How Often Do You Walk as Your Mode of Transportation?

Updated on July 27, 2011
R.D. asks from Richmond, VA
21 answers

I was thinking today about how much I miss my old house in the city. I loved not having to drive hardly anywhere! I would walk to the grocery store (we brought our wagon to cart groceries home), the pharmacy, the park, the kids school, church (not for mass, but a good experience for the kids), museums... I LOVED IT!! There was something very comforting about walking everywhere. I miss that a LOT. I was talking to my mom about it and she thought I was nuts, LOL!! Of course, we used the car for long treks, but I prefer and miss walking the short distances.

Does anyone else walk as your mode of transportation? If not, do you think, if feasible distance wise, would would manage walking if need be?

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Featured Answers

A.G.

answers from Houston on

More than i take a car...literally. I walk 3 times a week, i take a car about 1 time a week.

I walk to the pharmacy, the grocery store, the convenience stores, the hair salon, the nail salon, a cafe, the dentist, a farmers market, dollar store....etc the only reason we drive is if its too far or too hot a time of day.

2 or 3 miles is not too far and anything over 90 degrees is too hot. because i take my two kids with me. You should see my jogging stroller, its on its last leg. I too, wish i lived somewhere where everything i could ever want was within a 3 mile range.

3 moms found this helpful

C.F.

answers from Boston on

I miss living in Boston :-( The city is awesome, walking and riding my bike everywhere kept me in Great Shape !! That was Way before Mike or Mikey tho!! LOL I would walk (would love to be able to again), toss Mikey in his jogging stroller or his big red wagon and we'd go Every where..... BUT things are not close to us :-( oh well....

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More Answers

L.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

We don't live close enough to anything to walk. I mean, we don't live out in the sticks, we are probably 3-5 miles or so from the center of town where all the shopping places, eateries, etc. are, but the roads are not conducive to walking at all (no sidewalks, no safe place to walk.)

I would LOVE walking more, though. I hate that I can't put my baby in a stroller and take him/her for a walk through the neighborhood, even, since we don't live in a neighborhood! I mean, we have 2 neighbors, but it's a dead end street on mostly farm-ish kinda land. Don't get me wrong, living like this has it's benefits, for sure. My son plays outside with little worry of strangers passing by, and he has lots to explore (but at 5, I still have my eye on him 99% of the time), and my husband can take his muddy pants off outside and no one complains about him running around in his undies. LOL

I like where we live. But I do wish we had walking access to some things.

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K.P.

answers from New York on

When the weather is nice, we walk everywhere in our little town...
- Library
- Farmer's Market
- Couple of restaurants
- Park
- Swimming Lake

We drive pretty much everywhere else b/c the grocery store involves a pretty big highway, Target is 20 miles away and we are both commuters.

We do, however, walk or bike through our neighborhood most evenings when it's not snowing!

3 moms found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I am looking forward to the day when the kids are grown and gone. My husband and I plan to leave the burbs and move into San Francisco! I HATE driving everywhere, I so look forward to the day when I can live in a real neighborhood and walk everywhere, or hop in a taxi or on a train when I need to!

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

We walk to school but because of time, that's about it. We're more likely to bike places - the park, the library, church, the farmer's market, etc. are all within a couple of miles of our house are are maybe 5-10 minutes away by bike, which means we can get there without allotting an extra 15-30 minutes of transportation to and from. It's the extra time that deters us from walking, not necessarily the distance.

2 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

Sigh, when we lived in a small city, I walked everywhere. The car would sit for days. Now I'm in the 'burbs and there's no walking to get somewhere, except just for the sake of walking.

:(

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C.K.

answers from San Antonio on

I have never lived close enough to anything to walk like that, but I wish I did. Right now I live in the country and the closest store is 12 miles away. Before I lived in the country my house was on the outskirts of town and too far to walk anywhere.

We are moving soon (hopefully in August) and I look forward to being able to walk places. Or at least being able to walk around a neighborhood or something.

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K.L.

answers from Lafayette on

used to live in the city and loved it...especially with babies. We would walk everywhere. Now we live in the burbs and the nearest grocery is more than a 10 minute drive. Can't do that walking with a stroller full of groceries!

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A.A.

answers from Las Vegas on

Never LOL!

