this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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I was talking to a friend and complaining that the nearest grocery store is 3km from me, he says that Europeans consider that a reasonable distance to the store and I'm just being lazy.

I don't have a car, I don't have a bike, and the bus only comes by every four hours. Am I being unreasonable for not wanting to carry groceries 3km in 30C weather, or is my friend full of shit? Neither of us have been to Europe.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 hours ago

1km, 12 minutes walking

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 hours ago

The closest supermarket is 6km away. I either walk or cycle 1k to the bus stop or all the way by ebike. The way home is super steep, otherwise i would probably take the normal bike. It's nice, because i can go all the way without touching an asphalt road.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 hours ago

I'm not really a European but I'm close enough I guess (Turkish). The closest supermarket to me is less than a hundred meters away, with 3 others available in a 250m radius around my home.

3km walk in this weather sounds like hell to be honest. You could use a grocery delivery service though if you have one available in your country.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 12 hours ago

Even fairly rural Europeans will consider that to be at least cycling distance.

I have four supermarkets in a radius of about 500 metres. Not only do I regularly walk, I pretty much buy only what I need for a few days, safe in the knowledge that if I need something now, I can be out & back in under half an hour, also knowing that most supermarkets here are reliably stocked with just what I need.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago

My usual place is 250m from my home, or around 3 minutes walking. There's like another 5 supermarkets, 5 bakeries, 4 greengrocers and 3 butchers about 500 meters away (off the top of my head, there could be more).

[–] [email protected] 5 points 14 hours ago

About 1km one-way. I usually walk

[–] [email protected] 4 points 14 hours ago

Used to be 5km where I grew up in the Netherlands, nowadays living in Germany it's 1km but uphill (don't have those in NL!). In either case I don't want to walk it and there's not a chance I would if it's 30 degrees out: that temperature means it's probably in a month of the year where I burn within 10-20 minutes. I'd have to put on sunscreen for going to the store! They better have a sandy beach aisle

[–] [email protected] 5 points 14 hours ago

6km, I drive ..

[–] [email protected] 5 points 15 hours ago

Outskirts of Budapest, closest supermarket is bit more than 1.5 km, so I did my daily shopping when I walked the dog. I would guess 45 min round trip.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago

The closest one to me is about 1km, I walk there if I don't have to get too much stuff. 3km? I don't know. In nice weather maybe, if I'm not in a hurry.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

People in this thread seems to live near big cities, which isn't really representative of the whole european population.

I live in rural france, the closest grocery store since I was born is 20km away (20min drive, no bus), and I moved 3 times - still about 20km.

Lots of people I know would love a store to be 3km away

[–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago

My girlfriend lives in a rural area. When we go groceries we consider it an outdoor activity. It's like 4km away from her house

[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

I have a small shop with basics and a seasonal farm stand about 400 meters from me and I walk that for anything I need from there, or another larger but still small shop another 300m past the first one. But selection is limited.

There's a gross supermarket about 2km away, and I wouldn't object to walking that, but I don't think I ever have. In the same amount of time I could drive 4km to the good supermarket or large green market and get better products. I regularly go for 5-7km runs, often past the gross supermarket, so it's more so that if I need something from a supermarket, I would rather do a full shopping trip, or stop at the store or market on the way home from work.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

I live in Berlin. I can go shopping for groceries, head back home, cook a meal using those groceries and eat within one hour of home office lunch break.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago

The closest grocery store/supermarket is around 1km away from my house and a few others are just slightly further away. I could walk there, but I have better ways to use my time, so I just go with my bike.

The pannier bags also enable me to buy heavy stuff without having to lift it the whole way.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago

My day to day walking to grocery stores is something like one kilometer. Bus goes every ten or fifteen minutes near my home. I don’t like biking that’s why I decided to walk. Every now and then I walk to the city, which is 5 km from my home, I don’t think it’s too far, but if I go to shopping there I usually come back with a bus.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago

Hunter-gatherers used to forage in a radius up to 10k 😁

[–] [email protected] 13 points 16 hours ago

In Norway. Technically in a city, but it's very rural. About 30 minutes of walking with a descent of ~150 meters. Carrying groceries back up that hill is a big test of stamina, so we very rarely do it. We mostly drive to the store.

Your friend is full of shit. 3km is a very long distance for walking to get groceries, and I can imagine that you have to deprioritize heavier groceries all the time due to that distance. I'd recommend getting a bike or electic scooter or something to cover that distance. Basically no one in Norway would have 3km to their nearest store with walking as their only option.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 16 hours ago

500 meters. If the store were at 3km I'd bike there, not walk. I feel like 500m is still an okay walking distance, but at some point I regularly went to a store 800m away and I already preferred to bike there. Walking 3km is definitely a bit of a time investment

[–] [email protected] 7 points 16 hours ago

My day to day shopping is 600-800m away.

My specialty store is 1.1km.

3km is a bit too far for me.

The most I've ever willing walked for groceries is 1.5km

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 13 points 17 hours ago

I'm in Vienna, Austria. I have 5 supermarkets and 3 pharmacys in a 10 minute walking radius.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

I live close to the central area of an ~80,000 population city.

Looking at Google maps I've got about 10 general stores within 300 meters, probably thrice that within 500m, plus plenty of smaller specialised stores.

