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Lt_Riza_Hawkeyetoday at 1:41 AM3 repliesview on HN

I think they just meant it's very stereotypically american to drive a very walkable distance and eat McDonald's every day


Replies

pbh101today at 2:50 AM

I’m familiar with this neighborhood. If this were my commute I’d probably walk often.

But:

It’s 42 minutes by foot one way, which is on the longer end for most people. About half of it is pleasantly walkable, the rest looking like no trees and along a busy street.

… For probably six months out of the year, the rest being too uncomfortably hot or windy/cold for most people.

And he’s probably wearing a suit and leather shoes every day, so you risk wet/muddy shoes, road salt, or dripping in sweat or rain. Mess up your hair with a hat in the winter.

And if you are going anywhere after, you’ll need a car anyway. The rest of Omaha is not walkable and quite hilly.

And he’s old, quite old. He’s been old for decades. Some people can do 3.6mi/day in their 50s-80s but most will not.

And his time value in literally among the… top ten in the world or so? And has been for decades?

I say all this as a relatively extreme walking advocate: for most people in some locales (including most of America), it just doesn’t make sense, and this criticism is very silly.

He’s Warren Buffet, so he could make this work if he wanted to. He could insist everyone come to him at his home while he wears pajamas.

But it’s not unreasonable to drive this commute.

And you can get a decent breakfast at McDonald’s too :D

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maccardtoday at 2:30 AM

A 7 minute drive for me is about a 10 minute walk. A 7 minute drive in America could be 5 miles!

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beenBoutITtoday at 3:11 AM

Any American worth that much is safer in a discretely armored car than on foot.

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