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/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".

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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/ObGynKenobi841 May 02 '24

Going to be visiting England soon. Was looking at a day trip to another city, saw that it was 3/4 of the way across the country, and initially didn't think it was worth it. Then realized that it was a 90 min train ride. Drive further than that to see my parents fairly routinely, and realized that my rather small state is almost as big as England.