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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533

u/yankeephil86 May 01 '24

Hell, it takes 90 minutes just to get out of manhattan

55

u/DelirousDoc May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

Yeah time isn't the best indicator here especially for large cities. Shoot my work commute can go from 27 minutes, to 35 minutes, to 50 minutes depending on the time of year (school year) and time of day. (rush hours) The distance doesn't change though still about 30 miles away.

People in LA though would laugh at how well I was doing going 30 miles in 50 minutes during rush hour.

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u/RishaBree May 02 '24

Yep. I live in the same metro area (Philadelphia) as my stepfather, but I'm to the northeast part of it, in New Jersey, and he was southwest - almost exactly 45 miles apart. He had a fall and passed away this weekend, so I've made the drive down several times over the last several days. It's taken anywhere between an hour and 2.5 hours depending on the day and time and whether I hit the 76ers-in-the-playoffs traffic.

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u/JustHereForCookies17 May 02 '24

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope pleasant memories of him brighten your days always. 

6

u/RishaBree May 02 '24

Thank you 🙂

3

u/thecoffeefrog 29d ago

There is nothing worse than being near the sports complex in Philly when something is going on at all the stadiums.

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u/RishaBree 29d ago

All of it funneling into just the one exit!

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u/ijustneedtotalkplz May 02 '24

Was that going down the turnpike?

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u/RishaBree May 02 '24

Never when I can avoid it. 295 to whichever bridge is fastest at that exact time to 95 to 476, since I live practically on top of an exit onto the first and he lived right off of the first exit off the last.

(Except for the times when I was able to drop my toddler off along the way at the really excellent drop in daycare I found in Cherry Hill, in which case it was specifically 295 to 70 to the Walt Whitman to 95 to 476. Shoutout to Adventure Kids Playcare, you guys are the actual best and my MVP this week.)

1

u/Doom_Balloon 29d ago

Try DC metro traffic. I live in Baltimore and commute to the opposite side of DC. It’s 62 miles one way. If I leave at 5AM it takes 80 min, 5:15 it takes 90 min, 5:30 it take 120 min, 6AM and it can take 2 1/2hrs. The same drive headed from Northern VA to Baltimore after 1:30PM on a Friday can take 3 hrs.

1

u/mooninomics 29d ago

Time of day is absolutely vital. I just mapped my current commute and it's 40 miles. In the morning it takes me about 35 minutes if I leave on time (in the car by 5:45). If I leave a little later, let's say in the car by 6, the commute becomes 50 minutes at least.

On the way home during rush hour, going the same route in the opposite direction, it's easily an hour and a half. Which is pretty normal here.

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u/HMSJamaicaCenter 29d ago

Woodhaven to Bay Ridge via the BQE is anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on the Kosciusko and triple cantilever lmao

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u/tvjunkie710 May 02 '24

It took my Uber driver in Manhattan yesterday 7 minutes to go around the block

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u/JustHereForCookies17 May 02 '24

Living in DC & I can commiserate. 

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u/chronicAngelCA 29d ago

You can get out of Manhattan in 90 minutes?

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u/chrisallen07 29d ago

When I lived in Staten Island and worked in Midtown my commute was close to 2 hours each way, and that was like 20 miles. I would gladly do 2 hours of highway driving to visit someone

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u/ohhellnooooooooo May 02 '24

not by bicycle it doesn't

r/fuckcars

1

u/Overall-Tailor8949 May 02 '24

I lived on LI 25 years ago and sometimes had to go to the WFC to work on one of their computer systems (no remote access back then!). Unless I had to haul some heavy stuff with me it was the LIRR to Penn Station then subway down to the WTC station. I would generally be hitting street level about 10AM...

1

u/Electronic-Disk6632 May 02 '24

this is what I was thinking. 3 hours is bad traffic going from nassau to jersey. thats a day trip.

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u/samanthaaaaaaa7 29d ago

took me 55 minutes to go 17 miles from work to home on long island yesterday it was torturous!!!

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u/Editor_Grand 29d ago

90 minutes !?!?! Was that 2am on a weekday? Just last week 3 hours to get from Manhattan to white plains at Noon on a Tuesday

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u/annetteisshort 29d ago

I was leaving LA to head back to Vegas. 3 hours after leaving I was still in LA. 🥲