topic Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences in Community Chat

Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

juanitalinda — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:59:28 GMT

I was reading a thread about packing for a trip and saw the comment that the OP was staying 45 miles from her house, with the implication that was a long drive.

Living outside of Seattle, I drove 45 miles to visit my mother every day she was in hospice and didn't think anything of it. My sister drove 55 miles to meet us for Easter Brunch.

Things are so much more spread out on the West Coast than on the East Coast and sometimes that still surprises me.

Some of the other regional differences that I love discovering on these threads have to do with traditional foods, especially for holidays.

Any other regional differences that you've come across reading these forums?

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Desertdi — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:19:55 GMT

@juanitalinda

Well, this is "something similar". I have lived in three major cities all my life (Chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix)...and I find it difficult to understand small-town living...where the nearest Walmart is 50 miles away on the interstate... di

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

juanitalinda — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:21:57 GMT

@Desertdi

Not to mention the fact that the nearest medical specialist is 50 miles away.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

bikerbabe — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:34:06 GMT

Years ago I drove 45 miles each way to work, in LA traffic.
60 min - 3 hours each. 🥴 Thursday and Friday nights are enough to drive you to drink heavily when you get home. 🤣

Just joking. I don’t drink. 😉

Probably would if I still worked there. 🤣

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

ALRATIBA — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:39:07 GMT

This is the reason I live in NYC ... I can walkto almost anywhere I need to go.

My doctor's office is around the corner, supermarket down the street, church 3 blocks away, hospital four blocks away.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

juanitalinda — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:42:01 GMT

@ALRATIBA wrote:
This is the reason I live in NYC ... I can walkto almost anywhere I need to go.

My doctor's office is around the corner, supermarket down the street, church 3 blocks away, hospital four blocks away.

I can't even imagine what that would be like. But, I think I could grow to like it real fast.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

CatsyCline — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:43:21 GMT

@juanitalinda some here won't drive more than 20 minutes anywhere, the saying around here is over 20 minutes you need to "pack a lunch".

"The City" is less than 20 miles from here. some here have never been to the "City" .

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

qbetzforreal — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:47:56 GMT

It's the person's perception. Someone might think it is a great distance and someone might not. Both can be from the same region/area.

I'll say some place is far and my S/O will say no it's not.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Desertdi — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 23:51:22 GMT

@bikerbabe

One great thing about Phoenix (although nearly 5 million metropolitan population)..........You can ALWAYS find a parking place (and NO parking meters except in the downtown business area.) di

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

bikerbabe — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:04:03 GMT

@Desertdi

Except I can’t do the heat. I already hate summer here. My next move will be somewhere farther north. I’m a cold weather girl at heart and always have been.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

chrystaltree — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:10:37 GMT

I'm in MA, tiny state geographically but driving for 45 minutes would not be considered a long drive by anyone. My daughter is in New Port RI so we drive to visit all the time. It's only about 90 minutes. It's the opposite that is surprising to me. Like my former coworker who moved to Texas and the closest Walmart was three hours away and when her mom needed to see a cardiologist, it was a six our drive!

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Carmie — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:11:53 GMT

I live on the east coast and 50 miles from home isn't far. I drove to work and back 50 miles each way for years.

Some people just aren't comfortable driving, so any distance is a big deal.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Kachina624 — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:27:36 GMT

I think the issue was not the distance from home but that they're going to be out of their house for five weeks while remodeling is underway.

We're accustomed to driving long distances for petty reasons where I live too. It's 50+ miles to Santa Fe and many people commute to work there every day.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Desertdi — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:56:59 GMT

@Kachina624

I might drive to Taos to see Sam....

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Jk9 — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:29:11 GMT

If you live in a rural area or what is a developing rural area, distance to get anywhere is normal and expected. My sister and I live about equal distance from Asheville, NC (I live in SC and she is in TN). She considers the drive a long one as well as the one to my house. I drove to where she lives frequently from the time I moved to SC when I was 20 since the rest of my family is there. It isn't a long distance to me (about 150 miles). We drive at least 5 miles to go to the nearest post office, McDonald's, grocery store and pharmacy but most are 15 miles away. I live on 20 woooded acres with pastures and don't mind the drive to live where I choose to live.

There are regional and other differences across the US. Our country is so large that we experience the differences of countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

shoekitty — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:45:10 GMT

@bikerbabe wrote:
Years ago I drove 45 miles each way to work, in LA traffic.
60 min - 3 hours each. 🥴 Thursday and Friday nights are enough to drive you to drink heavily when you get home. 🤣

Just joking. I don’t drink. 😉

Probably would if I still worked there. 🤣

Shoekitty said, oh, Bikerbabe...nothing has changed. LA traffic is the worst. It still takes hours to go anywhere....and in 8 lanes of traffic going one way. We don't live there but my granddaughter , and my daughter lives there. They live outskirts, but my granddaughter in Studio City is the worst, it's smack next to Hollywood, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon and Disney studios. But it's so weird, once you are there Burbank, universal city and studio city and Tuluca Lake are like a place of their own, kind of quiet, clean ...just don't step out 1/4 miles of those cities!!. If you stay home and never leave it's OK. I love Burbank and studio City really great cities. We live near Silicon Valley and it gets bad. For 35 years my husband took express transportation from where we live to Lockheed. Even in express lane leaving at 5am it was 1 hour 20 mins. Coming home was 2 hours. Sigh. He is so glad he retired...it's worse now,

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

katie1859 — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:48:14 GMT

I get the demographic thing. I live 100 miles west of Chicago. Considered rural. I do that drive once or twice a month for doctors or to see my daughter and new grandbaby. Do I like it? After 5 years I'm accustom but the constant construction on Interstate 80 is such a dread. I literally feel like I have jet lag the next day lol.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

shoekitty — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:55:09 GMT

One of the big differences I noticed when I leave California and go to some states is the smoking. People smoke on the street, in restaurants and in some hotels, and many businesses. We were in one of the agreat Lake states and got a no smoking room, the problem was it was smoked in at one time and the smell was strong to us. I quit smoking 40 years ago, when ciggarettes were 1.75. lol. So as a former smoker i am probably worse. We had to leave room as it was old stale smoke to boot. In many restaurants we found no smoking areas, but the table next to you can smoke, lol. I didn't like it. We went into shops where owners smoked in a couple states and the merchandise smelled. It's just something I don't encounter here, that I totally forgot these things are not law everywhere. I forgot what it is like to be outside at a parade and everyone smoking around you, that we had to leave. But I am sure it didn't bother most people. The smell of smoke nauseates me, I know smokers, but funny I never see them smoking, even when I go to their house no smoke smell

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

haddon9 — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 02:29:29 GMT

I think a lot epends on the person. I for one am not a fan of driving a long distance. To me that's more than two hours. Yet I have a friend who would drive up to Rochester, NY (over 300 miles away) which was a five and a half hour drive like it was nothing & do it often to see her mother.

My brother in law drives up to the Boston area (another 5 hour drive) frm central, NJ to see his kids & grandkids with no complaints. He's 75. and hasn't slowed down yet.

QVC is about 55 miles or a little over an hour away from me. I've driven out there many times or to the KOP mall which is right in the area.

I've noticed many differences when it comes to how people celebrate weddings. For instance, I never give a gift that was purchased for a wedding gift except a shower. For a wedding it's always a check.

Re: Sometimes I'm surprised by regional differences

Kachina624 — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 02:36:03 GMT

@Desertdi wrote:
@Kachina624

I might drive to Taos to see Sam....

@Desertdi. That would be kind of extreme. Are there no Marlboro men in Arizona?