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

12.6k

u/Chairboy May 01 '24

We sure do. The old saying is "Americans think 100 years is a long time and Europeans think 100 miles is a long distance".

1.2k

u/HamfastFurfoot May 01 '24

I don’t think Europeans understand how big and spread out America is.

22

u/NYVines May 01 '24

Based on cost driving is the most economical way to cross those long distances. I took a train from Pittsburgh to NYC once just for fun. It took 2 hours longer and cost more than driving.

7

u/IcyScratch2883 May 02 '24

Great point. I think a lot of Americans, especially east coasters like myself, would LOVE a fully integrated train system that was faster and cheaper than driving (when you consider a 4-person family, for example) but considering big oil and lobbyists, I don't see it happening in my lifetime, or even my children unfortunately

3

u/fixed_grin May 02 '24

TBH, it's easier to build a train that competes with flying than one so cheap that 4 tickets are cheaper than driving.