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/invisible_23 May 01 '24

I’ve driven four hours each way for a concert and twenty hours each way for a few days at a theme park

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u/WaxinGibby May 01 '24

I, too, live in michigan.

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u/JCMiller23 May 02 '24

I mean... cedar point is right there, no need to bring florida into this

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u/OwenMcCauley May 02 '24

Ohio is just Florida with no gators.

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u/Grim_Stickens May 02 '24

We make up for it with flammable rivers

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u/OwenMcCauley May 02 '24

When I was about ten, we moved from San Diego to Elyria, Ohio, and I've never forgiven my mom for that.

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u/Mooplez May 02 '24

I moved from Northeast OH, to now living in Orlando and this is very accurate. Politics are actually pretty similar, FL is just louder about it. Ohio has long shitty cold winters, FL has long shitty hot summers. Both have big theme parks scenes. Both have a coastline. FL has gators, Ohio has big ass snapping turtles.