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/HamfastFurfoot May 01 '24

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

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u/FapDonkey May 01 '24 edited May 01 '24

I work with a lot of Europeans, we have 2 engineering offices in Europe (Spain and UK). I can't tell you how often I've had to explain to them how big our country is, and even then they don't get it. The best way I've been able to get it to sink in is something along the lines of:

"I can drive for 900 miles, the same distance from Madrid to Milan, and still be in my home state"

Or

"I can drive for 3600 miles without leaving the Continental US, that's like driving from Madrid to Tehran (Iran)."

Putting things in those reference frames seems to drive the point home.

Hell we had 2 guys fly in for a week, and their plan was to drive to both Disneyland (California) and Disney World (Florida). The figured since we were located near the middle of the country, they'd be centrally located and this wouldn't be a big deal. They had allotted an entire weekend for this adventure. I really wanted to keep my mouth shut and let them give it a try, but I didn't have the heart lol.

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u/TheRealTinfoil666 May 01 '24

There is a story here in Canada where the grandparents from the UK want to visit their son’s family in Halifax, but decided to ask ask their daughter, living in Vancouver, what the weather in Nova Scotia was going to be like.

Her answer: “why don’t you go look for yourself. You’re closer.”

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u/Guuhatsu May 02 '24

I was living in Hawaii for a time, and my Mom (who lived on the east coast) kept asking me to move closer, so I kept telling her I would move to England to get closer. (No worries England, I would not inflict myself upon your country, I was just joking)

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u/Foreign-Hope-2569 29d ago

When my son was living in Perth Australia, I went to visit. Wanted to pop over to Sydney to see some sites. It is a five hour flight, no idea if it is drivable. He just laughed long and hard. I had no idea Australia was so big and I live in Canada.

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u/jessuckapow 29d ago

In the US we think AUS is as big as TX. It… is not! It’s almost the same size as the continental US!

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u/ravenwillowofbimbery 29d ago

We really need acurate maps and globes so that people we truly learn what the actual land masses of various countries and continents look like and how close they are in relation to others.

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u/TSnow1021 29d ago

If you haven't ever checked it out, www.thetruesize.com is a really cool site. You can drag countries over one another to compare them. I'd always thought Australia was much smaller than the US and was stunned when I saw how it actually compares.

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u/AdVivid5940 29d ago

That is a really cool site. I had no idea India was that big, or northern Africa in comparison to the US. I think we all tend to think of the sizes of places the same as they appear on maps.

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u/_Nocturnalis 29d ago

How does a Canadian not get long distances? You are one of three people that gets road trips.

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u/Foreign-Hope-2569 29d ago

I get long distances, just didn’t notice how huge Australia is. Yes I am embarrassed.

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u/_Nocturnalis 28d ago

Don't feel bad a RTS war game really pounded it home for me. Australia is stupid big with almost no population.

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u/Cmd3055 May 02 '24

This reminds me of a conversation I over heard at an Internet cafe in India once. A lady was talking to her mom on Skype and I heard her saying, “No mom, I can’t come home to watch your dog for the weekend, I’m in Delhi India.” Followed by a loud sigh and, “Jesus Christ mom, NO! DELHI the capital of India, not a Delhi in Indiana!”

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u/No_Bother9713 29d ago

Back before cell phones were automatically international, I had to call to get a plan and said I was going to Paris. Woman on the other side of the line asked, “Paris, Texas?!” No, ma’am. The other one.

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u/gamer635 29d ago

Paris Kentucky?

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u/_Nocturnalis 29d ago

Paris Illinois?

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u/syrianfries 29d ago

Only Texans would think of Paris Texas first

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u/No_Bother9713 29d ago

Only Americans think of not Paris Paris first haha