How long will it take to get there? 20 minutes.
How long will it take to get there? 20 minutes.
In and Around Town (a humor column)
by Janine Annett
Rivertowns — I have a theory that no matter where you’re trying to go in Westchester, it’ll take you 20 minutes to get there.
This theory is born out of my experience living here for the past 12 years. Before I lived here, I occasionally made my way around Westchester, but I always got lost — partially because I grew up on the other side of the Hudson River (in New York, not in New Jersey — not that there’s anything wrong with New Jersey!), so if the Hudson was to my left I kept thinking I was heading south rather than north. This was during a time before navigation apps, so it took me twice as long as it should have to get anywhere in Westchester.
But now, everywhere I go (locally) takes me about 20 minutes to get to.
You want to drive 2 miles away to the next town over? There will be traffic, and you will hit every red light, and it will take you 20 minutes to get there.
You want to drive across the county? 20 minutes.
Driving north, to a town 16 miles away? 20 minutes.
Maybe you’re not driving, but walking. Perhaps you want to walk from your house to the train station. Guess how long it’ll take? Yes, that’s right, 20 minutes. I don’t care if you live two blocks away or five miles away — it will somehow take you 20 minutes. Walking your kid to school? 20 minutes! Taking your dog out? 20 minutes (hurry up, dog!).
Riding a bike? It will take you 20 minutes to get to your destination, whether you have an ancient, rusty bike or a brand-new e-bike.
Taking the train, going on the bus, riding a horse, rollerblading, using a scooter, kayaking, flying in a helicopter, or hitching a ride on the back of a mythical pegasus — it doesn’t matter what your mode of transportation is or where your destination is within Westchester. I’m telling you, if it’s within the 450 square miles of Westchester County, it will somehow, magically, take you almost exactly 20 minutes to get there.
If you’re going from Pelham to Peekskill and you look up driving directions, it will tell you it will take 44 minutes — but trust me, it’ll be 20.
Just like with political polls, there’s a margin of error here, so 20 minutes may be closer to 15-25 minutes. But generally speaking, 20 minutes is right.
Even some Westchester-adjacent places fit into the 20-minute rule. Yankee Stadium? About 20 minutes by train. Greenwich, CT? It’s just over the Westchester border, and I believe the last time I went there, it took me 20 minutes to get there.
The exception to this rule is when you absolutely must be on time for something very important. Then it will inevitably take you much longer than you planned for, even allowing for extra time for traffic or other unexpected delays. One time, I was going to a job interview and I got stuck in standstill traffic on I-287 (I still got the job, by the way, even though I was late for the interview. But I was miserable the entire time I worked there, and I probably should have listened to the universe trying to tell me, via a traffic jam, not to go there).
So next time you need to go somewhere local and you want to know how long it’ll take you to get there, there’s no need to consult Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze. Just ask me, and I’ll tell you the answer: It’ll take about 20 minutes.
And then it will take you another 20 minutes to figure out parking once you get there.
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