What is a long drive or walk to a Bostonian?
 

I am curious what a Bostonian views as a long walk or drive? To most New Mexicans it is nothing to drive 300 miles for a weekend trip, or to drive 30 miles to eat dinner at your favorite restaurant, to walk 2 miles to go shopping. In an earlier post I had asked about going from the Tremont to Trader Joes. I was told it was pretty far. On mapquest it said it was a 1.63 mile drive. In my world that is close, but I am guessing there are reasons that a Bostonian would say it is far?? I am wondering what is the difference in our norms? This is going to be so cool to see how "City Folks" live. HA HA!

It could take longer to drive that 1.63 mi. in Boston than 30 mi. to dinner in NM! I find that city people, whichever one they live in, tend to walk more than suburbanites. It's just more practical. We often drive into Boston for dinner from our small town, 15 mi. away. At best, it's 45 min. before looking for parking. At worst, 1 1/2 hrs.

Under the wrong/right circumstances, 1.3 miles can take more than a half-hour to drive in Boston -- weather, rush hour, accident, etc. For that reason, asking how far something is will ALWAYS be answered in minutes, not distance. And walking depends entirely on existence of sidewalks, bridges, lighting/security at night. It becomes an art to decide whether bus, "T", walking, driving or some ingenious combination is the best way not only to get somewhere but to be in the best position to get back. I will happily walk the 2 miles from downtown out beyond Back Bay at noon with a warm breeze (esp. with noontime gridlock on Newbury St.); but if I know it's going to turn nasty with 30 MPH gusts of driving sleet by the time I have to get back at 9 pm, well then maybe I want to have my car with me.

Before you get too snooty about "city folk," and if you're trying to demonstrate that New Mexicans are a heartier breed than Bostonians and that Bostonians are wimps, you've got to realize that navigating Boston entails a great number of variables that a visitor may not dream of until ambushed by the unexpected.

this cracks me up "Before you get too snooty about "city folk," and if you're trying to demonstrate that New Mexicans are a heartier breed than Bostonians and that Bostonians are wimps"....
Just try driving or walking anywhere in Boston and get back to us! It took me 2hours one time to go from my place in Charlestown to BU Medical Center; a meir 4 miles away! Or wait until you are trying to get somewhere only to find yet another one way street; or that the street you want is shut down! Its a great city and I wish you alot of fun.

Oh, this is rich! I challenge viragdom to try driving around Boston for just 1 hr., preferably including trying to get on and off Storrow Drive or trying to get from the airport to Fenway Park! Doesn't even have to be at rush hour. Will even grant a map for "help" (hoo hah!). Make sure you have a brand new rental car and no supplementary insurance on it!

Bostonians - at least those who do have a car - can drive pretty far. Montreal is about 5.5 hours, and lots of them do that. Or to the good ski areas in Vermont, New Hamspire or Maine. Or they can be stuck in traffic for <b>dozens of miles</b> to drive to Cape Cod on Summer weekends.

So, Bostonians have no problem sitting in a car for long time, regardless of distance. They're probably better than your average New Mexican.

This is way too funny. Ya think you got nerves of steal, huh!?! You have young children, right? Go ahead, do that walk with your young ones and load up on groceries while your at it and then report back :D

&quot;To most New Mexicans it is nothing to drive 300 miles for a weekend trip&quot;

You haven't lived until you've done the NY - Boston - NY, round-trip in ONE day, LOL! That's 400 miles in one day -- with no stops!

If you drive on Storrow Drive, make sure you pray that some bozo doesn't get his truck stuck on one of the overpasses. Oh, and get the insurance!

My experience with Boston is that it's much easier to take the T than to walk anywhere.

One day, I thought...I'll just walk to wherever I was going. It seemed like a reasonable walk. I was SO LOST for about an hour around the Sheraton.

Plan your routes, etc using the T and get a good map: Streetwise or DK.

It's really only about 1.2 miles walking from the Courtyard on Tremont to Trader Joe's on Boylston (driving, there are one-way streets).

With a one-year old and a three-year old, carting food, diapers, milk, cereal, etc., on busy city sidewalks, crossing one busy intersection after another, some would consider this quite a hike. If it's pouring down rain, taxis are difficult to come by, and all the subway stations have long staircases.

Note that rooms at the Courtyard Tremont (except for the pricier corner suites) are quite compact with just a desk (no table), and have showers only (no tub). You'll want to make sure there would be a refrigerator available if you need one.

I don't find driving in Boston to be any different than any other US city. I drove from Cincinnati to Boston(900 miles) last May by myself. I left Cincinnati during rush hour (7 am) and hit a few other cities during busy times but was in Boston around 9 that night.

You can get stuck in any city if there is an accident and a normal 15 minute drive can take 3 hours.

The biggest problem with driving in Boston is actually the price of parking.

WOAH! I was not meaning to be snotty! I was just trying to figure out why there seemed to be a difference in our perceptions of &quot;far&quot;. I put the norms for us for refference. I am just trying to make this trip as pleasurable for my two babies as possible. I am are trying to be well prepared to alleviate mommy and daddy breakdowns. My apologies!

far.. yes , it's all relative. :)

With friends in Atlanta we'd visit a friends house and &quot;not far&quot; was about an hour on a sceaming highway...
Since MANY city people dont have cars in Boston due to parking difficulties and costs no matter the actual distance lack of easy public transportation could make a small distance &quot;far&quot;.

