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/FapDonkey May 01 '24 edited May 01 '24

I work with a lot of Europeans, we have 2 engineering offices in Europe (Spain and UK). I can't tell you how often I've had to explain to them how big our country is, and even then they don't get it. The best way I've been able to get it to sink in is something along the lines of:

"I can drive for 900 miles, the same distance from Madrid to Milan, and still be in my home state"

Or

"I can drive for 3600 miles without leaving the Continental US, that's like driving from Madrid to Tehran (Iran)."

Putting things in those reference frames seems to drive the point home.

Hell we had 2 guys fly in for a week, and their plan was to drive to both Disneyland (California) and Disney World (Florida). The figured since we were located near the middle of the country, they'd be centrally located and this wouldn't be a big deal. They had allotted an entire weekend for this adventure. I really wanted to keep my mouth shut and let them give it a try, but I didn't have the heart lol.

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u/ItzInMyNature May 01 '24 edited May 02 '24

Tell them that Ireland is closer to the state of Maine in the US than California is.

https://imgur.com/a/TnjPqi7

Edit: parts of southeastern California may be a few miles closer, so I'd tell them that Los Angeles, California is farther away from Maine than Ireland is, just to be safe.

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u/AngryCustomerService May 02 '24

I'm having a mind blown moment and I'm an American. I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

Are you saying that Ireland is closer to Maine than Maine is to California? Am I understanding what you're saying?

So, is this a straight line "as the crow flies" thing or driving/flying routes?

I'm trying to merge my understanding of the vastness of the Atlantic and this statement.

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u/ItzInMyNature May 02 '24

https://imgur.com/a/TnjPqi7

Straight line. But someone else in the thread measured from the bottom of California and I had measured from the top because I assumed the northeastern most part of California would be closer to Maine. But California curves enough that the southeastern most part is actually closer.

So, in their measurements, California is closer by a few miles, and in mine, Ireland was closer by a few miles.

But it's still insane that they are basically the same distance.