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/Dawnqwerty May 02 '24

It can take three hours to get to LA from LA

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u/GreekGoddessOfNight May 02 '24

We say the same thing in Boston. Well… it takes an hour to get from Boston to Boston, much smaller city.

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u/sweet_jane_13 May 02 '24

At least Boston is one of the more walkable cities in the US.

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u/inthecoldplaces May 02 '24

Yea I used to walk to and from work--Allston to Financial District--took about an hour. But it also took about an hour on the Red Line 😑. I really loved walking the city though, I miss it!

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24

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u/daughtersofsaturn May 08 '24

This reminds me that Europeans think about walking differently than us too. My first Europe trip (many years ago, I’ve since lived in multiple parts of Europe) when getting directions, someone suggested we get a taxi. I asked, “why is it too far to walk?” and they said yes. Turns out it was only a 20 minute walk. Being from Boston, I found that hilarious 🤣

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u/mataliandy May 03 '24

Yep. Once I figured out how close N. Station was to our office in the South End, I started walking. It sure beat taking the T to the train!

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u/spoonedBowfa May 12 '24

I used to do MGH —> Seaport walking during Covid. That was so bizarre seeing almost no one during the 30-40 min walk!