# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/101 "2009-05-18T06:57:23Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I noticed that too. It doesn’t always choose the closest option. And it thinks the Zenith Theatre in Chatswood is within walking distance. Ha! ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/102 "2009-05-18T07:26:29Z")
38/100. That’s actually much higher than I expected. Plus, if I factor in weather, this place becomes a 0/100: I don’t know the next time it will be under 100 degrees outside! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/103 "2009-05-18T14:26:03Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I got an 18, which sounds about right. I don’t know what people have against sidewalks in New England, but it’s annoying. > > Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m planning on catching the 3 o’clock show at the movie theater tomorrow afternoon, and I need to leave now. 🙂 I got a 15 - there is a gas station and small grocery store, as well as a small diner. No sidewalks, though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/104 "2009-05-18T14:39:12Z")
I got a 55 which was surprisingly low - I only live a few blocks from downtown. Apparently the lack of a movie theatre dropped the score. They missed a few places also. They list the Thai restaurant as being closest to me and skipped over the Italian place up the street. They missed the corner deli as the closest grovery store. They also have an H&R Block Income Tax Center listed as a school. That’d probably make it tough to get into a good college. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/105 "2009-05-18T15:10:20Z")
1. Our apartment in Walnut Creek got a 91- no wonder I miss it. And that ignores the fact that days when there’s weather you’d be willing to walk in are a lot more common in California than in Pittsburgh. The house my family lived in when I was in high school, that I hated because you couldn’t walk anywhere from it, got a 17. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/106 "2009-05-18T16:26:00Z")
My current place scores a 77, which seems about right. It’s a mile to a Meijer (and maybe another quarter mile after that to Target, Kroger, Michael’s Crafts, Home Depot, etc.) and the downtown that I’m near has a bunch of things (though is small). I want to move a bit down the road to be near the downtown of another city. Plugging in that general area gives a walkability score of 94-95. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/107 "2009-05-18T18:06:59Z")
I got a 3, and that’s the way I like it! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/108 "2009-05-18T18:42:04Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’m Zero out of 100! Me, too. So how come people walk by my house all the time in the summer? I guess they are walking to nowhere. And back. Hey – I just noticed something. The distances given to the nearest restaurant, library, etc., are straight line, not driving. In my case, although the YMCA might be 7 miles away as the seagull flies, it’s 11 miles by the best road route, walking or driving. Which reminds me of a similar web site some time ago that gave the nearest Fedex dropoff points and the distance, and also used the direct, straight-line calculation. Doesn’t sound like 10 miles is far to go to a Fedex box until you remember that the waters of Green Bay are 9 of those miles and driving distance on land is more like 120. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/109 "2009-05-18T18:44:26Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Hey – I just noticed something. The distances given to the nearest restaurant, library, etc., are straight line, not driving. In my case, although the YMCA might be 7 miles away as the seagull flies, it’s 11 miles by the best road route, walking or driving. I was wondering about that too. I got a 3 because there is supposedly a store within .6 miles of me, but by road it’s at least a mile. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/110 "2009-05-18T21:23:59Z")
1. Shame! ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/111 "2009-05-18T21:39:46Z")
I’m a 3. However, I have the most delightful beach walks I could imagine. I can’t walk “to” anything, but I can certainly walk around. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/112 "2009-05-19T12:26:20Z")
The rating system is not very accurate. First of all, there’s a problem with categorization. It includes under “schools” places that are not actually schools – it looks like they might be administrative offices or education-related entities. It counted as a bookstore a place that’s basically an ethnic market. Yes, there are some books there, but they are quite limited in scope (basically related to Islam). It also doesn’t seem to take into account that public transportation is not very easy to use in this particular location. ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/113 "2009-05-19T12:48:58Z")
I have a 75 score, but it is quite misleading. I know I have Libraries, movie theaters, bookstores, drug stores and hardware stores that are clioser by. Also, i live in the Netherlands and the Coffee Shop that the program found doesn’t primarily sell coffee… ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/114 "2009-05-19T12:55:46Z")
7 out of 100. But it doesn’t seem to have located my address accurately and it also seems to be missing some key amenities. For example my village has: A Co-Op, an indian takeaway, a chinese takeaway, a chip shop, three pubs and a post office and a second general store and a doctor’s surgery and a dentist all within a 15 minute walk and it still scored a 7. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/115 "2009-05-19T14:07:32Z")
82 - and they are missing some important stuff, like 1/2 mile walk to the commuter train. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/116 "2009-05-20T16:06:32Z")
Another zero here and Google thinks I live IN the river, well done Google, well done. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/117 "2009-05-20T16:19:50Z")
LOL That thing is fuktup. I got a 69, despite having a drug store, 2 grocery stores, a walmart, 20 restaurants, a post office, numerous banks, book stores, and a hospital all less than 500 yards from my house. Parks, library, police station, fitness centers, schools, bars, coffee shops all less than .25 miles from my door. the only thing further than .5 miles from me is 2 movie theaters: one is 1 mile away, the other is .85 miles away. I’ve lived here for 12 years and I walk most places when time, weather and packages permit. As far I’m concerned, my home’s Walk Score should be like 95/100. But hey, maybe they think .25 miles is an impossible distance to walk. Schleps. ---
**Author:** ![mariposalabrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@mariposalabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mariposalabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/118 "2009-05-20T16:31:41Z")
59 out of 100, and apparently the pawn shop is a movie theatre, and the courthouse is a male strip club. This website is bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/119 "2009-05-20T16:35:12Z")
57, but it’s goofy. It counts a self-storage facility a mile from my house as a clothing/music store but it completely fails to take into account the entire shopping mall less than a mile from my front door (it did count some of the satellite stores though). ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560/120 "2009-05-20T16:47:25Z")
I’m a 92, and I’d say that’s about right. I think some of the problems some posters have is that the data’s outdated. Some of my results are for businesses that have changed in the last year or two. Still, I regularly walk to about a dozen different bars and restaurants, it’s less than a mile (.69 miles, actually) to a Publix, and there are bookstores and gyms and thrift stops galore. And I think I scored pretty high on the access to parks, part of my city’s crowning glory is several miles of waterfront parks that the city founders had the foresight to preserve. ETA: Although it is very walkable, it requires a certain amount of dedication to walk everywhere in the summer here. It’s Florida, afterall, and even though I’m cooler here on the coast than the poor bastards further inland, I walked to a cafe on Sunday and was sweating like mad 6 blocks later. Sunscreen and cotton tank tops all the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-homes-walk-score/496560.md?page=7)