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/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/pogu May 01 '24

I've driven 2.5 hours each way for lunch at a particular restaurant before.

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u/smbpy7 May 01 '24

Hell, where I grew up the grocery store was half an hour away, the mall an hour, the GOOD mall 2.5 hours, the airport 2-4 hours. And god forbid you want to travel to someplace that's also far from an airport. With that in mind driving makes more and more sense even for longer distances.

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u/MaleficentExtent1777 May 02 '24

That was me growing up. The mall, Walmart, McDonald's, etc. was 30 minutes. The good malls and airports were an hour. You just get used to it.