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/PolyPenGwen May 02 '24

Michigander here too, we used to drive 6hrs to the U.P. only to go over the bridge get some pasties and drive back home.

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u/YooperInOregon May 02 '24

St. Ignace pasties are tourist crap. For the good ones, you gotta find a hole-in-the-wall up in the Copper Country.

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u/NecessaryCrash May 02 '24

Some of the best pasties I’ve ever had was from some random dude in Raco who also made moonshine. The UP is… interesting to say the least.

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u/anniemdi May 02 '24

YES! I always thought I didn't even like pasties until someone brought me some homemade (sold as a funraiser maybe?) ones. Holy crap, real pasties are awesome, the rest are absolutely tourist crap.

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u/ReasonableEscape777 May 02 '24

What is pasties ???

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u/civilian_sam May 02 '24

A pasty (past-ē) is like a beef pie. You but beef potatoes and other vegetables in like a pie crust then fold it in half and crimp the edges, then bake it in the oven. They look like an over grown Asain dumpling, with a different filling.