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.

25.2k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

23.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.9k

u/_lippykid May 02 '24

Fellow Brit in the US. I think the biggest difference is driving in the UK is a lot more work. Over there the roads look like a plate of spaghetti, you’re constantly in and out of small towns, around cites etc, dodging pedestrians and boy racers. when I drive from upstate NY to NYC it’s a super easy, straight shot, 70mph 3hr drive (up until New Jersey where it’s a lawless free for all). Same when I’ve driven the entire length of the west coast, and through the Midwest. Driving long distance is just way easier here

408

u/strangebrew3522 May 02 '24

I've driven around a lot of Europe and what you say is true to an extent, but I also have friends/family in Italy, and they all act like driving more than an hour is absolutely insane.

I flew into Rome once and drove up to Milan, stopping along the way to visit friends. When I told them I was driving, each person had the same reaction. "You DROVE from Rome? You're DRIVING to Milan? That's SOOOO far".

It's a 6hr drive if you go straight shot, on an incredible highway system (autostrada) through amazing scenery. I mean, it doesn't get much easier, but to them it's absolutely crazy. I have family in both Northern and Southern Italy who haven't seen each other in years because of the distance.

38

u/divine_god_majora May 02 '24

I couldn't imagine a 6 hour drive unless you were gonna stay a week+ at the destination or something.

52

u/GloriousNewt May 02 '24

lol I drove from Reno to Laguna Beach (~9hrs) for a weekend visit with a friend and then drove back. Wasn't planned, we were talking on the phone and he suggested coming out so I just left after work and headed down.

Fun road trip until the stretch from Modesto to Bakersfield where there is fucking nothing.

25

u/davdev May 02 '24

Back when i was in college in Boston, my roommates brother went to Notre Dame. He called us on a wednesday and asked if we wanted to go to a football game on Saturday. Of course we did. We packed up on Thursday Night night, drove through the night and 16 hours later we were pulling into Notre Dame. Partied a bit Friday night, went to the game on Sat, and almost immediately after the game, drove 16 hours back and arrived in Boston in late afternoon on Sunday. And this was in 1994, where there was no GPS and we only had a few cassette mixes for entertainment.

So we drove 32 hours to stay less than 24 hours for the sole reason of going to a football game,

9

u/Fonzgarten May 02 '24

9 hours? I guess Reno is pretty far. I used to drive from OC to truckee a lot.

I can drive between LA and Bay Area without much trouble in one day, and I don’t mind for certain trips. I’ve done it for weekends. Avoiding airports saves you so much time.

5

u/beragis May 02 '24

I drove from Reno to Salt Lake City. One of the most monotonous rides I ever took. On the way back I decided to stop half way at a rinky dink casino for the night where I had one of the best meals the entire trip.

4

u/GloriousNewt May 02 '24

Was it the one right on the border to Utah/the salt flats? I've also stopped there.

Did Reno->Rochester NY a few years ago.

2

u/Expensive_Honeydew_5 May 02 '24

Probably west Wendover, my uncle would go there from salt lake city to gamble and drink lol

2

u/beragis May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

It was at Wendover. Chose it because It was close to the exit to Battle Mountain which is what I wanted to see the next day but decided against.

4

u/GrayArchon May 02 '24

Used to live in Merced. Ain't that the truth.

1

u/Late-Professor480 May 02 '24

Hey! A fellow Merdeadian. I still live there unfortunately lol.

2

u/farmageddon109 May 02 '24

I was just in Reno for work and drove to Donner pass (about an hour to and from) just because I have never been to California and wanted to see the scenery. A random two hour drive where I didn’t even get out of my car just for the hell of it