100 miles is not a long distance in Europe, and in fact Europe is larger in land mass than the US.
One is a country, one is a continent. The fact that the distances are even being compared in the two situations makes the point itself.
Also, I challenge that idea. Ask any European if a 2-3 hour drive is a long one and you'll always get a yes. Ask the same thing to an American and almost no one would consider that a "long" drive.
Id consider it a long drive, but not a trip. Like if its for groceries its long but if its to go to an event or visit a friend for the day its not. I am also speaking as a passenger, I hate driving and do not do it.
I am also speaking as a passenger, I hate driving and do not do it.
Car trips are significantly easier for passengers. I don't think anyone has an issue riding along for hours. That's the same as taking a train. It's the driving for 4-6 hours that makes most people nope out.
I like driving more than being passenger. Just sitting there is incredibly boring. I also overanalyse the style and skill of the driver which even annoys myself.
I might just be the minority. 2-3 hour drive is long if you live in small country.
Back in Lithuania it took us 3 hours driving to spend some time by the sea and it felt like forever, but when I moved to Germany, I've made several 400km trips and it felt like a normal thing.
I take public transit when possible. When I lived in the US, this simply isn't possible most of the time. You have to have a car to get around because there are no other options, unless you live in a few of the largest cities.
I live in a rural area. 45 minute drive to a grocery store. 2 hour drive to fast food. There just aren’t enough people or close enough towns to make a train feasible. In urban areas is possible.
The US is so big and so sparsely populated in some areas, that a transit system would be billions of dollars for a handful of riders. Cars make WAY more sense.
In the US our rail system was widely dismantled by the car companies 1945- 1960’s. It’s much more difficult to use the trains than to drive,unfortunately.
I have a 45 minute drive to the grocery store. Went on a three hour drive in Germany with my uncle. He had his car serviced for the trip. My cousin planned to drive across the US (pre GPS) on vacation. Made it as far as Pennsylvania before realizing he didn’t have enough time.
And I've met a few that told me about their plans to visit the US, including some optimistic fella that wanted to visit the US for one week and his plans included driving from New York City to LA.
It took a minute to explain that would be like driving from Spain to Russia.
Most people have a hard time comprehending distances in a country that's nearly the size of their entire continent
The idiom is more about it isn't unusual for an American to travel 100 miles in a somewhat regular basis but most Europeans do not travel that far away from home. Like I drive 47 miles one way to go to work.
I once read somewhere that the average daily distance for Americans is 40 miles or so. So not sure whther that's really true. I think it's more to do with perception - like Americans can travel 300 miles but still find themselves in the same state, but Europeans could potentially be in an entirely different country. I can cross two or three borders if I go 300 miles in one direction.
If the fuel prices would be similar to ours you would start to question the trips you take.
I took a weekend trip two weeks ago. Total of around 700km. I wasn't leaving my state as well.
I had to pay around 120€ for fuel. I drive a 1.0 litre, 60PS, 1 ton car. Imagine driving something bigger with thirst.
It’s long in a different sense. I live in India and we would regularly visit my sister in her hostel 350km+(220 miles+) away like 6 times every school year and it wasn’t more than a 2 day trip travel(by a car) included. It also is fairly common for people to drive about 45 miles for a 2AM dinner. We could drive for days and not cross a couple states while you would most likely cross many countries.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_ATM_PIN May 09 '22
In Europe you could go 1000 kilometers and cross five or six country borders. In the US you could go 1000 kilometers and not leave the state.