How long is a long time ago, and how far is far, far away?

Janx · Apr 10, 2017

Morrus said:
It's basically what you would call a trailer. They downsized when us kids left home and bought that when they retired. It's worth less than their car. They are by no means middle class.

Maybe the saying should be reversed then!

Probably so. I'd also ponder when the saying came about. Pre-EU? Pre-tunnel to France?

Without science, I could see that a portion of US or UK population travels a lot and a portion doesn't. And each portion might be large enough to seem like it "covers everybody" if that's all you talk to.

And I know for some people, mobility has increased. My in-laws raised 4 kids and probably never left the state of WI. Once the mom-in-law got a degree (when my wife went to college), and all her kids moved out, they were off to Florida, Hawaii, even visited us in TX. Now, the mom-in-law's been to New Zealand and NY even. That's a crazy shift from staying put to getting out. largely influenced by money and family restrictions.

We've gotten very off track. Sorry. I have heard that UK/EU folks are highly mobile across countries (thanks to the UK) likely due to the EU open border thing. I am sure there are fuddy-duddies like me though, who "no, we can't nip off to XYZ-land, for reasons..."

Morrus · Apr 11, 2017

Janx said:
Probably so. I'd also ponder when the saying came about. Pre-EU? Pre-tunnel to France?

Dunno. I was a kid back then. I'm talking about now.

And I know for some people, mobility has increased. My in-laws raised 4 kids and probably never left the state of WI. Once the mom-in-law got a degree (when my wife went to college), and all her kids moved out, they were off to Florida, Hawaii, even visited us in TX. Now, the mom-in-law's been to New Zealand and NY even. That's a crazy shift from staying put to getting out. largely influenced by money and family restrictions.

Having a family isn't a geographical unique phenomenon, though. Everybody has families. That's just human life.

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 11, 2017

HUMAN?

Uh oh- I'm on the wrong comm network!

Morrus · Apr 11, 2017

Dannyalcatraz said:
HUMAN?

Uh oh- I'm on the wrong comm network!

Nobody ever accused you of being human, Danny!

Janx · Apr 11, 2017

Morrus said:
Dunno. I was a kid back then. I'm talking about now.

Having a family isn't a geographical unique phenomenon, though. Everybody has families. That's just human life.

You're not relating to the story bud, and it's kinda frustrating.

My example is of a family, not just them, but then entire chain of their family that was classic never moved far from home. Their economic situation changed, and that's when people who likely would have never gone anywhere did. Another trigger is they made friends with other people who were travellers. It was like something was unlocked in them and they left the cradle of humanity.

jimmifett · Apr 12, 2017

Dannyalcatraz said:
To be fair, I would exclude those for whom driving IS their job. I have cousins who are truckers, for instance, who rack up hundreds of miles daily.

I drive about 180 miles daily round trip to get to/from work. Thankfully I have a nice desk and nice couch waiting at both ends.

Beleriphon · Apr 16, 2017

I think the biggest thing with travel in the UK and EU in general versus North America is the sheer size of the highway network. I haven't driven in the UK so I'll leave that to Morrus to describe, but I wanted to go on a trip from the south all the way to north and do it in a car its going to take a few days. If want to drive from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island (there's a bridge!) then I'm doing that in no less than five days if there's is somebody to drive 24 hours a day. If I were to stop to sight see, or sleep, it would take around 2 weeks.

A quick comparison to travel between countries: Berlin to Rome according to Google Maps is about 1500km, that travels through three countries total. Ottawa to Mexico City on the other hand is 4500km and also includes three countries worth of travel, its also a 7.5hour flight. That's why people tend to comment on how far away things are in North American compared to Europe. Even cities are laid out differently, since its often faster to get on a controlled access highway than it is to travel in a city.

Morrus · Apr 16, 2017

Beleriphon said:
I think the biggest thing with travel in the UK and EU in general versus North America is the sheer size of the highway network. I haven't driven in the UK so I'll leave that to Morrus to describe, but I wanted to go on a trip from the south all the way to north and do it in a car its going to take a few days. If want to drive from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island (there's a bridge!) then I'm doing that in no less than five days if there's is somebody to drive 24 hours a day. If I were to stop to sight see, or sleep, it would take around 2 weeks.

A quick comparison to travel between countries: Berlin to Rome according to Google Maps is about 1500km, that travels through three countries total. Ottawa to Mexico City on the other hand is 4500km and also includes three countries worth of travel, its also a 7.5hour flight. That's why people tend to comment on how far away things are in North American compared to Europe. Even cities are laid out differently, since its often faster to get on a controlled access highway than it is to travel in a city.

And if I wanted to drive to Beijing, that's about 9000km and would take 3 weeks. I'm not clear what the point is there. We can all come up with potential long journeys!

Beleriphon · Apr 16, 2017

Morrus said:
And if I wanted to drive to Beijing, that's about 9000km and would take 3 weeks. I'm not clear what the point is there. We can all come up with potential long journeys!

My point was more that as a resident in Europe you can travel pretty quickly country to country, and in fact travel through multiple nations in the same distance it would take me to get through the Unite States. It gives a different sense of scale when you drive through the United States for 3000km and its the same country, versus driving 3000km across Europe. Things seem farther apart when you start crossing national borders compared to just driving across the same nation with the same language and the same road signs.

Morrus · Apr 16, 2017

Beleriphon said:
My point was more that as a resident in Europe you can travel pretty quickly country to country, and in fact travel through multiple nations in the same distance it would take me to get through the Unite States. It gives a different sense of scale when you drive through the United States for 3000km and its the same country, versus driving 3000km across Europe. Things seem farther apart when you start crossing national borders compared to just driving across the same nation with the same language and the same road signs.

I don't think invisible lines affect your sense of scale unless you make them. It's not like truck drivers don't make those multi-country journeys regularly. All that matters is how far you're driving.

Nobody's saying that the US isn't physically large. Just that our minds aren't "boggled" by its size, as folks keep telling us they are. We're fully cognizant of it!

How long is a long time ago, and how far is far, far away?

Janx

Hero

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Janx

Hero

jimmifett

Banned

Beleriphon

Totally Awesome Pirate Brain

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Beleriphon

Totally Awesome Pirate Brain

Morrus

Well, that was fun

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