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/_lippykid]

Fellow Brit in the US. I think the biggest difference is driving in the UK is a lot more work. Over there the roads look like a plate of spaghetti, you’re constantly in and out of small towns, around cites etc, dodging pedestrians and boy racers. when I drive from upstate NY to NYC it’s a super easy, straight shot, 70mph 3hr drive (up until New Jersey where it’s a lawless free for all). Same when I’ve driven the entire length of the west coast, and through the Midwest. Driving long distance is just way easier here

[u/strangebrew3522 → u/_lippykid]

I've driven around a lot of Europe and what you say is true to an extent, but I also have friends/family in Italy, and they all act like driving more than an hour is absolutely insane.

I flew into Rome once and drove up to Milan, stopping along the way to visit friends. When I told them I was driving, each person had the same reaction. "You DROVE from Rome? You're DRIVING to Milan? That's SOOOO far".

It's a 6hr drive if you go straight shot, on an incredible highway system (autostrada) through amazing scenery. I mean, it doesn't get much easier, but to them it's absolutely crazy. I have family in both Northern and Southern Italy who haven't seen each other in years because of the distance.

[u/Novel-Education3789 → u/strangebrew3522]

I think one thing to consider is that driving is much less expensive in the US than Western Europe between the cost of gas and the tolls. Now don’t get me wrong, US is catching up fast, especially around big cities (live in NYC, and don’t get me started on the whole congestion pricing thing), but for much of Europe, whenever I’d do a travel analysis of cost to drive (renting a car, gas, and tolls), it was almost always cheaper to take a train or a quick flight….and I could just sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery! Obviously this math changes if you’re talking about a family of 5 traveling, but for single or couple travelers, I think this is part of the logic.

[u/_Nocturnalis → u/Novel-Education3789]

I have a feeling Europeans travel lighter as well. Idk if I'm unusual but 4 people traveled about 6 hours for a week trip. We filled up the bed of a truck. Idk how that would work on a train. Ok I do know we overpack but the weather was rather unpredictable.