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(Boston Globe) Interesting Web site lets you rank neighborhoods by how many annoying people would walk past your house   (boston.com) divider line 76
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OregonVet [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 08:37:55 AM  
img217.imageshack.us


Living near the Quickie Stop means it takes less time to feed your fat ass with shiat.

 
Ecobuckeye 2009-04-05 10:11:37 AM  
49 out of 100, and they count the 7-11 and Tobacco Plaza as grocery stores. Not to mention the 6-lane state route between me and the true nearest grocery store.

 
40oz_A_Knight 2009-04-05 10:11:47 AM  
img217.imageshack.us

Living between a liquor store and a Popeye's means that you will frequently encounter people who annoy you.

 
IKillBugs 2009-04-05 10:13:26 AM  
Walkability is a joke. Call it what it really means to suburbanites, Strangers have no reason to drive down our street-ability.

 
vaconex 2009-04-05 10:18:58 AM  
I live in the ghetto. So bad that I've had to stop one guy with my gun and my neighbor stopped another.

Two nights ago I was drinking, like most of us do in our neighborhood. Two men in an SUV start holding down the horn some 3 blocks away. Modified or not, it was a loud horn.

Me, enjoying my evening by being chemically altered walk out but knowing my hood, I take along my shiny metal bat.

While walking down they are coming down the road, honking and with a shortest of pauses, resuming. Why? Well, at 10:10pm most people are in bed.

I arched my arm back as they were arriving, allowing me to recall a similar incident at the movie theatre. Some gentleman had his woman along who kept talking. After several attempts at "shhhushing" I thought of my options. I tried the stare, the turn and stare, the SHHHHHHHHHHHHh.

She leaned over once again to talk to him and I took my pop corn and threw it, deliberately spinning the bag for maximum pop corn displacement. This buttery fluffy fell at her feet and the gentleman inquired about my "problem". We almost raised arms but his mouthy girl didn't persist and I didn't realize how large the gentleman was once he turned to me.

I lowered my bat and went back in for another beer. I slept well that night.

 
tillerman35 2009-04-05 10:20:59 AM  
At last, one thing my neighborhood would be #1 at.

 
Thosw 2009-04-05 10:21:11 AM  
Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

 
litespeed74 2009-04-05 10:22:23 AM  
Yep, I'm in the hunt for a new house and recently tried using this but found out that a "grocery store" could be an adult bookstore that happens to have chips and jerky at the checkout stand.

That said, this could be improved and be a useful tool one day.
allow you to put in your age, interests etc...basically profile me.

 
mosstron 2009-04-05 10:22:58 AM  
I live in a small town, so it's fairly walkable anyway, but Google has lots of stuff in the wrong place. My town is broken up into NW, SW, SE, and NE quadrants for addresses. If Google has an address without the ordinal direction, it assumes NW. I live in the NW part of town and so it thinks LOTS of things are nearby that are actually in another quadrant of town.

 
Barakku [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 10:23:31 AM  
Thosw: Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Not England.

/unless you're english

 
jaymzz [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-04-05 10:23:35 AM  
89/100!

Bow before my neighborhood!

 
Sonnuvah 2009-04-05 10:25:30 AM  
i177.photobucket.com

Approves but did not read article

 
bearcats1983 2009-04-05 10:29:25 AM  
My town is one of those where people are walking or riding their bikes all day if the weather is nice. I don't really mind it. I mean, the spandex wearing MILF walking groups walk past my house at the same time every morning. It's enough to give me a good pick me up. If only I could teach the dog that everyone that walks passed the house wasn't trying to B&E into "her territory".

 
Anastacya 2009-04-05 10:31:38 AM  
My neighborhood is about 2 blocks from the projects. As the weather warms up, my husband and I enjoy the sound of sirens racing down the street. Just two nights ago, we had 4 cops speed past at breakneck speed. We just tell ourselves, "well if they kill each other, it's one less to rob us."

When we first moved in, dead mice, broken beer bottles, oh yea, and my husband' truck was tagged (btw WD40 will remove spray paint without ruining your finish), and a variety of other instances. At the other end of our street (away from the projects side) is a convenient store. By the time they get to our house (corner lot, end of the block), they throw trash and whatever else they want to, and cut through our lawn.