300 to 600m seems like a reasonable distance to walk to and back with four to six bags of groceries.

For smaller more specialised shopping trips one or two kilometres would be fine too.

Three might be a bit much, though I've often walked that to go to the cinema.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 20 hours ago

I live in the pedestrian zone of a semi large German city. There's three grocery stores within pissing distance.

My last flat was a little more remote in comparison but still nowhere near 3km to the next store. I wouldn't be willing to walk that far for groceries tbh. I enjoy taking walks but not with a shitload of food I have to haul all the way home. That's a cycling or public transport route for me.

If I was you I'd take a large hiking backpack or rolling suitcase, walk to the store an hour ahead and then ride the bus back home.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

NYC. I walk a round trip of 3k for groceries twice a week. Not unusual to walk 5k per day.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

right, but OP is 3k away, so 6k round trip just for the grocery store ... is that typical?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago

3k is just under 2 miles. That's not that far. That's about what I walked here in the US before moving to a larger city where there's a grocery store right across the street.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

I have shop few meters away from my home, but I only go there, when I forgot to buy something or just quickly need snacks for a movie or it's bad weather, but usually I just buy everything from other grocery store which is 2 km away, but I like their food selection more and they got cheaper prices. Sometimes I also walk to big supermarket which is 4 km away.

3 km doesn't seem much for me or most of my friends,some of them even own a car and still walk 2-4 km to the grocery shop, instead of driving, but some people I know, would rather drive a car or take a bus.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago

I'm American. I regularly walk to the shop that's 1.75 km, won't drive it because it's too close.

The closest Real Grocery is 2.5km, that I take electric bike. Same for the Whole Foods that's much farther (5.5km) but that I consider an adventure ride and certainly not a walk. The groceries would melt by the time I got home if I walked.

All of these my husband drives to, and I think that's more typical. I have hangups about driving short distances.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 22 hours ago

Aussie, but the strip with a butcher, grocer and IGA is about 60m away, if i want more supermarkety goods i'll hop on my pushbike or walk the 1.4km to Europa

[–] [email protected] 4 points 23 hours ago

900m. I live at the edge of town...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I've lived in different places here, currently I have a couple of options in a 400m radius, in my previous house I used to have two options in a 100m radius. Before that I lived in another country and had a small market at around 600m and the nearest supermarket was at 1.5km, I almost never went to the big one and instead had them deliver to my house, but it wasn't a chore going there, it was just boring and a waste of time when I could just order online.

A few years back I used to live in a small city and my options were 1km for a small market or 3km for a big one, you sort of get used to going the 3km to the big one when needed, but it's not fun, and I would consistently put out going to the big one until it was absolutely necessary. I believe 3km is bike distance, sure you can walk that much, it's not that far away, but it takes a long time and is exhausting carrying lots of groceries in summer for that long.

All of that being said, I was not born in Europe, so locals might have different opinions, although I think everyone I've talked to thinks that above 1km it becomes bike/scooter distance for routine things (you don't need a bike if you're going to the cinema at 1km, but grocery or other routine stuff it's worth the investment just on the time you'll save)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

I recently moved somewhere a little further from the shops. I can take the bus part of the way but still need to walk around 1km each way, so I've invested in a Clax trolley to carry my groceries.

If I was in your situation, I would buy a light, foldable cart, take the bus to the shops, and walk home.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

80 meters lol. I've lived in cities, where it's always been less than 700 meters.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

210m for the medium sized store, 650 for the farther store. I wouldn't walk more than that, its either car or bus for bigger ones.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

My closest supermarket is 400m away, and the next supermarket over is 1.1km. I walk there daily, sometimes multiple times a day. 3km is quite far and I would not consider that walking distance.

It's certainly possible to walk that distance once every (couple of) months, if I did not have my bike available for whatever reason? But I would consider regularly walking 40 minutes one way every other day to be far too much. That distance is cycling distance, not walking distance.

On a side-note. Did you just say that the bus arrives only once every four hours? My lord.. It might as well basically not exist at that point.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

I lived in NYC and now in Canada. Your distances seem about accurate with my limits, though NYers are infamous for walking everywhere, including up and down 6 flights of stairs. It's certainly not the norm in the US.

Did you just say that the bus arrives only once every four hours? My lord.. It might as well basically not exist at that point.

This is a great time to introduce you to the American public transit system.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

About 200 meters, but I usually take the bike down to the Lidl 1 km away.

Where I last lived I had 200 meters to a small shop and 3.5 km to the local Lidl, which was fine but not ideal.

Getting a bike with a rack might be a good idea for your grocery runs. 3 km is less than 10 minutes on a bike.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

Get the basil crates, 70l and clip in and out so you can just load and go

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If it is more than 1 km, I bike. Not that it is too much to walk but it is too much to carry heavy bags.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

About 500m or, if I want to go to a larger supermarket, about 2km.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

500 meters to the more expensive one in my small "sister" village, and around 3km to the bigger ones in the main village (where I buy bulk every few weeks using the car).

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Netherlands, Rotterdam. 4 supermarkets within walking distance. 1 less than 10 minutes, 3 less than 5.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Vilnius, Lithuania. 3 different shops 5 min walk from home. And its not even high density urban area. I shop almost every day

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

About 1,5 km for daily things and for more i take the bike vor public transport

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