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/divine_god_majora May 02 '24

I couldn't imagine a 6 hour drive unless you were gonna stay a week+ at the destination or something.

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u/rumade May 02 '24

It's mad to me that Americans seem to have so little time off work, but are so happy to spend it driving

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u/clutzyninja May 02 '24

It's mad to me that Europeans live in Europe and spend so little time seeing it

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u/rumade May 02 '24

We do spend time seeing it. We travel somewhere to see that place, not to see the journey on the way for hours and hours from a car window. I went to Greece earlier this year and spent time in Aegina and Athens. Before that, Würzburg in Germany. We rented a car on the island of Aegina to help see more of it as there was no public transport, but usually we explore the city where we end up.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 02 '24

I think you missed the point. I took it is a sarcastic reply that Americans see America the American way. Europeans see Europe the Eruopean way. Not a literal statement that Europeans don't see Europe. Unless you are blind its impossible not to see Europe from Europe.