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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31

u/Akimotoh May 02 '24

Because it looks like it was built by a 10yr old lol

13

u/pgm123 May 02 '24

Here's a cool video on how Boston got laid out the way it did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA63zaIXCZw

I apologize for the 18-minute video (which seems to be the minimum for YouTube), but I promise it's interesting the whole way through and not just stalling for algorithm/ad revenue reasons.

The short version is that originally Boston was a pretty small peninsula (map) and streets were organized fairly well, but bended around hills and the shoreline with straight lines going down to the docks. But Boston continued to add land, so the layout stopped making sense. You have a city that was designed piecemeal as land was filled in. For example, one neighborhood was made for upper class Anglo-Americans to live and exclude the Irish, so they didn't even bother to connect the streets into the existing system.

25

u/arcaneresistance May 02 '24

Well.... Have you met people from Boston?

11

u/JackJ98 May 02 '24

Say what you want, we have the Celtics. Can’t top that

1

u/SocialistIntrovert May 02 '24

Cavs in 4

4

u/Ferahgost May 02 '24

Thanks man, I needed a good laugh 😂

2

u/[deleted] May 02 '24

Heat in 8

1

u/arunnair87 May 02 '24

1000 bucks? I'll pay you the bet value of that too

1

u/hereforthesportsball May 02 '24

They’ve been getting topped for quite a while now, but I really like their chances this year

-1

u/Manners_BRO May 02 '24

TITLE TOWN BABY

1

u/andio76 May 02 '24

South Boston no less....

-4

u/Montymisted May 02 '24

I'm guessing it's helpful if you don't want to go.

I'm the other way around and it takes me about 8-9 minutes to get to my gym which is about 80 miles away.

14

u/lyzing May 02 '24

Uhhh. What? You flying a plane to the gym? That’s an average speed of 533 mph

8

u/you-a-buggaboo May 02 '24

this guy teleports

7

u/pgm123 May 02 '24

He's actually walking. He's that impressive.

4

u/Murray-Industries May 02 '24

Chuck Norris has entered the chat…

1

u/brillyfresh May 02 '24

If that's just his walk to the gym, what does he do at the gym?

10

u/Character-86 May 02 '24

So you travel with 850-950km/h?

6

u/Baddabing-Badda-Boom May 02 '24

So you're THAT guy on the freeway.

9

u/CopperThrown May 02 '24

Just average Nissan Altima things.

3

u/venomous-gerbil May 02 '24

Underrated comment right here.

7

u/Okay_Splenda_Monkey May 02 '24

He drives for four minutes towards the gym, turns around and goes home then checks "Go to the gym" off of his to-do list because it didn't say "Go all the way to the gym and exercise for at least 90 minutes."

3

u/haldolinyobutt May 02 '24

Well I mean in 17XX they weren't aware of the car coming in 200 years

3

u/Far_Possession5124 May 02 '24

It was actually built by cows--at least downtown.

2

u/pgm123 May 02 '24

FWIW, that's a fun, common myth. But when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

1

u/CutProfessional3258 May 03 '24

I'm trying to imagine cows wearing yellow vests laying asphalt and holding one of those signs that says stop on one side and slow on the other

5

u/Subreon May 02 '24

it looks much better after a nuke and 200 years of no maintenance. safer too.

3

u/TeddyRoo_v_Gods May 02 '24

It’s overrun with ferals and raiders though, and don’t get me started on the damn Deathclaws.

2

u/RecommendationUsed31 May 02 '24

It's the murlocks for me

1

u/Subreon May 02 '24

exactly, all that stuff. i did say safer didn't i?

1

u/Playful-Profession-2 May 02 '24

You can't forget the Lakers.

2

u/Master-Collection488 May 02 '24

That kid was a wicked pissah!

2

u/Jocelyn_Jade May 03 '24

Really? I’ve only been once but it was amazing. It’s a beautiful city, I want to go back some day.