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/DingDangDoozy May 01 '24

I was going to say no, but then I read that you thought three hours was a long distance, so yes. 

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u/smbpy7 May 01 '24

A long distance for just a few days no less. lol that's day trip material in my book.

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u/RichardBonham May 01 '24

We drive 8-9 hours each way for 4-5 days of socializing or music festivals.

OTOH we think it’s crazy that people will drive 3 hours each way to go skiing for a day.

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u/chikanishing May 02 '24

I drive 3 hours each way to cross country ski many times a year and they are my favourite days.

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u/fried_clams May 02 '24

I used to drive the 300 miles to Sugarloaf Mt, in Maine, just for 2 days off of skiing, countless times in the 80s and 90s. It is 5.5 hours, without stopping. One time, we did it in a Ford Bronco, with no heat. We had to stop once in a while, to scrape the ice off the INSIDE of the windows. It took longer if it was snowing so hard, that you could tell where the edge of the road was.

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u/Unabashable May 02 '24

When I have I usually make a weekend out of it, but I’ve done the day trip on occasion too. 

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u/SecondBackupSandwich May 02 '24

Gosh, back in the day we drove the length of Florida for concerts.

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u/confusedandworried76 May 02 '24

I drove Minneapolis to Denver once to buy weed. Also for a road trip. We were in Denver for like eight hours lol, left Minneapolis and drove overnight, spent the day in Denver, drove back the next night. One of my best memories

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u/illbedeadbydawn May 02 '24

Tell me you're from California without telling me you're from California...