How One's Perceptions are Shaped by Where One Lives

[HighwayStar]

He's saying that if you live in Philadelphia County, then you live in the city proper (which you said you didn't).

Where did I say I did not live in the city proper?

I think your statement about birthright was misconstrued.  You weren't born in Philly but live there now.

Chris

That is the correct reading.

[SEWIGuy]

He's saying that if you live in Philadelphia County, then you live in the city proper (which you said you didn't).

Where did I say I did not live in the city proper?

I think your statement about birthright was misconstrued.  You weren't born in Philly but live there now.

Chris

That is the correct reading.

So someone intentionally moved to Philadelphia???

[HighwayStar]

He's saying that if you live in Philadelphia County, then you live in the city proper (which you said you didn't).

Where did I say I did not live in the city proper?

I think your statement about birthright was misconstrued.  You weren't born in Philly but live there now.

Chris

That is the correct reading.

So someone intentionally moved to Philadelphia???

Yes, it does happen, mostly because while it would be nice to choose are place of residence purely on the basis of the optimal place to live, there are tradeoffs for education and work that have to be taken into consideration. 

[kphoger]

Yes, it does happen, mostly because while it would be nice to choose are place of residence purely on the basis of the optimal place to live, there are tradeoffs for education and work that have to be taken into consideration.

Also the presence or absence of sidewalks.

[SEWIGuy]

He's saying that if you live in Philadelphia County, then you live in the city proper (which you said you didn't).

Where did I say I did not live in the city proper?

I think your statement about birthright was misconstrued.  You weren't born in Philly but live there now.

Chris

That is the correct reading.

So someone intentionally moved to Philadelphia???

Yes, it does happen, mostly because while it would be nice to choose are place of residence purely on the basis of the optimal place to live, there are tradeoffs for education and work that have to be taken into consideration. 

As someone who lives in Green Bay...I get that!

[andrepoiy]

From Toronto, when I was little, I thought that all freeways had to be 3 or more lanes. I couldn't believe it at first when I was on a rural freeway, and commented that it had less lanes than the arterial back home.

[Big John]

From Wisconsin, traffic lights were on poles and trombone arms.  Then in Illinois it was similar except for the overhead signals, then elsewhere there were only overhead signals and I thought that was odd.

[webny99]

Like the OP, I grew up in Rochester, NY, so I have been spoiled by very light traffic (even a five-minute delay is groan-inducing), and a decent overall freeway network that one can use to get pretty much anywhere in the metro.

It's because of this that Rochester has been called the "20 minute city" , as you're theoretically never more than 20 minutes away from anywhere in the metro area. As suburbia has expanded eastward over the past few decades, some problem spots have developed — NY 441 comes to mind as a corridor that's deficient by our standards but would be perfectly normal in other mid-sized metros — but for the most part, the 20 minute maxim holds true.

True expressways are special to me as they don't really exist in the Northeast.

I have to agree, and I have often stated that NY should have more of this type of highway. While in Minnesota this summer I had another chance to drive some of the four-lane divided parts of MN 55, US 52, and US 61 and it reminded me again of how badly I wish parts of NY 14 and NY 104, among others, were four-lane divided.

[webny99]

Another one I thought of: there's a gas station right on my route home (from most everywhere), so I tend to think of getting gas as something that is not at all inconvenient (especially as I get it en route somewhere when on the road).  ... I usually have to think about the trips out to get gas that I do when visiting my parents (who don't conveniently have a Stewart's Shop or Fastrac with gas right on the roads from I-590 to their house).

This might depend more on the character of the area you live in than where it happens to be located. I totally understand your point about certain parts of Rochester and its inner suburbs, but I don't think it's specific to the Rochester area. There are certainly parts of Buffalo that have a similar lack of gas stations in residential areas, and I would imagine Albany as well. In my case, there aren't many gas stations due east from home, but there are gas stations on both of my primary routes to work and between home and the freeway.

[kphoger]

Like the OP, I grew up in Rochester, NY, so I have been spoiled by very light traffic (even a five-minute delay is groan-inducing), and a decent overall freeway network that one can use to get pretty much anywhere in the metro.

On the flipside...  Having lived a number of years in the Chicago area, I have little to no tolerance for people here in Wichita complaining about rush hour traffic.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Like the OP, I grew up in Rochester, NY, so I have been spoiled by very light traffic (even a five-minute delay is groan-inducing), and a decent overall freeway network that one can use to get pretty much anywhere in the metro.

