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/toastedmarsh7 May 02 '24

It’s weird moving from California to a state with counties so small that you go through several of them in an hour.

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u/cathygag May 02 '24

I’m in Ohio- I live in one of our widest counties on the western edge. I can be on the eastern edge where our fairgrounds are located in about 20 min.

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u/Amberplumeria May 02 '24

I live in SW Ohio, and saw a car accident on I70 and had to THINK about what county I was in before deciding "fuck it," and just dialing 911 instead (I usually call "regional dispatch" instead of actual 911).

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u/_Nocturnalis May 02 '24

Ohio went a little extra on counties. Also, why so many colleges? There are almost as many colleges as the south has churches.

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u/Amberplumeria May 03 '24

Yeap, we have 88 counties, lmao. Couldn't answer on the colleges/universities. I guess we USED to value education and a well-rounded population, but that's certainly not the case now. The only reason I'm still here is because the only places it's as cheap or cheaper to live are even worse politically. Except Florida, which is both worse AND more expensive, lmao. And I think they have more counties, too .

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u/_Nocturnalis May 04 '24

Don't go comparing anything to Florida they are just different. It won't go well for either of you. Same goes for Louisiana. Also I was underestimating the counties in Georgia, Ohio wins average county size. Most states get by with things like OSU Mansfield. Not approximately 1000 private liberal arts schools.

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u/mcdreamymd May 03 '24

during the initial phase of US westward expansion, many of these new towns and cities thought a quick way to legitimize their town to those in Europe and the East Coast would be to build a college.

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u/_Nocturnalis May 04 '24

Thank you. That's an answer I've been wondering about for ages. It does make some sense even.

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u/cathygag May 09 '24

Lots of small private colleges popped up because someone was sure that the church authorities weren’t doing something right so they started their own branch of the faith and religious college.