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Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 27, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

Jump in the discussion.

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I've been noticing a lot of interesting trends as I read comments here, and I have a few questions for anyone who would be willing to answer.

For these distances, I'm only looking for rough numbers.

  1. How far away is the closest symphony orchestra that pays it's musicians?
  2. How far away is the closest bespoke suit shop?
  3. How far away is the nearest commercial farm (not hobby), and what do they farm?
  4. How far away is the nearest Amtrak station?
  5. How far away is the nearest Walmart?
  6. How far away is the nearest international airport?

How far away is the closest symphony orchestra that pays it's musicians?

15 minutes away by subway

How far away is the closest bespoke suit shop?

10 minutes away by foot

How far away is the nearest commercial farm (not hobby), and what do they farm?

50 minutes away by car, strawberries

How far away is the nearest Amtrak station?

Halfway round the world. 15 minutes away by subway if you're fine with any other long-distance trains

How far away is the nearest Walmart?

Halfway round the world. 40 minutes away by subway if Metro C&C counts

How far away is the nearest international airport?

25 minutes away by taxi, 45 minutes away by subway and express bus

For me:

  1. About 100 miles
  2. About 150 miles
  3. About a quarter mile
  4. About 35 miles
  5. About five miles
  6. About 110 miles

Fifteen miles; Three miles; three miles; three miles; eight miles; thirty miles. Slightly changed distances in different directions.

The Farm sells all kinds of things, and it’s a perfect example of how poisonous foreigners are to a community. This is a locally owned multigenerational farm, so they price things fairly because their neighbors are their community. They pay good wages, because they hire their neighbors and their neighbors are their community. They are devout Christians, so so they live humbly and give back to the community, which is their neighbors (the list of their giving is absurdly long). There are a lot of older adult workers, who are definitely “inefficient”, but there’s not a sociopath or a foreigner or a corporation owning it, so they care for those whom they hire. It’s a beautiful Americana farm and store. They sell organic, because like most Americans they have a distrust of most commercial pesticides.

If Indians bought the farm, all the employees would be overseas relatives; some of the proceeds would be sent back home; they would have to signal their wealth more, meaning resources wasted on commercial goods; they wouldn’t care about fleecing others; it is unlikely (but I suppose not impossible) that they have the morality to give lots of their profits away, and if they do, it is unlikely to be toward the White American community nearby but instead toward various Indian things, or perhaps to an elite institution that doesn’t need the money. If devout non-Christians owned the store, they would be giving back to their non-Christian institutions, meaning the resources are gone from the community.

Visiting is wonderful; everyone is nice and everything is cozy. It stands in stark contrast to the convenience stores (and in past decade, Dunkins et al), where you have some aggressive impolite overseas Indian staring at you the entire time, and everything is ugly and cheap, and they only hire their relatives.

(1) 17 miles (27 km)

(2) I'm not sure what a "bespoke suit shop" is.

(3) I'm not sure how I would search for that. Also, it's my understanding that most farms near me are "preserved" (heavily subsidized by the state government), so the question may not even be meaningful for me in the first place.

(4) 4 miles (6 km)

(5) 6 miles (10 km)

(6) 43 miles (69 km)

I'm not sure what a "bespoke suit shop" is.

It means a place which will make a suit from scratch, to your measurements and specifications. It's expensive as you might imagine, but if you want something that a normal manufacturer doesn't make it can be the only way. I've thought about going to one of those, just because manufacturers don't make three piece suits in sizes large enough for me (and I like a three piece suit).

Only open to American readers, I assume.

I'd actually love to know the same numbers for non US individuals, if only because the Amtrak bit would be hilarious. Your equivalent long distance commuter train equivalent would also be interesting.

I can find all of these within a 10km radius (assuming the Finnish state railroad station is valid for Amtrak and the nearest big box store for Walmart). The nearest farm I could find where I could definitely say what they farm produces potatoes.

From my house-

  1. Is definitely downtown Fort Worth(easy commuting).

  2. Depends on what you mean by ‘bespoke suit shop’. There’s a tailor in the nearest shopping center. There’s a habadAsher in the next nearest one. An actual from scratch suit place is, again, a trip to Fort Worth.

  3. Small cattle ranch within thirty minutes, but I think it’s a breeding operation to sell sperm more than a meat production place. Multiple actual cattle ranches or big grain farms within 45 minutes. Thats just top of the head, there might be a fruit orchard closer. I’m assuming you don’t count people who sell backyard eggs and the like.

  4. Idk I assume ft worth.

  5. Very close.

  6. Probably DFW airport.

Google Maps doesn't even try when I try to find a path to the nearest Walmart, which would be in Canada. So I guess we'll never know.

~100 miles for 4 and 6, and at least that for 1 and 2.

Walmart is 3 miles out. Farms are closer than that, mostly wheat, some cattle ranches.