My husband is 6'3". You would be amazed at how quickly he transitioned from momma's boy to "get off my lawn" when people threw trash on our property.

But, anyway, nown that I have bored you... I'm fairly sure my neighborhood (Painesville) will be near the top.

 
Whodat? 2009-04-05 10:43:04 AM  
This is actually a very cool site. We're moving soon, it will get some good use, methinks.

 
GendoIkari 2009-04-05 10:43:06 AM  
I got an 88, which was counting a lot of businesses that were replaced by Full Sail, as well as places that require crossing 3 or 4 busy 4-6 lane roads. Yet, My old place in South Florida where I did and could walk to everything: 33 or some such nonsense. IMO it's easier to get around in the Ft. Lauderdale area without a car than in Orlando. However, neither are really areas MEANT for walking. I assume most of Florida necessitates the need for a car, outside of the most downtown areas of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Orlando. Unlike New York or Chicago.

 
Epossumondas [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-04-05 10:43:20 AM  
I live in a small rural town, and the only people who walk here are people with DWIs, poor people with no cars, and the crazies from the rehab center.

 
soze [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 10:46:06 AM  
I live on Lark St. in Albany. I don't mind the annoying people on foot so much as the motorcycles. For every nice, chill cruiser or touring bike there are approximately 3452938740239 crotch rockets laying on the throttle at the light or weekender dumbasses on Harleys or choppers with straight pipes revving because they like big noises.

I don't even mind the loud stereos so much, the sound doesn't carry and wipe out everything in its path. But the idiots on motorcycles have made me consider dropping a load of gravel in the intersection.

/loud pipes don't save lives you shiatwits

 
IKillBugs 2009-04-05 10:47:26 AM  
soze: weekender dumbasses on Harleys or choppers with straight pipes revving because they like big noises.

They love being called Cromo-sexuals.

 
deltabourne 2009-04-05 10:52:17 AM  
I love being able to walk everywhere and not own a car. You have to have access to decent transportation, but it's just much more awesome to live in a neighborhood and walk to local stores for your stuff than drive 30 minutes to a mega Walmart on the outskirts of suburbia to do all of your shopping.

 
ayanami 2009-04-05 10:53:12 AM  
Anastacya: By the time they get to our house (corner lot, end of the block), they throw trash and whatever else they want to, and cut through our lawn.


When we moved into our new house, we had an immediate problem with the two high schools near by, and all the kids cutting through our backyard as a shortcut to the rest of the neighborhood, and leaving trash behind. Getting a dog, lab/pit mix, solved that problem real quick.

It's not the safest of neighborhoods either, so being known as that house with the huge scary dog is probably a good thing.

 
Anastacya 2009-04-05 11:06:26 AM  
ayanami: Anastacya: By the time they get to our house (corner lot, end of the block), they throw trash and whatever else they want to, and cut through our lawn.


When we moved into our new house, we had an immediate problem with the two high schools near by, and all the kids cutting through our backyard as a shortcut to the rest of the neighborhood, and leaving trash behind. Getting a dog, lab/pit mix, solved that problem real quick.

It's not the safest of neighborhoods either, so being known as that house with the huge scary dog is probably a good thing.



We owned a basset hound when we moved in. And bought a sheltie mix afterward. The sheltie is very territorial, and barks at anyone even on the sidewalk. But, he is about as high as my knee, so yea, not very intimidating.

I suppose I could always throw our ferret at people cutting through.

Oh yea, and my husband stands outside practicing his fencing and swordwork. So now he is known as the big, white, crazy guy on the corner house. Guess that is our intimidation factor.

Even though, we still get trash.

 
buzzvert [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 11:10:55 AM  
38/100, and they missed the gigantic park a block away. The nearest bar is some place I've never even heard of until now.

 
bqad720 [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 11:12:57 AM  
94/100!!

 
Hector Remarkable 2009-04-05 11:14:37 AM  
I just moved from a 72, very walkable, to a 40, car-dependent.

 
bigred06 2009-04-05 11:15:16 AM  
95/100

I live two blocks from a housing project, I can see the county jail from my window, and there are no real grocery stores in walking distance. But I am equidistant from the bars and the hospital, so it's all good.

 
IKillBugs 2009-04-05 11:15:35 AM  
Hector Remarkable: I just moved from a 72, very walkable, to a 40, car-dependent.

