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> Probably people are used to think about distance between stationary places so they look at the orbits, not to where planets are on their orbit.

These people are more correct than you give them credit for.

1. If you look at their orbits (and not momentary positions), then the orbit of Venus is closer (less distance) to the orbit of Earth than the orbit of Mercury is.

2. It takes less delta-v to go from Earth to Venus than to Mercury.

Venus has the smallest average distance from each point of the Earth's orbit to the nearest point on the other planet's orbit. I.e. whenever we're shown a diagram of the solar system, the "circle" that is Venus's orbit is closest (has the most similar size) to that of Earth's. I don't know the correct term for this measure.

I think that the trick - that it's not automatic for most people - is "on average". I guess people tend to think about the minimum distance rather than the average.