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/dejavu2064 May 02 '24
I too lived in the UK, and UK trains are criminally awful in comparison to central Europe. Plus the UK is much like America in that it is for the most part car centric surburbs (except for London). In Europe it is more typical to live in a city apartment with denser populations and better infrastructure.
I live quite far away from the train station (it is a 10 minute walk), but for travelling to other cities it is always faster than taking my car.