When we moved to New York, I had trouble with the concept that miles did not equal time. Now that we're back in Ohio, it seems strange that places that take an hour or more to drive to are indeed quite far away.
An example: Memorial Day weekend we spent a day in Yellow Springs, which is 55 miles away from Columbus. It took almost exactly an hour to get there. I considered it sufficiently far away to plan the trip a week or two in advance.
In New York, Central Park took nearly as long to get to from our apartment, but it was only a fraction of the distance. We'd go there whenever we wanted, no advance planning needed.
Another example: Cincinnati is 90 minutes away -- far enough that I really have to think if I want to make the trek to a Reds game. But the Mets' stadium in Queens took just as long to get to and -- well, I guess even then I really thought about if I wanted to make the trip!
Maybe the difference is that in New York there was also backup transportation. If the subway was down or took too long, you knew you could always take a taxi. Sure, it would be more expensive, but it was also much quicker.
These differences have significantly changed my outlook on time. After all an hour is an hour, no matter what the map shows.
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