer to my moms house. I walk that without much thought. It takes about 2-3 minutes tops. I generally dont get one song play on my MP3 player. I walk very fast.



You must walk very very fast, cos 1k in 3 minutes is 20k/h (12.5 miles per hour). In my book, that's running!

[Ximenean]

Put it this way - if I were buying a house, and the seller said that it was "walking distance" from a train station, and it turned out to be 1 mile from the station, I'd be a bit pissed off. I can and often do walk that kind of distance, but to me the phrase implies a 5 or 10 minute walk, which equates to somewhere between a quarter of a mile and half a mile. I don't want to spend 40 minutes every day walking to and from the station. So for me, "walking distance" would be a maximum of about half a mile, or 800m.

[pulykamell]

You must walk very very fast, cos 1k in 3 minutes is 20k/h (12.5 miles per hour). In my book, that's running!

Yipes. That's a 4:50 minutes per mile pace. The men's mile walking record is around 5:35.

[chizzuk]

Put it this way - if I were buying a house, and the seller said that it was "walking distance" from a train station, and it turned out to be 1 mile from the station, I'd be a bit pissed off. I can and often do walk that kind of distance, but to me the phrase implies a 5 or 10 minute walk, which equates to somewhere between a quarter of a mile and half a mile. I don't want to spend 40 minutes every day walking to and from the station. So for me, "walking distance" would be a maximum of about half a mile, or 800m.

Yeah, this. I can walk much longer distances, but I don't want to, especially not carrying things.

Right now, I have extensor tendinitis in my right foot, and it's not going to heal if I walk around on it a lot, so a couple blocks is my current limit before I head for my car.

[Hari Seldon]

I regularly walk 4 miles to my office and 5 to my dentist, but that is for the exercise and I don't consider it "walking distance". A mile, give or take, is the distance I usually wouldn't consider not walking (unless the weather's lousy). Even when I take the train to my office, it is still a half mile to the station and then a half mile to my office. And I always come home that way, so I get a couple miles doing it.

[Cat Whisperer]

I'm having a hard time reconciling the results of this poll with those of the fat poll (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577629).

Nah, its reasonable. Walking probably doesnt make you skinny, and endurance for a walk seems to have more to do with personality than size.
I'd have to agree with this. Walking can make you skinny, but it takes A LOT of walking. I would suggest that people who do walk a decent amount regularly are in better shape than those who don't walk at all, but walking two miles a day isn't going to get you in marathoner shape or anything. On the other hand, most people can go for a good walk regardless of the shape they're in; it's an excellent exercise for almost everyone.

[Otara]

The majority of people were underweight, within BMI or close to it.

Not seeing why its hard to reconcile.

Edit: Also this poll didnt ask how often people are doing the walking distance in question.

Otara

[FuzzyOgre]

its 1 kilometer to my moms house. I walk that without much thought. It takes about 2-3 minutes tops. I generally dont get one song play on my MP3 player. I walk very fast.



You must walk very very fast, cos 1k in 3 minutes is 20k/h (12.5 miles per hour). In my book, that's running!


Good point. Now I NEED to know. I do walk VERY fast, faster than my sister runs.

I used google distance(with google maps) to lay out the course I walk and it is indeed 0.65 miles.

Maybe I better time it? But in my old job my boss used to get annoyed because I was seemingly done so fast. He drove around watching me a few times though.

Now I am inspired. I am going to go walk it and film the walk. Its kinda dark and I am curious how well my android phone will record. I think I'll post the video if it looks ok.

[FuzzyOgre]

I'm back. I was wrong, wrong wrong. It took me 9.5 minutes there and 10 back.

The video didnt turn out. It was all black with the occasional wiggly street light.

[Gatopescado]

As far as I'm willing to drive the Jeep.

