Nike facilities were built close to residential areas in the northeast. Sprint is not an ICBM either. It's an ABM and not such a massive rocket that it would need a large safety zone around the launch site.

The safety zone isn't to protect against the missile exploding. It is to keep the facility far enough away from the likely targets of incoming warheads that they could differentiate warheads from decoys. (As warheads enter the atmosphere the lighter decoys fall away. You want to be at 90* to the warhead flight path to best see this.) Some site were indeed near residential areas in other parts of the country but those were not protecting suburbs. They were protecting more distant targets: population centres and military facilities.

Is that describing the best spot for the interceptor itself, or the radar guiding the interceptor? (Not necessarily at the same site, and I can imaging reasons why separate sites would be better.)

In the days before perfect network connectivity? Both. There are also time delay issues. You want the sensor (radar) the 'computer' and the launch site all close together so they can coordinate the intercept without communication delays, without long radio links that are likely useless during nuclear war.

Sprint was meant for raw speed. It famously accelerated at like 100g. The shortest intercept is one that is launched perpendicular to the incoming warhead. The interceptor goes out vertical as the enemy warhead is coming in more horizontal on its way to the city 400km down the road from the interceptor base.

It probably depended on the geography. I know in the case of the site in Golden Gate Recreational Area, the (Nike not Sprint) interceptor site is/was near the fort there. The control and radar systems (which have been at least partly brought down) were originally on a hill overlooking the site. I don't know if the control/radar system also controlled other interceptor sites or not.

I grew up literally next door to one about 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Most of the Nike sites are just ruins at this point like the one on Angel Island but there's one just over the Golden Gate from SF that's the most fully restored site in the US and gives tours. https://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm

They initially had conventional warheads as I recall and they were primarily intended as bomber defense. They'd explode a warhead above a flight of bombers so they'd be hit by a massive shock wave.

Eventually, Nike missiles had a selectable yield nuclear warhead. The first salvo was set to intercept at 90 miles away, with 40 Kiloton of yield. The next was 45 miles away, and 20 Kiloton, and the "Hail Mary" was directly overhead, with 2 Kiloton yield.

> may or may not have a school.

The listings was very clear:about whats around them "Langdon, 9 miles [about 15km] Amenities: grocery store, gas stations, school district, ... "

I did not say that Langdon did not have a school. The sentence you quote is about Nekoma, the town immediately beside the listed property, which at 50 people is clearly so small as to likely not have any formal school.

"School district" is also very different than "school". Being in a district means that you are in a district that has school not that that school is anywhere nearby. It may be a long bus ride every day. Being in a district only means you will not have to home school your kids. And Langdon has one highschool. Choices are therefore very limited.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langdon,_North_Dakota

The day I decide where to live based on nearest Starbucks, please, just shoot me.

Amount of nearby Starbucks branches around was a consideration for me when I picked my last flat.

This is not for the occasional Frappuccino but as a simple indicator how popular a particular neighborhood is. It also tells some, but not much, about the demography too.

Starbucks is also one of the cheapest places you can get coffee/sweet drinks in my city so it’s nice to have some around ^^

Cheapest? The one Starbucks within 50 miles of me is the most expensive place for coffee.

I live in an arguably upper middle class neighborhood of Istanbul, one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world.

Most coffee shops around me are fancy third wave shops, making Starbucks a cheap choice. I’m sure I can find a cheaper places couple neighborhoods away but streets are not flat, traffic is always terrible and dangerous for pedestrians.

I checked out of curiosity and we have more than 200 branches within 50 miles of me.

Turkey population density: 109/km2

Population density in my state: 6.35/km2

50 miles/100km is nothing in many parts of north america. I have in all honesty driven that far just to pick up groceries.

Driving a distance to procure groceries is a far cry from driving to a Starbucks.

When moving, there is nothing wrong with checking out how far away Starbucks is. It worked for me and it is far...