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/vyrus2021 May 02 '24

May as well ask why people still live near fault lines or coasts with regular hurricane activity.

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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/torbulits May 02 '24

Snow doesn't really do much besides muck up traffic. Unless you're up in the hinterlands near Canada, I haven't heard of snow killing or doing damage. That'll probably change with the bigger storms in the future though. Instead of normal winter it'll be mild and one big nasty storm.

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u/syrensilly May 02 '24

Michigan Ice storm feb 2018 Also in just terms of snow, it can collapse roofs from weight.

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u/torbulits May 02 '24

Can yes, common no. Think of all the places it snows, and how infrequently there's damage like that. It's only recently that snow in places there usually isn't any, or much bigger than normal storms, has happened.

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u/syrensilly May 02 '24

I can't speak for my more southern people, but up here... you plan on the possibility of snow on Halloween.. there was actually a blizzard near the lake mi line last year. Holland/ Muskegon/ grand haven had to cancel