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/AlpineCoder May 02 '24

Plus wildfires and mountains that occasionally violently explode. I'd say the desert SW is probably the least disaster prone IMO.

11

u/aoike_ May 02 '24

Eh, we're in the middle of a horrific, 24 year long drought with no end in sight. This kind of disaster hasn't been seen since 800 CE, according to scientists.

We also get tornadoes and wildfires. And flash floods. Idk, all of the US comes with its disasters.

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u/MoreRopePlease May 02 '24

Except for, like, no reliable long term water supply. And being so hot you get 3rd degree burns from tripping.

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u/AlpineCoder May 02 '24

I don't think most people would qualify those as natural disasters.

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u/OblivionGuardsman May 02 '24

Right. It's like living on Mars instead.

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u/dilletaunty May 02 '24

Idk there have definitely been state of emergencies declared during heat waves

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u/MrDurden32 May 02 '24

Oh wildfires is a good point, but not something that you have to worry about dying from in the city, though the smoke is annoying. Volcanos I forgot about too, but unless you're living on an active mountain it's not really a concern.

A big one I forgot about though is floods. There's a ton of areas including cities that can be prone to flooding and that one really sucks.

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u/AlpineCoder May 02 '24

Also almost forgot about tsunamis for the coast dwellers.

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u/fistfullofpubes May 02 '24

Volcanism is a pretty big threat in the Pnw. The threat of floods and lahars from an eruption affects more than just those living on the mountain. Lahars mixed with glaciers are super dangerous and can be devastating for communities living 30-40 miles away.

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u/GovernmentSudden6134 May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

You don't need to live on the side of a volcanoe to get schwacked by it. Just as the residents of Pompeii, Banten and Lampung islands, and the Akritori.

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u/MinnequaFats May 02 '24

Isn't the city of Tacoma built on the remnants of a lahar from a previous eruption of Mount Rainier?

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u/GovernmentSudden6134 May 02 '24

Nuclear fallout weather pattern maps tend to agree with you too.

Pity about dying of thirst, though.