[LawMonkey]

Under normal circumstances, I expect I top out at about three miles--more because an hour is about as long as I care to spend walking anywhere than because I couldn't do longer if the circumstances demanded it. I walked a lot in St. Petersburg, and I imagine that did a great deal to keep me in shape. Double that for New York, where I managed to somehow lose weight despite a lot of good food and alcohol. Looking forward to being in a properly walkable city again.

[Shalmanese]

Nah, it should be easy enough. The Embarcadero is easy to walk on. It's also flat, which makes it super easy in comparison to most walks in San Francisco. It can be very foggy and chilly in the summer, though.

GoogleMaps shows it as 7.3 miles and a 2 hour, 39-minute walk.

That's to Candlestick park. The walk to AT&T park is a trifling 1.2 miles. I do that walk all the time when I need to transfer from the Caltrain to the BART and I don't want to walk through SOMA.

[GuanoLad]

I will often walk more than 5km (3 miles), in total there and back, but that's quite an expedition. I concede that it's not strictly speaking "walking distance" except for weirdos like me who don't drive or have a bike.

[Sleel]

I walk a couple of klicks every day. About 1.5 miles or so is easy walking distance. Longer than that and I might consider a bike or car. Also depends on time pressure. If no particular time, I can walk. No problem.

[Peremensoe]

Also this poll didnt ask how often people are doing the walking distance in question.

Indeed, I think that's the key.

To my way of thinking (that "walking distance" is the one-way range to a destination you would routinely choose to walk to), you can't call it your standard walking distance unless you're doing it at least daily (which would be over 14 miles/week for 64% of respondents here, over 21 miles/week for 34%), and very possibly twice that much.

I'm guessing some responses have simply meant, "I sometimes walk this distance."

[DCnDC]

I originally asked the question to prove a point in another thread, but this has become more interesting than that one anyway.

I meant the question in the most general sense, as in: "What is the furthest distance you wouldn't think twice about walking?" Obviously there a lot of circumstances in which that distance will vary widely, but I wanted to leave interpretation up to each responder.

[A Dodgy Dude]

If I'm not carrying anything, if I have no backpack or messenger bag, if all I bring with me is my mp3 player? Then I'd say 5 miles is a good stretch of the legs.

[amarinth]

For the poll, I voted 1-1.5, but under 2 is probably more accurate. I'll walk farther than two, but I wouldn't call a location more than two miles away "walking distance."

Ah, that leads into my follow-up question: are you willing to walk farther to do/see stuff when on vacation?Absolutely. I lose weight on vacation because I don't have time to eat and I walk everywhere.

[gwendee]

For a couple of years I lived exactly one mile from work. I walke almost every day in all sorts of weather. It was easy.

Right now I live a little over 2 miles. I can walk it, but I talk myself out of it most days. It's too hot, too cold, or I have too much to carry, or in the winter it's too dark after work to walk home. I think I could muscle through any of those for one mile, or two miles with sidewalks along the whole route.

[Student Driver]

In Indianapolis, three miles if sidewalks or otherwise pedestrian-friendly facilities exist, and even longer if the area is well maintained; 1.5 miles or less if I've got to walk in the road or in a ditch. In NYC I found myself willing to walk 7+ miles to get to a destination, but the city was built for walking, which for me was a novelty. Indianapolis's half-assed mishmash of walking trails and broken sidewalks means that I'll would walk 10+ miles for destinations along the Monon Trail, and will traverse downtown on foot if parking is bad, but will drive if I need to go more than a couple of blocks on US 31.

My mom couldn't afford a car during most of my childhood, which has affected how I live even now; walking is the default form of transportation, with cars being a luxury. I choose homes and jobs with walking in mind; I'm within three miles of my job and necessary retailers (grocer, laundry, bookstore/library), and usually only a few blocks away from them. I tend to live in retail areas; currently, I'm across the street from two major malls and a bunch of strip malls. An eyesore, but everything I need is just a few blocks away.

[Peremensoe]

I tend to live in retail areas; currently, I'm across the street from two major malls and a bunch of strip malls. An eyesore, but everything I need is just a few blocks away.

