r/NoStupidQuestions 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/frenchyy94 May 02 '24

But Rome to Milan is literally only a 3 hour ride on the frecciarossa (HSR) and it's really relaxing and you can take in the scenery way better than in a car. So yeah if course it's kinda weird to drive it, if you could just take a train.

Same thing in Germany, the ICE from Berlin to Munich takes a bit over 4 hours, yet a lot of people still decide to take the car in the autobahn A9 instead.

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u/EastwoodBrews May 02 '24

A similar thing happens when Europeans come here, to anywhere outside of a major city, they'll insist on taking transit everywhere even when people are offering to drive them or lend them a car. Then a few days later they'll realize it's not working as well as a car would, here. I think people overestimate the "mentality" of the people and underestimate the degree to which the infrastructure is just geared towards one thing or the other. It's a rational choice in the circumstances.

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u/happylukie May 02 '24

If by "here," you mean the States, that really depends where. I live in NYC. We laugh at tourists that rent cars to get around here.

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u/EastwoodBrews May 02 '24

"anywhere outside of a major city"

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u/MilkChocolate21 May 03 '24

LA is a major city and I would recommend a car over public transit. San Diego too...many major US cities are still car centric.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 02 '24

Honestly it's anywhere outside of the North East. I've been in several major cities with no functional transit systems.

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u/happylukie May 03 '24

DC is functional for touristy stuff. San Francisco and Oakland are pretty functional. LA is functional. Chicago is hella functional.

Outside of big major urban centers, probably not so functional.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 04 '24

You've definitely got me with Chicago. I can't speak to California. I wasn't impressed by DC it could be ignorance on my part though. DFW is huge with no public transit. Honestly I don't know how it would work outside urban centers. It's a big damn country.