And thank goodness you aren't walking anywhere you might get hurt again LOL jk

2 moms found this helpful

C.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I don't and I really miss the freedom of it. :)

1 mom found this helpful

N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

I am too far from anything really, and too out of shape (but I am working on that part!). To ride my bike to the library is 4 or 5 miles, one way. The closest grocery store, and my health club is 3 miles or so , one way. We are in the 'burbs and there are just little islands of shops here and there...mini-malls with maybe a gas station, Subway shop,chinese food, liquor store, hair cut place and florist. The other way its McD's, nail salon, another Subway (LOL), Chinese food, liquor store and a tobacco shop.

Seems around here you need a chinese food, Subway and liquor store for it all to work! LOL

I am working on the "able to" part for some of it on my cool new bike with basket (I got this retro looking beach cruiser bike called a Black Betty!)...but the time it takes is more an issue.

I miss that about my childhood home (my brother lives in the house we grew up in--raising his family there now, and much of my family still live in that neighborhood). Close to a shopping mall/Target. The cemetary where I visit regularly, other family, etc. I would always be on my bike if I still lived over there (its about 15 miles form where I am now)!

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E.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Daily at work to run errands. On weekends to the park. I really enjoy walking during the work week to relieve stress - stress from work and stress from my to do list.

1 mom found this helpful

V.C.

answers from Dallas on

Our auto repair shop is a little over two miles away. So I have walked to/from there several times or rode my bike. Today, though, since is still in the 100s here, my son is picking me up!
I also take mass transit when I can to downtown Dallas. Sometimes it is a mile or two walk to where I am going. I would definitely walk more if feasible.

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R.M.

answers from Washington DC on

We've lived in the city majority of the last 25 years and I love walking whenever practical. (I have a chronic pain issue that makes it hard for me to carry too much). It was most fun when our big chocolate Lab was alive as he pulled a 4 wheeled wagon and loved having a job! I could walk to pick up the kids at school and get all the errands done on the way home - grocery, pharmacy, dry cleaning, post office - could even do my Christmas shopping!

His arthritis got too bad in his last few years, but by then had a kiddo in a stroller for stashing stuff. When he moved to a tricycle, we got him one with a wagon attachment that would hold a couple of grocery bags worth. Now I've had to switch to a rolling cart when I can't get an kid to act as sherpa LOL - not nearly as much fun as the dog or the trike, but I still love living in a neighborhood where I can do so many of my errands on foot.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

I walk more when it's not so freaking hot (almost 4 weeks of 100+ heat)

I live in the Dallas metroplex, and we are a 1 car family, so I take the bike and bus to work. 1.5 miles total each way.

I used to walk with my son to the grocery store near the house (.25 miles). We still do, sometimes. When I didn't have the car, I took him to daycare in the bike trailer (2 miles each way).

The bus is about .25 miles from my house, so it's not that bad. I didn't lose much weight, but I do fit my clothes better and my figure's a little more hour-glassy.

I still can't get rid of the belly flubber though!

1 mom found this helpful

F.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Never, its way too hot here! Rach, I could picture you with a wagon full of groceries and kids trailing along the way...so cute!!!

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C.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Not much..but I do bike practically daily. I bike with at least one of my three children most nights.

J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

I used to live closer to the city and would walk to the animal shelter and gas station with my son (SAHM). Now I live 10 miles from the first sign of civilization, so nope - no walking or biking here.

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

When school is in, we walk every single day - rain, cold and snow! The only time I drive is if it is lightning. We only live about 1/2 mile away though. I figure that by the time I walk them there and walk back home, then walk back to get them and back home, I'm walking a mile per day!!! We walk to parks nearby and at least a few times per year we walk to and/or home from their martial arts class - it takes about 45min-1hr!!

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Not here!!!

In other cities/ areas, yes. But here it's usually drizzling and nasty out.

I should caveat. In other cities, I don't NEED a car. I just walk with my son and take the tube, or walk and take the subway or EL. It's easy to get around. Here, we can walk to sushi or ONE of the 5 grocery stores I go to... but everything else is at least an hour away by walking. A 2 hour trip just doesn't happen. We don't have the time for it.

In good public transportation cities? LOVE walking. In villages? LOVE walking. In Seattle? Pshaw. Miserable nasty weather. We DO walk, but we drive to a lake to walk around it. How pathetic IS that?? We take the dog to go around the 'block' (aka a homage to a trapezoid on LSD). We walk to the bookstore and to sushi (both just 1 and 2 "blocks" away). But anything else we'd need a couple of hours and $500 worth of rain gear.

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