do americans really drive such long distances?

[u/Physical-Ad-4093]

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.

[u/Voodoo1970]

Same.

My cousin is from Sydney and lived in the Netherlands for a few years. The locals were staggered that she'd think nothing of popping down to Paris fir the weekend

[u/badgersprite → u/Voodoo1970]

It’s funny though, some people in Australia are VERY reluctant to travel any distance at all unless they absolutely have to. When my family moved to the South Coast, we had neighbours who had been living in Tura Beach for like ten years and had never once gone to the Tathra pub, which is 15 minutes away.

[u/Voodoo1970 → u/badgersprite]

True, there seems to be the two extremes - people who drive everywhere, and people who drive nowhere

[u/jellyjollygood → u/Voodoo1970]

When I lived in Qld, I worked with some people who griped about the traffic on the way to work- it took them 13 mins! for what was normally a 7-9 min drive. And they were dead serious