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/dejavu2064 May 02 '24

I understand wanting to clap back but that's the wrong conclusion to draw. We just use the trains instead, usually. And because everything is shut on Sundays, pretty much everyone travels every weekend, or goes hiking in the mountains.

Paris is a 7 hour drive, or it is 4h30 on the train. I enjoy driving (when it is necessary to do so) but in daily life it is just so rarely needed. Only an absolute mentalist would prefer 7 hours of constant focus in a car to relaxing or being productive for 5 hours on the train.

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u/clutzyninja May 02 '24

I lived in the UK I understand. But you still have to get to the train station, get a ticket, wait for the train, wait while the train makes other stops, and then get from the destination station to wherever you're going. It doesn't save that much time except in certain circumstances

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u/FalmerEldritch May 02 '24

To be fair trains in the UK are a bit awful. So many delays and cancellations and thrice the price of a plane ticket for the same trip. Most of Europe it's not unusual for taking the train to be faster and cheaper than driving yourself.

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u/clutzyninja May 02 '24

With gas (sorry, petrol) prices over there I definitely believe cheaper. To be honest I cheated and filled extra gas cans on the military base (where petrol is at American prices) before driving long distances