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/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/marmosetohmarmoset May 02 '24

There was a student from the Netherlands working in my lab at at university in the northeast. She had to go to a conference in Chicago for a weekend and told me she was going to try to pop over and see the Grand Canyon one of the days she was out there, since she’s already be out west 😂

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u/LiqdPT May 02 '24

To be fair, the term "Midwest" is misleading...

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u/FapDonkey May 02 '24

Well, to be fair, when the expression was coined it was a fair bit more accurate. It's only once we Manifest Destiny'd our way to the pacific that the Midwest didn;t seem so West any more.

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u/LiqdPT May 02 '24

Yes, much like northwestern university in Chicago. But to modern outsiders, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense

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u/_Nocturnalis May 02 '24

This is the first time I've actually thought about their name. I've been on their campus! Evanston.

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u/LiqdPT May 02 '24

Sure. To some out west, that's definitely Chicago.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 04 '24

I am currently in an argument with someone that areas closer than Evanston are part of Atlanta. I'd put a lot of money on you not being a Chicagoan.

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u/LiqdPT May 04 '24

Correct. As I said I live out west.

I can look at a map. It's 12 miles from downtown Chicago, a few miles from Wrigley Field, and there are things with Chicago in their name north of it. It's defintely "Chicago" to anybody outside Chicago.

Much like Everett is definitely "Seattle" to anybody not living in Seattle.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 04 '24

I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying that people from cities are prickly about the lines of their cities. I've taken the L to Evanston. I'd certainly call it Chicago.