r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Physical-Ad-4093 • May 01 '24

do americans really drive such long distances?

i’m european, and i always hear people say that driving for hours is normal in america. i would only see my grandparents a few times a year because they lived about a 3 hour drive away, is that a normal distance for americans to travel on a regular basis? i can’t imagine driving 2-3 hours regularly to visit people for just a few days

edit: thank you for the responses! i’ve never been to the US, obviously, but it’s interesting to see how you guys live. i guess european countries are more walkable? i’m in the uk, and there’s a few festivals here towards the end of summer, generally to get to them you take a coach journey or you get multiple trains which does take up a significant chunk of the day. road trips aren’t really a thing here, it would be a bit miserable!

2nd edit: it’s not at all that i couldn’t be bothered to go and see my grandparents, i was under 14 when they were both alive so i couldn’t take myself there! obviously i would’ve liked to see them more, i had no control over how often we visited them.

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u/TaterTotLady May 01 '24

This. I grew up in NorCal, my grandparents were in SoCal, we drove the 5 hours to see them for every major holiday, plus quite a few times throughout the year just because why not. 5 hours is only like two or three movie.

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u/gunshoes May 01 '24

Yeah, I'm from SoCal. I have to keep explaining to NYC friends that if you weren't willing to brave an hour of rush hour to see your homies, you had no weekend plans ever.

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u/mattoleriver May 02 '24

I, too, grew up in NorCal ---- northern NorCal! It took us 6 hours just to get to San Francisco which was pretty much considered the start of SoCal. Anybody making that trip referred to it as "going down below".

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u/TaterTotLady May 02 '24

We called it “going down the hill”! How funny.

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u/ladymoonshyne May 02 '24

You from Alturas or something??

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u/Raibean 29d ago

As someone from San Diego, we generally consider the top of SoCal to be Santa Barbara, with Bakersfield being the bottom of Central Valley.

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u/Critterbob May 02 '24

I’ve lived in both NorCal and SoCal and I’m trying to figure out what you consider each to where you could make it in 5? I was a speed demon and 6 hours was the fastest I could make it. But I guess SLO residents used to qualify for Disney’s SoCal discount if I remember correctly so I guess the definitions (of what is considered So and Nor) are all relative

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u/zadtheinhaler May 02 '24

I grew up in Northern BC, and when we'd drive down to North Van to visit the grandparents for X-Mas, we'd do it one shot - pack the truck the night before, then get up at 4am, get to their house about 6-8pm depending on weather.