As far as I know, it is not entirely common to have your school, college or workplace right across the street. How far away is your daily destination away from your home? How long does it take you to get there?
I made a path in this Google Earth pic.
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6929/travelqm6.jpg
My uni is 23 kilometers (about 14 miles) from my house. By car, it takes about 25 minutes to get there. If I take the private university bus, it takes me about 50 minutes. If I use the subway and regular bus lines, the trip can take almost 2 hours.