0 out of 100.

But then again, I like in cow and corn country.

 
MikeXpop 2009-04-05 11:19:12 AM  
My apartment is 83/100. My old dorm got a 100/100, but my apartment is infinitely more walkable. Living a half mile from Shaws is much better than living next door to CVS (which closes at 6 PM). Also, here's the list of Movie Theaters it says I used to live near:

1. Loews Boston Common
2. Orpheum Theater (A concert venue)
3. AMC Boston Common (this is the same place as #1)
4. Boston Common Garage (parking garage, WTF?)
5. Loews Theater (again, same as #1)
6. A Classic Memory (photography studio)
7. Simons IMAX Theater (part of NE Aquarium)

A good idea, but the website isn't very useful as is.

 
Rozinante 2009-04-05 11:20:34 AM  
ayanami: Anastacya: By the time they get to our house (corner lot, end of the block), they throw trash and whatever else they want to, and cut through our lawn.


When we moved into our new house, we had an immediate problem with the two high schools near by, and all the kids cutting through our backyard as a shortcut to the rest of the neighborhood, and leaving trash behind. Getting a dog, lab/pit mix, solved that problem real quick.

It's not the safest of neighborhoods either, so being known as that house with the huge scary dog is probably a good thing.


A lab/pit? You really weren't looking for intelligence, were you?

 
bigred06 2009-04-05 11:23:17 AM  
MikeXpop: My apartment is 83/100. My old dorm got a 100/100, but my apartment is infinitely more walkable. Living a half mile from Shaws is much better than living next door to CVS (which closes at 6 PM). Also, here's the list of Movie Theaters it says I used to live near:

1. Loews Boston Common
2. Orpheum Theater (A concert venue)
3. AMC Boston Common (this is the same place as #1)
4. Boston Common Garage (parking garage, WTF?)
5. Loews Theater (again, same as #1)
6. A Classic Memory (photography studio)
7. Simons IMAX Theater (part of NE Aquarium)

A good idea, but the website isn't very useful as is.


If you live in Boston there are only two things that need to be within walking distance: grocery stores and laundromats. The rest doesn't matter if you live near the T. Except bars. Can't count on the T to get you back from those...

 
Dil Doe 2009-04-05 11:29:23 AM  
IKillBugs: Walkability is a joke. Call it what it really means to suburbanites, Strangers have no reason to drive down our street-ability.

You just described in a nut shell why the suburbs are so horrible. They are designed almost entirely to suit the needs for motor vehicles. Along the way, the designers completely neglected the needs of the people who will live there. That's why you hardly ever see people out walking around in the 'burbs. It's a wholly unpleasant place to be outside unless you're in your own backyard ignoring the rest of the world. If that's how you want to spend your life, fine, but there's a reason why truly walkable neighborhoods are in MUCH higher demand than conventional suburbs.

 
soze [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 11:35:55 AM  
IKillBugs: They love being called Cromo-sexuals.

I'm thinking that this year I'll ask them where they got their cute matching jackets because my mom would probably like one.

 
Bagelox-99 2009-04-05 11:38:01 AM  
My nabe was built in the 1930s and was then at the edge of town. Main Street shopping, schools, etc., are maybe 15 min walk or 2 min drive away, with a mall complex about 4 min drive (30 min walk) in the other direction, thru postwar burbage.

Anyway, today, no one without a dog walks anywhere, except yrs truly, who hates all other forms of exercise and is not allowed to smoke cigarillos in the house.

 
Tillmaster 2009-04-05 11:38:42 AM  
Apparently walkability includes being able to walk to P.O. Box addresses. I'm within walking distance of a post office, so I'm getting a kick etc..

Looks like they didn't think their cunning plan all the way through.

 
brigid_fitch [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 11:40:30 AM  
Can't access the link, so I'm curious where my neighborhood would fall. 25% of the homes are summer rentals, there's a river across the street, and we don't get much foot traffic except in the summer.

I live around the corner from a cemetery, which makes mine a very quiet neighborhood, indeed.

 
DrBrownCow 2009-04-05 11:42:39 AM  
I only got a 69, but the only thing I'm missing is a library in walking distance. I had one at my last house and I walked to it every week.

 
eddyatwork [TotalFark] 2009-04-05 11:44:56 AM  
Dil Doe: It's a wholly unpleasant place to be outside unless you're in your own backyard ignoring the rest of the world.

