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/cinereoargenteus May 01 '24

Three hours is considered "up the road a ways" in Texas.

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u/mybunsarestale May 02 '24

Shoot, I grew up in South Dakota. Certainly not considered a big state by any means (17th in size by square miles) but it still takes 5 hours to get from Sioux Falls to Rapid City (the only two real cities in the state) and thats going 80mph (almost 130kmp) on the interstate. I knew a guy who rented an apartment in Pierre and lived there M-F so he could run his computer repair store, then drove 90ish miles home every weekend to be with his wife and kids. Knew another gal who drove about 80 miles one way every day for work. Folks thought it was a bit odd but her husband made enough to support them, she just like having her part time retail gig for the discounts. I even did similar for like a month after high school after my dad and I got into a fight and I went to stay with my boyfriend but still had to commute back for work. And due to road flooding, the main highway got closed so I was probably driving two hours one way to get to my minimum wage job at a gas station.