On the flipside...  Having lived a number of years in the Chicago area, I have little to no tolerance for people here in Wichita complaining about rush hour traffic.

After driving from Seattle to Olympia last summer on I-5, I vowed never to complain about MSP traffic again.

[Bruce]

Like the OP, I grew up in Rochester, NY, so I have been spoiled by very light traffic (even a five-minute delay is groan-inducing), and a decent overall freeway network that one can use to get pretty much anywhere in the metro.

On the flipside...  Having lived a number of years in the Chicago area, I have little to no tolerance for people here in Wichita complaining about rush hour traffic.

After driving from Seattle to Olympia last summer on I-5, I vowed never to complain about MSP traffic again.

Well that's just JBLM. Even us locals try to avoid it when we can, same with other perennial chokepoints like Everett and the Renton-Bellevue stretch of I-405.

Rule of thumb is to assume you'll need 30 extra minutes on top of whatever the traffic apps estimate.

[Scott5114]

And meanwhile, here in OKC, traffic apps tend to quote times 10 minutes longer than it will take in real life.

[thspfc]

He's saying that if you live in Philadelphia County, then you live in the city proper (which you said you didn't).

Where did I say I did not live in the city proper?

I think your statement about birthright was misconstrued.  You weren't born in Philly but live there now.

Chris

That is the correct reading.

So someone intentionally moved to Philadelphia???

Yes, it does happen, mostly because while it would be nice to choose are place of residence purely on the basis of the optimal place to live, there are tradeoffs for education and work that have to be taken into consideration. 

As someone who lives in Green Bay...I get that!

I wouldn't mind living in Green Bay. Some of the friendliest people in the country. There would also be an NFL team in my backyard, so that's nice.

[vdeane]

Another one I thought of: there's a gas station right on my route home (from most everywhere), so I tend to think of getting gas as something that is not at all inconvenient (especially as I get it en route somewhere when on the road).  ... I usually have to think about the trips out to get gas that I do when visiting my parents (who don't conveniently have a Stewart's Shop or Fastrac with gas right on the roads from I-590 to their house).

This might depend more on the character of the area you live in than where it happens to be located. I totally understand your point about certain parts of Rochester and its inner suburbs, but I don't think it's specific to the Rochester area. There are certainly parts of Buffalo that have a similar lack of gas stations in residential areas, and I would imagine Albany as well. In my case, there aren't many gas stations due east from home, but there are gas stations on both of my primary routes to work and between home and the freeway.

In this case, it's not just gas stations, but good gas stations.  Before I moved to Albany, I didn't really care much about brand and whatnot when I got gas; a gas station was a gas station.  Now, I heavily favor the nice gas station/convenience store chains (Stewart's, Fastrac, Sheetz, Wawa, QuickChek, Cumberland Farms, etc.) over ye typical gas station where possible, even when all I need is gas.  At some point, I got used to Stewart's being all over the place!  It definitely feels different when going to other areas and actually having to look to find the nice stations.

[webny99]

In this case, it's not just gas stations, but good gas stations.  Before I moved to Albany, I didn't really care much about brand and whatnot when I got gas; a gas station was a gas station.  Now, I heavily favor the nice gas station/convenience store chains (Stewart's, Fastrac, Sheetz, Wawa, QuickChek, Cumberland Farms, etc.) over ye typical gas station where possible, even when all I need is gas.  At some point, I got used to Stewart's being all over the place!  It definitely feels different when going to other areas and actually having to look to find the nice stations.

Wow, point taken: there are not a lot of Rochester-area gas stations on that list. It's basically only Fastrac, which I agree is decent, but even then there's only a handful of locations.

[SkyPesos]

Another one I thought of: there's a gas station right on my route home (from most everywhere), so I tend to think of getting gas as something that is not at all inconvenient (especially as I get it en route somewhere when on the road).  ... I usually have to think about the trips out to get gas that I do when visiting my parents (who don't conveniently have a Stewart's Shop or Fastrac with gas right on the roads from I-590 to their house).

This might depend more on the character of the area you live in than where it happens to be located. I totally understand your point about certain parts of Rochester and its inner suburbs, but I don't think it's specific to the Rochester area. There are certainly parts of Buffalo that have a similar lack of gas stations in residential areas, and I would imagine Albany as well. In my case, there aren't many gas stations due east from home, but there are gas stations on both of my primary routes to work and between home and the freeway.

