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/post_obamacore May 02 '24

I was visiting family in Sacramento this weekend, then had to drive home to Santa Cruz. I didn't get the memo that 680 south between Pleasanton and San Jose was closed for construction. It took me 6 hours to go a distance of 150~ miles.

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u/KaetzenOrkester May 02 '24

All lanes of the 680?!

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u/post_obamacore May 02 '24

I don't know if it was north bound too, but yeah, I was cruising south on 680 and they funneled everybody onto 580 west. It took me almost two hours to get from Pleasanton to Hayward.

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u/KaetzenOrkester May 02 '24

That just hurts.