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I think you underestimate how far people further west drive lol. When I lived in Texas, there would be many times we drove several hours and back in a single day. Frequent trips between the Dallas-Fort Worth and Abilene or San Angelo. One time we went from Denton to Austin, Austin to Beaumont, then stopped in Houston for some shopping, then headed back up to Denton. All within a day.
It could be for something relatively mundane. Sometimes to visit a friend or relative. But everything in Texas is so spread apart.
On the East Coast, everything is so close so you're not used to driving several hours just to get to the nearest decent sized city.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,935,179 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
99% of people don’t do day trips beyond 2hrs more than maybe once a year
4 hours is too far for a day trip. I know almost nobody who has done a day trip to the Cape let alone New York.
Like just look at the base areas of Sunday River vs Sunapee or 2hrs to Berkshire East vs 2:45 to Jiminy Peak. It’s really obvious the average person is only willing to do a round trip to one of them from SNE.
Well, I don't know why that is. There is an entire ferry system with multiple trips to the Cape that is almost entirely for day trippers.
No idea where you are coming up with these numbers either. Plenty of people hop on amtrak for day trips to NY from Boston and PVD. Nothing new or uncommon at all. The 2:40 am Amtrak back is usually pretty full.
"Isolation" but mostly because a lot of cities that people call "isolated" really aren't as isolated as they make them out to be.
Cities like Minneapolis, Denver, Albuquerque.. often described as "isolated." I mean they're a bit far from a lotta places but isolated? Maybe I have a high tolerance for time on the road, but I don't think a 6 hour drive to Chicago is a big deal lol. Plus, places that are so-called "isolated" have GORGEOUS scenery. Why would I want endless sprawl between states? I like farmland, woodlands, lakes, mountains, prairie, plains etc. between cities. I wanna actually see the land we live on, not just concrete.
Yeah this one gets me, too. "Ermagherd, if I can't get on a grimy commuter train with 1500 other people in <insert city here> and be in another city over 2 million in under 3 hours, then <insert city here> just isn't worth living in."
The BOS-WASH corridor is fine to visit, but there's no way in hell I'd ever voluntarily live there. I live in Denver precisely because I don't wanna be shoulder-to-shoulder with 50 million people.
I interviewed for a job in Westchester County, NY, when I was in college. One of the bigwigs at the company lived in Princeton, NJ, but he only went home on the weekends because driving took around 3 hours even though it was only 75 miles. When we moved back to Denver, I commuted 90 miles each way for the first 5 months until we found a house. I could do the drive in about an hour and 15 minutes.
Well, I don't know why that is. There is an entire ferry system with multiple trips to the Cape that is almost entirely for day trippers.
No idea where you are coming up with these numbers either. Plenty of people hop on amtrak for day trips to NY from Boston and PVD. Nothing new or uncommon at all. The 2:40 am Amtrak back is usually pretty full.
I mean look how many hotels Provincetown has compared to Hull or compare Ipswich vs Old Orchard. Or Monmouth Beach NJ vs Seaside heights About 2hrs is when things transition to resorts from Rec areas.
I say nightlife just because I don't drink or party. People who complain about a city's lack of nightlife usually don't go out that much anyway.
For me nightlife is a demographic and cultural proxy. The cities with good night life trend young and attract outgoing, social people. Cities with poor nightlife are more introverted and/or family-centric.
I tend to agree with OP about food. It's important to have good restaurants, but I only eat out so much and when I do I often want my favorites, anyway. It's not that big of a deal if there are only a handful of good places to go for a particular ethnic cuisine. I get how it'd be very different for an immigrant, however.
Here are two things I hear people talk about on this forum that I couldn't possibly care less about:
- Luxury shopping: I buy most of my clothes online, and I don't buy particular fancy brands to impress people. I've never felt the need to go higher-end than say Nordstrom. If there is any shopping I wish we had here it is some of the affordable international stores like Uniqlo or Muji.
- Performance arts. I honestly can't think of anything more boring to do on a night out than go to an opera or symphony performance. Theater is only marginally better and I'm fine with doing this once a year while in NYC or Vegas. No thanks, this is not for me.
Here are two things I hear people talk about on this forum that I couldn't possibly care less about:
- Luxury shopping: I buy most of my clothes online, and I don't buy particular fancy brands to impress people. I've never felt the need to go higher-end than say Nordstrom. If there is any shopping I wish we had here it is some of the affordable international stores like Uniqlo or Muji.
- Performance arts. I honestly can't think of anything more boring to do on a night out than go to an opera or symphony performance. Theater is only marginally better and I'm fine with doing this once a year while in NYC or Vegas. No thanks, this is not for me.
100% Yes, NYC is the pinnacle, but I don't have to see every play first. I can wait. I'm definitely not a luxury brand guy, but most major cities have LV or whatever floats your boat.
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