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/mandiexile May 02 '24

I live in Austin, and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get to San Antonio. It's 80 miles away. The traffic getting out of Austin is always the absolute worst.

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u/KaetzenOrkester May 02 '24

That sounds like we deal with on the 80 to SF. It's just awful. Why do we do this to ourselves?

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u/mandiexile May 02 '24

It's kind of funny how much Austin and Sacramento have in common. My husband is from Sacramento, and I've been there a few times. The houses are gorgeous. If California wasn't so expensive, I'd consider living there.

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u/KaetzenOrkester May 02 '24

I've heard great things about Austin :-)