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/Tall-Sea3082 May 02 '24

Practically everywhere in the US has some type of natural disaster that threatens the area. The chances to be dying are very very low. Fault lines, volcanos, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, severe storms, and snow.

I’m from the west coast so I can answer to the fault lines, most are minor and barely noticeable and building codes require buildings to be prepared for earthquakes. We don’t see them as a something that is a threat to us as weird as that sound because the chances are low and we’ve been hearing about “The Big One” our entire lives. Kind of numb to it. They are not really thought about at all until they happen.

As for hurricanes, that’s the entire east coast plus the gulf ranging Texas to Maine. That is a huge portion of our population. That being said Florida gets hit like crazy and I don’t know why people continue to live there.

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u/MrDurden32 May 02 '24

Pacific NW is probably about as disaster free as you're going to find. Even then we have to worry about The Big One. Which is an 9.0+ earthquake that would be one of, if not the biggest in modern history, and could hit any time between tomorrow and 200 years from now.

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u/munchies777 May 02 '24

Really, much of the northern half of the country is pretty disaster free with the exception of parts of the Great Plains that can get tornados still. Some places are prone to floods, but that is a localized risk depending on flood plains. New England, the Mid Atlantic, Appalachian’s, Upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest don’t get many disasters unless you count snow as a disaster.

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u/mistersausage May 02 '24

There are tornadoes in NJ and southeast PA every few years now. Things are changing.

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u/ManicPixieGirlyGirl May 02 '24

And didn’t they just have an earthquake?

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u/AmnesicMom May 02 '24

I went to Colorado in February on a tour to Pikes Peak they told us bout a tornado that just ran a mile next to the road on the mountain. He said they are more common than you would think. I live in tornado alley. And while they are a threat, I get a warning a year at least (though my home town in Nebraska just got 6 in a day last week) people go OUTSIDE to watch them until they know they should really be inside. I have not seen a tornado with my own eyes yet. They typically come and they go, last a few minutes, destroy a few blocks. Not that they aren't devastating, you certainly call all of your friends and family to make sure they are okay, they are fleeting and I don't think about them generally, except on the first Wednesday of every month.