My heart always aches to hear things like this. Not that you rely on walking, that's great--but that "retail areas" are (often believed to be necessarily) ugly. Those same stores could be built as walkable neighborhoods, with offices and residences above. The more of them were built as neighborhoods, instead of automobile zones, the less need there would be for the acres of parking and multilane access roads.

[Serenata67]

I was on honeymoon in San Francisco, staying at Fisherman's Wharf. I remember asking directions to get to the stadium for a baseball game. The person I asked was aghast at the thought that we wanted to walk there.

Ah, that leads into my follow-up question: are you willing to walk farther to do/see stuff when on vacation?

My husband and I aren't much of walkers in our every day life (well, I'm a waitress, so I walk all shift), but when we were on our honeymoon in New York City, we walked a lot. We took the subway if our destination was more than two or three subway stops away. (Well, at the end of a long day or walking, we might have hopped the subway for a few blocks.) But yeah, we'll walk more on vacation than in daily life.

[11811]

I would walk as far as 20 city blocks, which is roughly 2-1/2 miles (blocks here are approximately 1/8 mile.

[Chimera]

I generally figure about 1.5 miles as walking distance, or about a half hour in each direction. In my last apartment, it was 1.25 miles to the little strip malls, where I could pick up some Chinese and bring it home, or stop and have lunch or buy a lottery ticket or something (basically an excuse to walk there), then walk back. Right now, I'm anywhere from 1.1 miles to Walmart to 1.5 miles to Petsmart, with a lot of choices in between. I'll generally walk down to Walmart, or over to Rainbow (Groceries, 1.25 miles) and then carry stuff home. I just have to remember not to buy too much to carry.

Today I did the 2.2 mile round trip to Walmart and walked home carrying a 20 pound jug of kitty litter and about 10 pounds of groceries.

[gladtobeblazed]

About 1 mile total. So anything in a half-mile radius for a round trip.

[Mama Zappa]

I said "a couple of blocks" but really my thinking is anything up to about a half mile. Beyond that, it takes enough time to get there and back that I'd be tempted to rethink my plans, and skip the outing or drive.

Not that I haven't walked a mile one way on a semi-routine basis - back in college or whatever, and there's a shopping center with a lot of restaurants exactly a mile from our house, where we often walk if the weather is nice. But if I were looking at a house and it listed "walking distance" to places among its amenities, I'd feel pissed if it were more than half a mile to those amenities.

[kevja]

My walk score is 98. A mile and a half is walking distance. So is two miles. I've walked farther scores of times. But if it's over two mile and I'm tired, I'll take a cab or public transit.

[Jaledin]

10 miles in nice weather and if I have the time -- I often walk about that far to the library and back, round trip 14 miles.

Probably 2.5-3 miles or so for just running an errand or something, crummy weather, not much time, etc.

[Grumman]

~5 mile round trip: It's tightass Tuesday, let's see what movies are on.
~10-14 mile round trip: I've got something I want to do in the city, and the time to get there.
~20 mile round trip: A one-off to a specific destination, walking there as a personal challenge.

I'd consider the 10 mile round trip to be about the limits of what I'd walk regularly.

[gonzomax]

I walk my 2 beagles in the park every day. A short walk is about 2 miles. A long one is about 5.
Yes, they are spoiled rotten.
I walk to stores around my neighborhood. Krogers is a mile away. It is a long way back when I accidently buy too much.

[Nava]

Also this poll didnt ask how often people are doing the walking distance in question.

Indeed, I think that's the key.

To my way of thinking (that "walking distance" is the one-way range to a destination you would routinely choose to walk to), you can't call it your standard walking distance unless you're doing it at least daily (which would be over 14 miles/week for 64% of respondents here, over 21 miles/week for 34%), and very possibly twice that much.

I'm guessing some responses have simply meant, "I sometimes walk this distance."

I'd say unless you're willing to. If you don't have any reason to go to places within walking distance daily, why should you?