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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2768 thread views

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.

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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?
  1. 350 miles
  2. 50 miles. In the state capitol. Its not a very high end one though, clients are mostly politicians and local lawyers it seems.
  3. <1 mile. Tobacco.
  4. 8 miles
  5. 8 miles
  6. 50 miles

  1. 5 miles

  2. 2 miles

  3. 1/2 mile, corn, but it was in the news that they're getting bought by a housing developer

  4. 5 miles

  5. 1/2 mile

  6. I think like 50 miles. The regional airport flies direct to all the big international hubs though (10 miles)

  1. about 15 mins, 10 miles
  2. about 20 mins (it's really close to #1 actually but somehow google maps says it'll take 5 mins more to get there. Probably due to a bunch of 1-way streets aligned the wrong way).
  3. Depending on what you mean by "farm". If you mean anybody who grows stuff that people eat for profit, then about 3 mins walk. Or 10 mins walk into practically any direction, they are everywhere around (though house prices are squeezing them out). If you mean a larger production with serious machinery and volumes, probably 1-2 miles. Two literally nearest ones grow cows and corn, as far as I can see, but there are all kinds around here. In fact my neighbors across the road have a large field but I am not sure if they grow stuff commercially (I can't see very well into that part of their property and I was never curious enough to find out, but wouldn't be surprised), but if they do then the answer would be "right next door".
  4. If you need specifically Amtrak, about 250 miles. Though there's talk about building a new line - not sure how real, but if it happens, it'd be about 10-15 miles likely. There used to be train service there, but closed in 1990s.
  5. 4 miles, 10 min drive. There are other large shops closer than that.
  6. Nearest major airport is in about 10 miles, which can take you to every major hub around the US and some other places, but it isn't "international" anymore as the company that was doing flights to Canada doesn't do it anymore. Which I guess is good as it eliminates the need to maintain the whole international security thing. So the nearest international one would be in about 350 miles, though the one you'd actually want to use if you flying to Europe or such is about 650 miles and about 1.5 hour flight.

  1. Given that I’m already on record as a North Texan, I don’t really want people drawing rings around the Dallas symphony. There’s probably a closer one…

  2. Can’t answer, which makes me feel like a proper peasant.

  3. Complicated by our tax incentives. Random businesses are encouraged to maintain small fields or pastures. I wouldn’t call them “hobby,” but they’re not the main revenue stream. So the nearest farm is probably a dairy 6 mi away.

  4. See point 1.

  5. 3-4 mi.

  6. See point 1.

1: 20 mi

2: <1 mi

3: either <5 mi (for the small vegetable farm nearby) or 30 mi to a larger orchard/farm. For a full-on commercial farm, 50+ mi i would guess although I've never been to it.

4: The local train station is <1 mi; nearest specifically Amtrak is I believe 20-30 mi, though I've never used it.

5: 15 mi; there's a Target <5 mi.

6: 40 mi, with the regional ~15 mi

  1. 11km
  2. 2km (I live next to an italian neighborhood)
  3. 5km (it's a large rooftop greenhouse farm), greens, microgreens
  4. Going with Via Rail as it's our equivalent, 6km
  5. 1km
  6. 25km

1.) 20mi / 32km

2.) 20mi / 32km

3.) If you count horses, or wine grapes, less than 5mi / 12km. Otherwise like double that, I have lots of produce, hay, corn, soybeans in the area.

4.) 12mi / 20km

5.) 12mi / 20km

6.) 12mi / 20km

The place I live is suburban but right on the edge of a rural & agricultural area.

All of them are within about 15 miles. The farm is regular produce for bourgeois consumption.

  1. 1.5km
  2. 1.2km
  3. 6km for what looks like a vineyard in the suburbs and 9km for the really large farms.
  4. 5km for the nearest train (not tram) station.
  5. I don't think we have an equivalent in Europe but there's a supermarket 400m away and some bigger ones 2-3km away.
  6. 11km

1: 65 miles

2: 85 miles

3: 30 yards, wheat this summer

4: 40 miles

5: 3 Miles

6: 5 miles (it technically has a regular flight to Canada), or 45 miles to an actual regional airport.

  1. <1 km
  2. 3km
  3. 1km, apples
  4. 5km (not Amtrak)
  5. 4 km (local equivalent)
  6. 220km
  1. 20 minutes
  2. 2 hours
  3. 5 minutes, corn.
  4. 20 minutes
  5. 15 minutes
  6. Local airport has "international" in the name but doesn't go to any other countries. Doesn't even go to a majority of US states. So I guess 40 minutes, but really 2.5 hours.
  1. Under 10 miles.
  2. No idea. Women's fashion shops with custom alterations under 15 miles.
  3. Nearest I don't know. The one we get our dairy from around 30 miles and same distance for a different one we get fruit from. Vegetables... Probably further away but they have a drop off under 5 miles away.
  4. Around 5 miles.
  5. 1 mile, but I preferentially go to the one around 8 miles away.
  6. Around 5 miles.

Without looking each one up:

  1. 30 miles?
  2. I'm not sure. The only person I know who asked about this ordered one from Vietnam.
  3. 20 miles? Green Chile, probably.
  4. 30 miles?
  5. 15 miles?
  6. 30 miles?

I feel like most of these are just different ways of asking "how far are you from the core of the nearest city?"

Nice try New York Times.

I'm going to say about 15 miles for all of these, plus/minus 15 miles.

Same. As is likely true for most people living in large metro areas in the US.

