I was talking to a friend and complaining that the nearest grocery store is 3km from me, he says that Europeans consider that a reasonable distance to the store and I’m just being lazy.

I don’t have a car, I don’t have a bike, and the bus only comes by every four hours. Am I being unreasonable for not wanting to carry groceries 3km in 30C weather, or is my friend full of shit? Neither of us have been to Europe.

  • kuroshido@ani.social
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    8 days ago

    For me it’s either 600m to a small corner shop or about 1.1km to a larger store.

    I do 3km periodically for another store, but I wouldn’t do it in 30c weather. I’m barely willing to exercise in 25c weather.

    • faythofdragons@slrpnk.netOP
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      8 days ago

      The next closest store is 16km away 😭

      Good to know my friend is full of shit about this being the same for y’all.

      • thebestaquaman@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        I have three stores within 200 m, one of which is open 24/7, another of which has a massive selection in fresh cheese, meats, fish, and baking goods.

        Sorry, but I was in the US last summer, and I really feel bad for you guys regarding the whole food and walk-/bikeability situation.

  • JASN_DE@feddit.org
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    8 days ago

    400m, or 500 in the other direction.

    BUT: no one around here would walk 3km. Hell, most people won’t even walk the 500m.

  • Humanius@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    My closest supermarket is 400m away, and the next supermarket over is 1.1km. I walk there daily, sometimes multiple times a day. 3km is quite far and I would not consider that walking distance.

    It’s certainly possible to walk that distance once every (couple of) months, if I did not have my bike available for whatever reason? But I would consider regularly walking 40 minutes one way every other day to be far too much. That distance is cycling distance, not walking distance.

    On a side-note. Did you just say that the bus arrives only once every four hours? My lord… It might as well basically not exist at that point.

    • I lived in NYC and now in Canada. Your distances seem about accurate with my limits, though NYers are infamous for walking everywhere, including up and down 6 flights of stairs. It’s certainly not the norm in the US.

      Did you just say that the bus arrives only once every four hours? My lord… It might as well basically not exist at that point.

      This is a great time to introduce you to the American public transit system.

  • gerryflap@feddit.nl
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    8 days ago

    500 meters. If the store were at 3km I’d bike there, not walk. I feel like 500m is still an okay walking distance, but at some point I regularly went to a store 800m away and I already preferred to bike there. Walking 3km is definitely a bit of a time investment

  • MudMan@fedia.io
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    8 days ago

    3 Km is what? A half hour walk? I’ve lived in multiple European countries in my life and never been that far from a supermarket.

    I mean, I definitely have walked that much daily. My longest walk to work I can remember was maybe 40 minutes. In some places where I’d take public transportation for like 20-30 min I’ve walked for an hour when I felt like it instead.

    For groceries I don’t think I’d take that with me that far walking unless it could go in my backpack. But seriously, if you don’t have a shop in that radius around you in Europe you need a car anyway because you’re out in the middle of nowhere.

    But also, in European supermarkets you can normally get big grocery hauls delivered that far away. Just go there, buy your stuff, pay, book a delivery. Lots of old people who can’t carry heavy weights do it. They still go to the shop, though.

  • Opinionhaver@feddit.uk
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    8 days ago

    Europeans aren’t a homogeneous blob - we’re individuals. There’s no universal consensus among us about what counts as a reasonable distance to the grocery store.

    • faythofdragons@slrpnk.netOP
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      8 days ago

      Good thing I’m soliciting a range of opinions instead of just believing my friend then, right?

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    We have two supermarkets within five minutes walking distance, if you make it ten minutes, it’s four.

    Also within ten minutes walking distance are two middle schools, a primary school, and two kindergardens, several doctors and apothecaries, several shops, and the central bus station.

    The latter is a bit of an disappointment, as not only the bus service is low frequency, and it takes an hour+ to the city.

  • Ziggurat@jlai.lu
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    8 days ago

    3km is kinda far, even with a bicycle, I have a small shop down the stairs and a medium supermarket at 5 min walk

  • OddMinus1@sh.itjust.works
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    8 days ago

    In Norway. Technically in a city, but it’s very rural. About 30 minutes of walking with a descent of ~150 meters. Carrying groceries back up that hill is a big test of stamina, so we very rarely do it. We mostly drive to the store.

    Your friend is full of shit. 3km is a very long distance for walking to get groceries, and I can imagine that you have to deprioritize heavier groceries all the time due to that distance. I’d recommend getting a bike or electic scooter or something to cover that distance. Basically no one in Norway would have 3km to their nearest store with walking as their only option.

  • Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Even fairly rural Europeans will consider that to be at least cycling distance.

    I have four supermarkets in a radius of about 500 metres. Not only do I regularly walk, I pretty much buy only what I need for a few days, safe in the knowledge that if I need something now, I can be out & back in under half an hour, also knowing that most supermarkets here are reliably stocked with just what I need.

  • Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org
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    8 days ago

    I live in the pedestrian zone of a semi large German city. There’s three grocery stores within pissing distance.

    My last flat was a little more remote in comparison but still nowhere near 3km to the next store. I wouldn’t be willing to walk that far for groceries tbh. I enjoy taking walks but not with a shitload of food I have to haul all the way home. That’s a cycling or public transport route for me.

    If I was you I’d take a large hiking backpack or rolling suitcase, walk to the store an hour ahead and then ride the bus back home.

  • Bimfred@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    I live out in the countryside. The nearest store is about 2.8km away. Put on some good music, get an ice cream for the second half of the trip, it’s a lovely walk. I could catch a bus back, there’s a stop right by the shop, but my timing is generally shite. If I’d be halfway home by the time the bus comes, I’d rather just walk.

  • Tja@programming.dev
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    8 days ago

    One more opinion: 3km is definitely too far for groceries, that’s driving distance. It’s half an hour walking each way, the return loaded with bags? Forget about it.

    I live on the edge of a small-ish town and it takes me 15 min to the nearest supermarket, and that’s quite a lot, everyone on this streets bikes there, in about 5 min. From there towards the center you don’t need to walk more than 5 min to get groceries.

    I’d say having to walk more than a 10 minutes for groceries already affects the apartment value.