# What's your home's Walk Score? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560 "2009-05-15T19:41:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/41 "2009-05-15T23:33:34Z")
1. the site called it a walkers paradise. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/42 "2009-05-15T23:50:34Z")
I got a 98 as well. There are quite a few restaurants and bars within a five minute stroll from my place, although the closest supermarket listed is the small corner store across the street that I only go to if I am out of something and desperate. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/43 "2009-05-16T00:56:53Z")
89 is the official score. I’m surprised it’s not higher. I’ve lived in the area for over twenty years perfectly happily without a car. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/44 "2009-05-16T01:05:24Z")
My current place in a travesty-of-a-suburb is a 52, although it understates the distance to a lot of places, so the score should be lower. In three weeks I’m moving to an actual neighborhood with a score of 85. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/45 "2009-05-16T01:08:30Z")
Apparently it’s only 37. Bit of a shock to me, considering I walk damn near everywhere. Including to the bus stop. Also, apparently this thing believes there is a convenience store/takeout shop _in my apartment building_, on the fourth floor, about two doors down. I’ve been to the fourth floor. If there’s a takeout place up there they’re doing a good job at hiding it. Also it doesn’t list the actual grocery store that’s a quarter of a kilometer away. Instead, it lists the convenience store. It doesn’t list the churches and schools that are sprinkled liberally in my neighbourhood. It’s big on parks, though–I don’t know why, I practically live in a park, and I can throw a stone and hit three or four parks in my neighbourhood, not that it did me a damn bit of good when there was a transit strike on. And why, if I needed to go to a hardware store, would I go to a flooring merchant??? The two things are not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/46 "2009-05-16T01:25:18Z")
1. I think that’s about right. The only things I can’t get within walking distance are normal grocery stores (there are a couple of hippie grocery stores within walking distance) and big stores where they have Stuff. You know, like Target or Meijer. I have to take the bus. Well, I suppose I could get most of the Stuff I’d get at Target or Meijer downtown, but then it’d be from some chichi boutique and be eight times more expensive. Ann Arbor is a great place to get fancy ass crap and waste time in cafes and bookshops, but basics take more effort. It says my old address in Chicago is an 88. WTF-ever. I’d put it higher. I could get EVERYTHING in my old neighborhood. Chicago, how I miss you. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/47 "2009-05-16T01:36:33Z")
My walk score – in a suburb of San Francisco – is 51. My parents walk score, in Los Angeles (not normally considered a very walkable city) is a very respectable 82. One of the main reasons I need a car is the walk score of the location of my job – only 14. Ed ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/48 "2009-05-16T01:42:27Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > 89 is the official score. I’m surprised it’s not higher. I’ve lived in the area for over twenty years perfectly happily without a car. Based on my extremely small sample, I’d say 89 is extremely high. I could theoretically walk anywhere I needed to go - it’d be a bit of an annoyance and a stretch, but there are jobs in my field, supermarkets, doctor and dentist offices, restaurants etc, all within walking distance of me, and I only got a 34. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/49 "2009-05-16T01:47:23Z")
Current place I reside scores a 15, mainly because I’m 1.3 miles up on the mountain, but 1/4 mile from the bottom are 2 large strip malls which have just about anything available, most importantly the home improvement store 😉 The last 5 addresses I’ve had all score above 75… I guess that is why I’m home so much nowadays. But I dunno, it has it’s advantages being that the area I live in is very safe (that’s what I thought the test was going to be about) – we don’t even lock our doors, ever – and there is tons of parking so that is never an issue if I host a party or something – and it’s always nice and quiet up here. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/50 "2009-05-16T01:47:41Z")
Hmmmm, I just calculated the walk scores of the last few places I’ve lived - 57, 74, and 65. I guess the most urban place I’ve ever lived is a suburb of the city I live in now. Kinda funny. For the record I don’t consider any of those places much more or less “walkable” than my current home (a 34), and out of all four of them, I think the 57 was truly the most walkable, by a small margin. The 65 was stuck between a mountain preserve and a freeway and thus probably the least walkable. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/51 "2009-05-16T01:51:12Z")
I got a 75 and am stunned. I honestly thought I would get like a 90 something. Absolute everything is right around the corner from me. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/52 "2009-05-16T02:12:56Z")
71, which is a joke in L.A. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/53 "2009-05-16T02:25:31Z")
In the last 18 years, I’ve lived in four residences. The walk scores of each, starting with my current residence: 94 88 89 86 It’s funny, though: while I do walk to many of the places in my neighborhood, I still drive an average of 10 miles a day. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/54 "2009-05-16T02:45:14Z")
> [@Umbriel2](#): > > I note that it seems to take a while to calculate its score. Those of you getting zeros should maybe wait a bit to see what it comes up with. Unless waiting will allow tectonic plate movement to bring my home closer to urban/commercial centers, I don’t think there’s any point in waiting longer. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/55 "2009-05-16T02:48:20Z")
It doesn’t work for my current address in Panama. The address where I grew up in the Bronx gets a 97. From that, I would guess my Panama address would get over 90, the main things missing from the immediate neighborhood being a library and a bookstore. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/56 "2009-05-16T03:00:13Z")
1. In central Phoenix. But, that is a stretch. The gay bathhouse is listed as “Gym” one half mile away! The grocery stores are all convenience stores. Still, no one expects to walk anywhere in Phoenix. I do like having a bar and the Circle K in walking distance. That did come in handy when my car kept breaking down earlier this year. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/57 "2009-05-16T03:04:41Z")
I added the local supermarket to Google maps and got my score to go from 57 to 65. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/58 "2009-05-16T05:04:46Z")
0/100. I don’t even know why I bothered. I could have figured this out on my own. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/59 "2009-05-16T05:12:13Z")
1. That’s the East Village for ya. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/60 "2009-05-16T10:44:27Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > 89 is the official score. I’m surprised it’s not higher. I’ve lived in the area for over twenty years perfectly happily without a car. I noticed on the website it says “currently supports USA,UK and Canada”. I guess they should update that. Have you noticed it does different things for different countries? I looked up my old house in Scotland (got a 78) and it doesn’t have the hardware store or school categories. My current house gets an 89, but when I do it manually via Google Maps with sensible things in the categories, it goes down to 76. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560.md?page=4)