Suburbs are my idea of hell. Nothing but houses of people you don't know and nothing else for miles.

 
fireincairo 2009-04-05 11:52:12 AM  
Very cool

 
DrBrownCow 2009-04-05 11:53:36 AM  
Heh. Just checked my last house and it is a 69. I didn't even have my own car and I used to walk to the grocery, library, liquor store, post office, bars, multiple local restaurants, book stores, and a huge park all within 3/4 of a mile.

I also doubt it is taking into account the quality of the sidewalks, traffic, crime, etc. Walking within 1/2 mile of my current house isn't nearly as peaceful as my old house.

 
Dihnekis 2009-04-05 11:55:13 AM  
Last year I lived in the student ghetto in Gainesville and could walk to everything but a major grocery store. Tons of bars, restaurants, smaller local food places, and all kinds of shops.

Orlando has a 15 minute bike ride to the nearest gas station, farking suburbs.

 
hyperspacemonkey 2009-04-05 11:57:18 AM  
The score is inaccurate for my neighbourhood, but Google maps is always inaccurate in Canada. It shows streets but never can find schools, only sometimes locates stores and restaurants. You need to type in street numbers instead, which gets annoying.

But anyhow, this service is useless up here because it relies on Google. It totally crapped out on my neighbourhood and I tried a few family and friends too.

 
DrBrownCow 2009-04-05 12:03:27 PM  
My old college ghetto neighborhood scored higher than my last two homes in well-established historical neighborhoods, which is a joke. That apartment was barely within 1/2 a mile of campus and lots of attractions, but within that half mile there isn't a bona fide grocery store, library, post office, movie theater, book store, park, or drug store. Plus, the crime rate is very high.

 
MikeXpop 2009-04-05 12:03:46 PM  
bigred06:
If you live in Boston there are only two things that need to be within walking distance: grocery stores and laundromats. The rest doesn't matter if you live near the T. Except bars. Can't count on the T to get you back from those...

Bingo. The lack of a real grocery store made living downtown less "walkable" than my new place out in Eastie. The website is pretty much useless for rating anywhere with decent public transit.

 
vudukungfu 2009-04-05 12:04:03 PM  
Dihnekis: 15 minute bike ride to the nearest gas station.

hur?

 
austerity101 2009-04-05 12:07:40 PM  
I couldn't believe that my neighborhood (south Scottsdale, AZ) got a 60/100. But some of the stuff they use to help qualify in some categories barely pass. Of the restaurants, 2 of the top 4 are Denny's. (Why there are two of them within half a mile from my apartment is beyond me.)

What they forget, though, is that most areas of the US you don't want to be outside in during parts of the year. For here, that's all of May through the end of October. That's half the year. Therefore, our score is actually 30/100.

/my math is rock solid

 
IKillBugs 2009-04-05 12:07:46 PM  
vudukungfu: hur?

I regularly ride my bike to the gas station to fill the tanks for my mower and other lawn equipment.

 
JmBa 2009-04-05 12:10:22 PM  
9 out of 100. I live right off GA 400, and would therefore have to walk along it to get anywhere. Drivers doing 90 in the right lane don't really inspire me to do that.

 
Focusin 2009-04-05 12:12:08 PM  
img396.imageshack.us
What annoying people walking past your house may look like.

 
wolfserpent 2009-04-05 12:12:52 PM  
49 out of 100. They count the Orange Julius in the mall as a bar, and consider a movie theater 14 miles away (and down several miles of major highway) as "walkable."

 
Bohemian 2009-04-05 12:29:03 PM  
I live in the nicer burbs. I lost count of how many times our house was vandalized. This is due to one insane out of control teenager whom the police and his parents refuse to control. Then there is the drunk snowmobilers who think cutting through people's laws at 3am is a wise idea. We considered stringing piano wire this winter but figured that would land us in trouble instead. Then there is the drunk across the street that has to blast his garage stereo after midnight at least twice every summer.

For all those minor pains in the ass nobody has fired a gun, gotten in a public fistfight or had half of the police force show up to deal with them. This was a typical sat. night where we used to live.

I am all for gentrification if it means I can live somewhere nice in town, be able to walk to things and not fear getting shot.

 
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