  1. 3 kilometers
  2. 1 kilometers
  3. 19 kilometers, dairy
  4. 2 kilometers. (This is a Canadian station but the Amtrak line from NYC 'Adirondack' runs there, otherwise a station owned and operated exclusively by Amtrak is 109 kilometers)
  5. 6 kilometers
  6. 18 kilometers

Not to bury the lede this is downtown Montreal

  1. Stuttgart I guess, around 60km from here.
  2. There used to be one (several in earlier times) in town here. Not sure if it still exists. So, maybe 4km. Otherwise: No idea, I don't own a suit.
  3. About 20 meters, I can see hear and smell it from here. They used to farm vegetables for their own use, have some crop fields further out but I don't know which ones are theirs and what crops are on them (lots of corn is up right now in general though), and they do have good number of cows.
  4. Presumably it's in America, so at least one Atlantic away. But if you just mean a generic train station - about an hour on foot if you know the slippery shortcut up a hidden valley, about ten minutes by car if you take the long way. 2km away if you could fly.
  5. Supposedly there's one in Switzerland. There aren't any in Germany as far as I know. The closest generic supermarket is about 3km away, over in the next village.
  6. Stuttgart again. Somewhat over 60km, since it's on the wrong side of the city.

  1. A couple of miles

  2. Less than a mile

  3. I didn’t know, but there are apparently dozens of commercial farms in the green belt around London, maybe 20 or 30 miles? Livestock, milk, fruits, the usual.

  4. The north-easternmost Amtrak station, so either Boston or somewhere in Maine if they go that far north.

  5. Don’t have it here, but their nearest former subsidiary Asda is ~4 miles away. The nearest Costco is like 6 or 7 miles away.

  6. 5 miles to London City, 20 to Heathrow.

There's a farm on the Isle of Dogs that is probably the closest to the average Londoner, but even outside of that are quite a few farms inside the southern boroughs

Mudchute farm is great and kids love it, but I wouldn't call it a commercial farm.

The M25 is 15-20 miles out of central London and there is some agricultural land inside it, particularly in Kent and around Watford. Mostly a mixture of wheat and rough grazing. The serious market gardening is further out - presumably because it is labour intensive and needs to be somewhere where migrant farm worker dorms are cheaper.

The density of ASDAs in London outside zone 1 is such that I am surprised you can be more than 2 miles away from the nearest one. If the "Walmart equivalent" is any big-box retail discounter (including Aldi/Lidl) then make that 1.5 miles.

For my own answers to the questions (also in London suburbs)

  1. 8 miles, 45 minutes door-to-door whether you bike, train, or drive outside rush hour. (In central London)
  2. 1.5 miles for a studio which sends designs to Italy for cutting. Savile Row is 9 miles away.
  3. 13 miles, about 1 hour by bike or public transport, 40 minutes driving. (Nearest land which is clearly farmland based on Google satellite)
  4. Nearest commuter rail station is <0.5 miles. If I leave the house 7 minutes before the train is due I won't miss it. Nearest station with intercity trains is 5 miles away on the edge of central London.
  5. Nearest ASDA is <1 mile away.
  6. 5 miles

Birmingham, Alabama. Suburban neighborhood called Crestline Park.

Alabama Symphony Orchestra's offices are 3ish miles away, but I hear them perform 6ish miles away.

I can get a custom suit within 1 mile, actually bespoke 10 miles.

I'm having trouble sorting through recreational barns, hobby farms, plant nurseries, LLCs that own houses which call themselves farms, wedding venues etc. The nearest Tractor Supply store is 14 miles away, I have had commutes that involved passing small groups of cattle, cotton fields.

Amtrak is 6 miles away, Walmart is 1 mile away. Birmingham Airport calls itself international and presumably has a minimal number of flights to various Caribbean island countries or Mexico per year. It is 5 miles away. Atlanta Airport 147 miles.

  1. Two hours by car
  2. Two hours by car
  3. Five minute walk (wheat)
  4. Hour and a half by car
  5. 8 minutes by car
  6. Two hours by car

Why don’t you just ask people directly how rich/poor or urban/rural they are?

I was driving through an extremely rural suburb of a city the other day that was also extremely wealthy. There was a wildly high end custom furniture store next to a Walmart. As I drove home, I saw an Amtrak station in the city, then realized there was another out in the middle of nowhere.

It made me realize that a lot of the things that people use as tribal or economic indicators in the US might not be as cleanly distributed as people think.

This is more fun.

  1. 40 minute walk, 15 minute drive with usual traffic
  2. 40 minute walk, 20 minute bus ride
  3. 30 minute drive. Fruit, berries.
  4. 20 min walk 5 minute drive
  5. Looks like 22 minute drive
  6. 40 minute drive or 15 minute train from station that is about ~20 minutes away from where I live.

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

by subway

Alright, but what is that in freedom units?

I joke, but I really have no idea how fast the average subway covers ground. Our light rail is…not particularly efficient.

Beats me. I have no real sense of how far away more remote locations that are reachable by subway are.

Maybe ten handegg fields per minute?

For me:

  1. About 100 miles
  2. About 150 miles
  3. About a quarter mile (Holsteins)
  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.

This got reported for your gratuitous shoehorning of an anti-immigration rant into the thread. While you are allowed to rant about immigration, you should do it in a thread where that's actually the topic, rather than derailing some other discussion so you can rant about your thing.

(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.

Huh. I really thought you were down near Houston.

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.

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