Quick survey for those in the US - please help me test out an interesting theory

[LoriABil]

1. 1 mile
2. Texas
3. Southwest US

 

[Diznotyzed]

1. 2 miles
2. & 3. Oregon

eta: We both drive and walk to the store, so times would be different. If asked how far away from Seattle we are, I would say 3 1/2 hours. Interesting!

 

[Handbag Lady]

Funny. I grew up in California and everyone described distances in times. It can give a more accurate picture of how far away something feels, when certain 10-mile stretches of road can typically take an hour to drive, and others just 15 minutes.

I answered in miles, though. Since I've lived in Colorado (and I'm asked if I'm from California every time I describe distance in minutes ) I've gotten more in the habit of answering in miles, especially when something is very close, like the grocery store. (I've also picked up words like "pop" and "highway", when it used to be "soft drinks" and "freeway" )

I answered in miles because I didn't expect people on the Disboards to understand Los Angeles distances in time. I guess I'm bilingual now!

 

[dislaney]

2 miles
Texas
Texas

 

[marybet]

1. 2 miles or 5 minutes

2. Alabama

3. Ohio

 

[Heidict]

1- 1 mile or about 5 minutes (I'm also from California and therefore bilingual also. )

2- CT

3- about half on the west coast and half on the east coast.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house? 1.5miles
2 - What state do lyou live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in) Texas
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life? Texas (adult) and Louisiana (childhood)

 

[lecach]

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house? 3 miles

2 - What state do lyou live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in) NC

3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life? NC

 

[Amy]

1 - grocery store is 0.9 miles from my house
2 - state I live in - Pennsylvania
3 - I've lived in Pennsylvania my whole life

 

[duketennisgal]

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house? about 3 miles
2 - What state do you live in? North Carolina
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life? North Carolina

 

[indimom]

My DD read/heard something rather interesting and I though the DIS would be a great place to test it out. Please answer the following questions WITHOUT reading any of the responses first. This is the one time it is a GOOD thing to poast before reading all the replies. Once enough people have replied, I'll come back with the hypothesis and whether or not it seems to have proven correct:

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house?
2 - What state do lyou live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in)
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life?

Thanks!

1. 1/2 mile
2. Indiana
3. Indiana

 

[Thumper_Man]

My DD read/heard something rather interesting and I though the DIS would be a great place to test it out. Please answer the following questions WITHOUT reading any of the responses first. This is the one time it is a GOOD thing to poast before reading all the replies. Once enough people have replied, I'll come back with the hypothesis and whether or not it seems to have proven correct:

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house? About 5 miles.
2 - What state do you live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in) New Mexico
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life? New Mexico.

Thanks!

My answers are in RED.

 

[MushyMushy]

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house?

About 2 miles: 5-10 minutes depending on the lights

2 - What state do lyou live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in)

PA

3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life?

PA

 

[MushyMushy]

Carly, you are close. The theory is that people from the south respond in minutes, while northerners respond in miles. We really need more responses from Southerners! Also, I thought it was interesting one poster responded both ways. BTW, I am from the south and always refer to distances in terms of time even if I have to qualify it (ie - 30 minutes with no traffic 45 minutes during rush hour).

Where I live, we typically respond in time rather than miles. We're right on the border of WV, so maybe we're picking up that southern habit?

If someone asks me how far away we are from Pittsburgh, I'll respond with "about an hour."

I guess we assume that it's a straight drive with little or no traffic.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

My DD read/heard something rather interesting and I though the DIS would be a great place to test it out. Please answer the following questions WITHOUT reading any of the responses first. This is the one time it is a GOOD thing to poast before reading all the replies. Once enough people have replied, I'll come back with the hypothesis and whether or not it seems to have proven correct:

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house?
2 - What state do lyou live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in)
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life?

Thanks!

1- There are several within a 1-2 mile radius, but they really aren't considered walking distance.

2- Maryland

3- Mostly lived right here in the triangle- Balt/DC/Annapolis suburbs.

 

[PollyannaMom]

1. - a mile and a half
2. - Massachusetts
3. - the Northeast

 

[AmongMadPeople]

I'll admit, since the thread was over 10 pages I looked up the OP's theory before posting. Here is what I would have said first...

1) 2.5 miles
2) Indiana
3) Midwest

Now that I know the theory, I have some commentary. The only reason I can figure out how far the grocery is in miles is because Indiana was laid out in blocks. All our road names are mileage descriptions, so I just have to do some quick math. If that wasn't the case, I'd have no idea the distance in miles. Everything else I judge in minutes. How far are you from downtown? 30 or 45 minutes, depending on traffic. How far are you from x? About x minutes or hours.

 

[Heidict]

I'll admit, since the thread was over 10 pages I looked up the OP's theory before posting. Here is what I would have said first...

1) 2.5 miles
2) Indiana
3) Midwest

Now that I know the theory, I have some commentary. The only reason I can figure out how far the grocery is in miles is because Indiana was laid out in blocks. All our road names are mileage descriptions, so I just have to do some quick math. If that wasn't the case, I'd have no idea the distance in miles. Everything else I judge in minutes. How far are you from downtown? 30 or 45 minutes, depending on traffic. How far are you from x? About x minutes or hours.

What is the theory? Did she post it somewhere on the thread? What post? I missed it.

 

[Thumper_Man]

What is the theory? Did she post it somewhere on the thread? What post? I missed it.

Post #41. Went and looked it up. I missed it to. I'm from the Southwest, yet I didn't match her theory. Hmm. Guess I'm abnormal? Of course I'm from the Northern part of NM, maybe that's why I responded in miles.

 

[Kat77]

1 - How far is the closest grocery store from your house? Less than a mile, definately walking distance.
2 - What state do you live in (if you are not comfortable posting this information, you can just give the part of the county you live in)? Texas
3 - What state or part of the country have you lived in for most of your life? Texas