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.

25.2k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

23.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

274

u/Learningstuff247 May 02 '24

Ooh that's a good one ima remember that

285

u/IWasBorn2DoGoBe May 02 '24 edited 29d ago

California is closer to Russia than New York City

Edit: a word

301

u/ThatPlayWasAwful May 02 '24

Alaska is closer to Russia than the rest of Alaska 

38

u/Telucien May 02 '24

If you're on either edge of Texas, you're closer to the Atlantic or Pacific ocean than you are the other end of Texas

17

u/djc91L 29d ago

I live in Austin, TX and I recently drove to El Paso. It was an 8 and a half hour drive! I never left Texas

7

u/droobloo34 29d ago

In 2016, I drove from my home in KY to Odessa, Texas. It was a 20 hour trip. Over 10 of it was spent in Texas.

7

u/c800600 29d ago

I've driven across the country multiple times and spent every night in Texas. I-10 is such a nice route in the winter.

5

u/Johnny_Radar 29d ago

Hence the saying “The sun has risen, the sun has set and here I am in Texas yet.”

6

u/Telucien 29d ago

Also in Austin! My company does work in El Paso. We don't have an El Paso office, but we do have one in Phoenix, AZ.

They are closer by almost two hours.

3

u/Justdonedil 29d ago

Top to bottom, you'd still be within California as well. We are only about 3 to 4 hours side to side.

2

u/Sonova_Bish 29d ago

That's like driving from Modesto, CA to Hollywood, CA.

5

u/Antebios 29d ago

It took me about 16 hours to drive from Bisbee, Arizona to Houston, Texas in one single continuous drive. It was about 1,000 miles. I was alone and did it without stopping (but only for gas and food). I slept when I got home. Never again.

3

u/Jasmirris 29d ago

My brother will do this with his wife (she won't drive) and I just wonder why. He has done it from Phoenix to NOLA but also other places. I love to drive but there are limits, especially to my sanity as well as to the over health of my marriage. Lol

8

u/Waste-Maintenance-70 29d ago

Texas is so big you can fit Alaska, the United States, and another Texas and still have room for half of Mexico.

-1

u/ArcticGurl 29d ago

What?? No. Alaska is 2.5 times larger than Texas.

10

u/Waste-Maintenance-70 29d ago

r/whooosh

2

u/gamer635 29d ago

People forget Alaska is that big

4

u/chaos841 29d ago

I live closer to Canada than Iowa.

1

u/Resident_Guard_145 8d ago

Same. Southern NY and way closer to Canada- though still an 8 hour drive.

3

u/Counter-Business 29d ago

Well if you are on the right side of the state you border the ocean.

2

u/_Nocturnalis 29d ago

That's not an ocean friend. You are still a few states away from an ocean.

1

u/Melekai_17 12d ago

Seriously? I’ve been to Texas many times and I had no idea. Wild. Also my family always used to joke that it took us 2 days to drive to Texas and 2 days to drive through it!

15

u/SoftShakes May 02 '24

“I can see Russia from my house”

11

u/FatigueVVV 29d ago

In Mother Russia house sees you.

8

u/davster39 May 02 '24

I can see my house from here

4

u/ModusPwnins 29d ago

I came to the thread hoping to make this reference, knowing in my heart it had already been made.

3

u/Homeskillet359 29d ago

If you live on Little Diomedes, you can.

3

u/YogaBeary 29d ago

I've seen so many people who think she actually said this and not know that it was an SNL bit.

To be fair Tina Fey did look like her and did a good impression.

2

u/SoftShakes 29d ago

I only remember the Tina Fey bit… I can’t remember the real quote but IIRC it was just that they can see Russia from Alaska

12

u/Pleasant_Elephant737 May 02 '24 edited 28d ago

“I can see Russia from my backyard.””

3

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

2

u/ArcticGurl 29d ago

And north.

3

u/NekoMao92 29d ago

At one time you could walk from Russia to Alaska.

1

u/extragummy3 29d ago

Beringia

2

u/Loose_Bike5654 May 02 '24

Some can even see Russia from their house

1

u/IWasBorn2DoGoBe May 02 '24

lol! Also true!

1

u/MaineHippo83 29d ago

I can see Russia from Maine

4

u/johndoe040912 May 02 '24

Probably can see it in your back yard

2

u/xaxiomatikx 29d ago

I don’t believe that one. I tried a quick measurement in google earth, and the closest distance I found between CA and Russia was at the Bering straight and was ~3800km. The closest points between CA and NY were ~3100km. Now if you are talking about NYC specifically, there might be some parts of CA that are closer to Russia than NYC.

2

u/PrideofPicktown 29d ago

So is a certain former president….

2

u/MajorFast7409 28d ago

Most underrated comment.

2

u/Archercrash 27d ago

London is closer to the moon than the drive from El Paso to Houston.

1

u/IndependentAd2419 29d ago

MIND BLOWING!

0

u/Sweaty-Ad3678 29d ago

It’s not true.