Yuns Guys Don't Measure Distance in Hours?

[Asteriktos]

I recently saw a video of South Western Pennsylvanian peculiarities, and one of them was that we measure distance in hours. For example, instead of saying "it's about 100 miles away," we'll instead say "it's about a 2 hour drive". Don't yuns guys in other parts of the country do that to?

 

[Schultz]

LOL!

I was just talking to a friend of mine down here, a born-and-bred Marylander, who asked me how far Columbus, OH was from Baltimore.  I did some quick math in head and said, "Oh, about six and a half hours, give or take a half-hour".

"I mean how many miles," he replied.

"Hmm...I guess about 400 or so, going by the time it would take," I reasoned.

He didn't believe me, pulled out his Blackberry and googled it.  

According to GoogleMaps, following I-70... 409 miles.

He looked at me and shook his head, saying, "You're weird, but you're a useful weird."

What's the name of this video, btw?

 

[EofK]

That's pretty common in Southern Missouri, too.  Sometimes it's mentally easier to count down the hours of driving through miles of meth-addled trailers and broken down cars rather than watching the miles add up.

 

[HandmaidenofGod]

I usually give it in both.

Example:

"How far away is the college from your house?"

"About 16 miles, so about 20 minutes."

I usually like to give both, because depending on the route a person is taking (highway verses back-roads), it could be vary in time.

 

[Asteriktos]

He looked at me and shook his head, saying, "You're weird, but you're a useful weird."

What's the name of this video, btw?

Lol Here's the vid.

 

[username!]

I hear it both in hours or miles.  I don't mind either.  Usually the only time miles sort of matter is if you are trying to figure out how much poorer you'll be after driving there and using expensive gasoline.

 

[Asteriktos]

That's pretty common in Southern Missouri, too.  Sometimes it's mentally easier to count down the hours of driving through miles of meth-addled trailers and broken down cars rather than watching the miles add up.

I usually give it in both.

Example:

"How far away is the college from your house?"

"About 16 miles, so about 20 minutes."

I usually like to give both, because depending on the route a person is taking (highway verses back-roads), it could be vary in time.

I hear it both in hours or miles.  I don't mind either.  Usually the only time miles sort of matter is if you are trying to figure out how much poorer you'll be after driving there and using expensive gasoline.

Glad to know that we're not peculiar then on the point

 

[mike]

Try kilometres.

 

[Asteriktos]

Try kilometres.

That's what those silly runners use when they talk about how far they run, right? Like they can't say 3.1 miles, they have to say 5k? 

 

[Andrew21091]

I recently saw a video of South Western Pennsylvanian peculiarities, and one of them was that we measure distance in hours. For example, instead of saying "it's about 100 miles away," we'll instead say "it's about a 2 hour drive". Don't yuns guys in other parts of the country do that to?

We Michiganders measure distance in time. I've rarely heard anyone tell me how many miles away something is. Somebody asks for directions here: "Sir, do you know how far it is to Lansing?" and the reply (at least from where I live) "Oh its about 90 minutes away." "But how many miles?" "I told you already! About 90 minutes!" If someone tells me to go so many miles, I have to ask how many minutes it takes.

 

[Vzldrb]

Haha, I thought everyone else used time too.. Wow!

Too much time in the Valley, I suppose...?

 

[Jibrail Almuhajir]

That's pretty common in Southern Missouri, too. 

It's not just common, it's the Gospel; 'less you're one of them there out-of-state foreigners. 

 

[Ebor]

I recently saw a video of South Western Pennsylvanian peculiarities, and one of them was that we measure distance in hours. For example, instead of saying "it's about 100 miles away," we'll instead say "it's about a 2 hour drive". Don't yuns guys in other parts of the country do that to?

Sure. Out west in Montana and other states we measure distance by time all the time.  Times are also variable depending on if it's a Montanan or visitor driving, weather conditions (longer in snow) and if the route is on the plains or through mountains.

Ebor

 

[username!]

My phone is a gps as well. I don't need to ask people how far away places are come to think about it

 

[Quinault]

We give the distance in hours and "with heavy traffic" hours. So from Seattle to Portland is "3.5-5 hours, depending upon traffic."

 

[hecma925]

Whenever I'm told how long it should take ("It's 90 minutes away."), I mentally make a bet to beat that time.

 

[LenInSebastopol]

Los Angelenos do that, but then again they don't trust air they can't see either.

 

[Cyrillic]

No, distances are too short for that. Within two hours I can be in two other countries.

 

[AntoniousNikolas]

I think it's an American thing in general.  In a big country, dreams stay with you...and you measure distance in driving time.

 

[DeniseDenise]

I think it's an American thing in general.  In a big country, dreams stay with you...and you measure distance in driving time.

Bravo, sir!

 

[Arachne]

I think it's an American thing in general.  In a big country, dreams stay with you...and you measure distance in driving time.

While in a small country like Greece, the only consistent expression you'll meet is 'a cigarette away' (implying walking, not mechanical locomotion). Beyond that, given city traffic/countryside erratic conditions, it's all 'you'll get there when you get there'/'whenever, dude'.

 

[Asteriktos]

How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk

What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Answer all the questions below to see your personal dialect map.

www.nytimes.com

For the map they gave me the cities seem strange, but the dark red in southcentral PA is spot on as that's where I grew up

 

[Sethrak]

I think miles ~ I recently traveled well, about 1200 miles round trip ~ that is about 500 miles to the destination and back~ some people say they can do it in 8 hours one way, but it takes some times 12 or 14 hours for me ~ I don't drive as fast as some ~ the road MPH may be 70 or 65 but I may feel that certain parts can not be safely driven at that speed ```

 

[Melodist]

I measure distance in time, the main exception to that would be for purposes of determining when/where to stop for gas.

 

[Ainnir]

Time. I have no idea how far away things actually are. Plus, I grew up in metro ATL. Distance means nothing.

 

[Luke]

Distance. If I want to know the distance, I ask how far a place is. If I want to know how long, I ask how long it takes to get there.