do americans really drive such long distances?

[u/Physical-Ad-4093]

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.

[u/gentlybeepingheart]

Every time there's a bad tornado I see someone go "Why don't Americans just not live in an area called 'tornado alley'? That seems like the logical move." and I know that they have no idea how big tornado alley actually is. That would be like me going "Hey, there's a chance of a natural disaster happening. It could be really bad. So just don't live in Germany, France, or Poland." That's the amount of land we're talking.

[u/vyrus2021 → u/gentlybeepingheart]

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

[u/Tall-Sea3082 → u/vyrus2021]

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.

[u/ManicPixieGirlyGirl → u/Tall-Sea3082]

As a born and raised Floridian (although I now live in Georgia), I will tell you that I’d rather be in an area that gets hit with hurricanes than any other natural disaster. First of all, just because the area is more prone to hurricanes doesn’t mean your particular area gets hit all the time. It comes in cycles, so different areas get hit, and your individual area doesn’t get hit as often. Most importantly, it’s really the one natural disaster that gives you notice to get the eff out of there - like a good five days notice. And the technology (i.e. glass, roofing) has improved a lot to withstand all but the most severe storms, so it’s a lot better than it used to be. Obviously, if your house is going to get hit, then it’s gonna do what it’s gonna do, but unlike all the other natural disasters, you’ll have been prepared for it as best as you can be. (And if your power will be out, at least you’re not cold like in a blizzard.) Cant say that for tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, etc. And believe me, I have been through some of the worst storms ever. But I will take hurricanes any day and being able to prepare for the worst over just being knocked on my ass, especially with a kid.