In this case, it's not just gas stations, but good gas stations.  Before I moved to Albany, I didn't really care much about brand and whatnot when I got gas; a gas station was a gas station.  Now, I heavily favor the nice gas station/convenience store chains (Stewart's, Fastrac, Sheetz, Wawa, QuickChek, Cumberland Farms, etc.) over ye typical gas station where possible, even when all I need is gas.  At some point, I got used to Stewart's being all over the place!  It definitely feels different when going to other areas and actually having to look to find the nice stations.

Is it bad that I never heard of any of those gas station brands before?

[andrepoiy]

I've also never heard of any of those either ^^

[Bruce]

The Midwest and Northeast have a ton of "ubiquitous" chains that never make it out of their region. I've heard of a few of these in passing, but never seen them in person.

I do try and go out of my way to try regional chains if I'm out traveling, since the Pacific Northwest is about the last place you'll see national chains expand to.

[kphoger]

Yep, I've never seen any of those either.  Heard of some of them, though.

On road trips, I tend to favor Love's, Road Ranger, Casey's, Stripes, Flying J, QuikTrip, Holiday, TA, and OnCue.  Ones that are hit or miss include Chevron, Exxon, BP, Phillips 66, Mobil, Speedway, Pemex, Alon, Valero, and Conoco.  Ones that tend be small and/or dumpy include 7-Eleven, Shell, and especially Sinclair.

I'm curious to know how many of those you New Yorkers are familiar with.

[webny99]

I'm curious to know how many of those you New Yorkers are familiar with.

Here you go. The ones that I've never heard of are in bold.

Love's - heard of and been to; 3 locations in NY.
Road Ranger - never heard of it.
Casey's - hmmm, it sounds familiar, but not sure if it's in reference to a gas station or something else.
Stripes - never heard of it.
Flying J - heard of and been to; not common, but there are a few around.
QuikTrip - is this the same as Kwik Trip? I have heard of and been to the latter, mostly because it's so common in Minnesota.
Holiday - same as above
TA - I used to drive by this one all the time, but that's the only one I know of.
OnCue - never heard of it.
Chevron - heard of it, but it doesn't exist in this area.
Exxon - heard of it, obviously, but it's not common in this area.
BP - same as above
Phillips 66 - never heard of it.
Mobil - of course; it's everywhere.
Speedway - same as Mobil; it replaced Hess in this area, so it's a lot more common now than it used to be.
Pemex - heard of it, but it doesn't exist in this area.
Alon - never heard of it.
Valero - heard of it and been to; fairly common, but not quite like Mobil or Speedway.
Conoco - heard of it, but it doesn't exist in this area.
7-Eleven - of course; it's everywhere.
Shell - of course; seems to be especially common in Ohio for whatever reason.
Sinclair - never heard of it.

[Rothman]

Yep, I've never seen any of those either.  Heard of some of them, though.

On road trips, I tend to favor Love's, Road Ranger, Casey's, Stripes, Flying J, QuikTrip, Holiday, TA, and OnCue.  Ones that are hit or miss include Chevron, Exxon, BP, Phillips 66, Mobil, Speedway, Pemex, Alon, Valero, and Conoco.  Ones that tend be small and/or dumpy include 7-Eleven, Shell, and especially Sinclair.

I'm curious to know how many of those you New Yorkers are familiar with.

Love's - Y
Road Ranger - N
Casey's - Y
Stripes - N
Flying J - Y
QuikTrip - Y
Holiday - Y (haven't seen one in a long while)
TA - Y
OnCue - N
Chevron - Y
Exxon - Y
BP - Y
Phillips 66 - Y, but they appear to be diminishing?
Mobile - Y
Speedway - Y, especially after recent expansion into the area
Pemex - Seen it, but very, very rare experience
Alon - N
Valero - Y
Conoco - Y, but presence seems diminished
7-Eleven - Y
Shell - Y
Sinclair - Y

[kphoger]

QuikTrip - is this the same as Kwik Trip? I have heard of and been to the latter, mostly because it's so common in Minnesota.

Ah, only someone who travels to Minnesota would ask that!   

No, they aren't.

[kphoger]

Phillips 66 - never heard of it.

Phillips 66 - Y, but they appear to be diminishing?

This has surprised me.  They're all over the place around here.

[kphoger]

Road Ranger - N
Stripes - N
OnCue - N
Alon - N

Bravo!  Of those, the only one that I've seen outside Oklahoma and Texas is Road Ranger.  (Alon also exists in New Mexico, and I think Stripes does too.  I've just never personally seen them there.)

The Road Ranger map extends east to Indiana, and is most concentrated in Illinois.  The one I most commonly use is in Sonora, TX.