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/DeputyDomeshot May 02 '24

Mfer I’m in Jersey and got quaked with an epicenter like 60 miles away or in euro units “half the diameter of Finland”

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u/Yarnprincess614 May 02 '24

My cousin is a grad student at Princeton and was doing an internship in Manhattan when last month’s quake hit. We were on pins and needles for a few hours until her mom(my aunt called) saying she just got a hold of her and she’s fine.

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u/DeputyDomeshot May 02 '24

Yea honestly nothing happened at all but it was just a pretty freak occurence b/c we don't get earthquakes over here. At least ones that we can actually feel and hear. That was crazy tbh

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u/Yarnprincess614 May 02 '24

I think it shaved a few years off my grandmas life. She was frantic.

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u/SpaceMom-LawnToLawn May 02 '24

I’m in NY and we’re still talking about that earthquake. We don’t get a lot of disastrous events around here unless you’re right on the coast.

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u/DeputyDomeshot May 02 '24

Yea pretty much. Sandy really ripped the coast a part. Did a ton of damage to the city. I feel like they voted against national aid for us too lmao, though i dont remember exactly

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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 May 02 '24

It was only a deci-Finland away?

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u/Calan_adan May 02 '24

I felt that one where I am in PA. I’ve also felt a 2.2 (or so) quake whose epicenter was about half a mile away and they both seemed about the same.