Iolanthealias and Virginia,
I'm with you. In L&C canon there is the appropriate distance, east coast - Kansas.
The Kents always had to fly to get to Metropolis.
That was one of the major quibbles I had with the Smallville series. Metropolis was FAR too close to Smallville.
From Metropolis, if you were high enough you should be able to see the Appalachain mountains in the background, but not from Smallville.