I dont think Boston-ites are afraid of travel (try to get on the lift at Killington some weekends) but for day to day stuff a few miles can mean big inconvience.

Side note-- when one friend that was from Boston got banished to Albany, NY he still drove to our Newport, RI house every single weekend all summer!

Well, we live in New Hampshire, 40 miles from Boston, which is virtually a &quot;suburb&quot; (with huge supermarkets, and a Super-WalMart open 24/7 nearby). At home, we go everywhere with/in our car, a few steps from our front door to the car, a few steps from wherever we park our car (for FREE) at our destination to the entrance.

We don't mind driving 30 miles to a special restaurant or 300 miles to a weekend destination, but, here there are many, many appealing places much closer...some farther...

Again, I would suggest that you double check your accomodations at the Courtyard on Tremont. The rooms are extremely compact, with virtually no space aside from the furniture (unless you've booked a corner suite), have walk-in showers, and no table for &quot;dining&quot;. How will you bathe and feed your babies? And, there are no mini-bars or refrigerators in the rooms, and no mention of them even being available (they were not when we last stayed there). So, where will you store your milk, juice???

Downtown Boston is not unlike any other major city. If you have a car, driving is hectic, parking is not convenient and is very expensive, and public transportation/walking is fabulous for the footloose and fancy-free, but not with two babies!

If a large supermarket and Trader Joe's, not to mention a bathtub, dining table, and refrigerator in the room would render your visit pleasurable for your two babies (not to mention yourself and your husband), you should consider any number of better located hotels in Boston (though they may not include free breakfast).

al Bostonians doi not think alike. When I lived on Newbury Street, I walked to Harvard Square. Now I live near MIT and walk across the bridge to Newbury st. We will drive to Oqonquit, Maine for lunch or dinner but we also travel from one coast of France to the other and ALL state posters think it's too much. To each their own.

I commute twice a week from northwest of Boston to Chelsea (just outside Boston). It is about 25 miles. It takes me 45 minutes on the best day, and has taken me 90 minutes a number of times for no comprehensible reason.

Also, some 1.63 mile distances in Boston are on roads suitable for cars, not people - like highways, with no sidewalks or places for people to walk.

Bostonians usually speak in terms of how long it takes to get someplace, not miles, since mileage is the least reliable way of predicting how long from point A to point B - whether walking or driving.

We haven't been to Boston in about 20 years - when we had one heckuva time trying to get to the Parker House. We could SEE it...(many times!)...as we went round and round and struggled to make just the right turn to get there. Oh, but the marital frost got thick in the front seat of our car that day. How funny that it sounds like not much has changed! Fortunately, we are flying in for our next visit to Boston (later this summer) and between the taxis and the T, I'm hoping getting to the hotel will prove a much easier experience!

viragdom, hope you enjoy my favorite city!

That said, kybourbon and anyone else who thinks Boston is just-another-congested-city: I don't know of another city with as big a tangle of curved streets, one-way cul-de-sacs, roundabouts to oblivion, and lack of signage.

I've found that some people are blessed with the orienteering gene and others are, shall we say, geographically challenged. The first group can usually consult a map and have a fair idea how to get from point A to point B -- and if they get lost, they can usually correct course and get back on track. The second have trouble translating map to environment, and if they get lost, they often go back the way they came and sometimes just give up -- having no clue where they were or how they got there. It isn't a matter of IQ, but more like the difference between being able to carry a tune or being tone deaf.

Boston is a major challenge for the orienteers; it's purgatory for the geographically challenged.

The only other city that comes close is Wash. DC. In both cases, count on getting lost, and have more than one map. Leave LOTS of extra time.

To my fellow Bostonians - did you ever notice that none of us can give directions? We don't know the names of streets which is weird because every town has Main St., Maple St., School St. and Washington St. - how hard can it be to remember the names of streets? The highway numbers have all changed, 128N is 93S (or however that goes) and every highway has at least two names and or numbers (128 is 95, 93 is the Southeast Expressway and exactly where is the Monsignor O'Brien Highway).

We give directions by pointing out landmarks (ie take a right at the Dunkin Donuts, follow that street ( I thinks its Maple but it could be School) for about 1/2 mile and turn left at the packie, once you pass St. Ann's ...)

Its no wonder visitors get lost.

Viragdom, I'm not sure what you were getting at, but I can assure you that some &quot;city folk&quot; have no problem with walking 2 or 3 miles or even longer at a stretch. ;) I'm a New Yorker and I regularly walk those distances to get where I'm going, time permitting.

We found Boston a very walkable city, but we were wary of driving it, having heard the stories. We drove in to Cambridge and ditched the car at our B&amp;B. Didn't drive for 3 days...just walked around Boston and Cambdridge and took the T when necessary. We had a blast and we didn't have to worry about dead end streets. :)

viragdom, unfortunately with 2 little ones, getting to Trader Joe's or even the Shaw's at Copley and hauling stuff back to your hotel will not be too convenient. It can be done mind you but not sure I'd want to spend the time on a vacation hauling to the grocery store and back.

To answer your earlier question about how we live without large grocery stores, I know I usually buy just a few things at a time but, then again, I hate to cook! I feel completely overwhelmed in a large supermarket.