Easterners and Long Drives (funny)

[Lilavati]

I've noticed this . . . Easterners, or at least the Mid-Atlantic, New England crowd, can't imagine driving anywhere that takes any time. Having grown up in the Mid-west, then lived in Arizona, and taken some trips to the rural south, this baffles me. Everyone wants to fly everywhere . . . they don't even want to take TRAINS. Nope, no car, no train, has to be a plane, even if the drive is only an hour or so and the flight takes LONGER. Which really makes me wonder, since once a group of friends and I drove from Louisville to Chicago to see a movie . . . the movie was showing in Louisville, we just thought it would be more fun to see in Chicago. (it wasn't, but the road trip was fun) Someone else has also noticed this, and posted this worthy commentary:


Having grown up and spent most of my formative years on the West Coast, I am constantly befuddled by the aversion of East Coasters to drives of even moderate distance. Easterners seem, in my experience, largely incapable of conceiving of any drive that takes longer than 45 minutes. Baltimore to Philly? Might as well be the Bataan Death March. New York to Boston? I heard about a guy who tried it once, but I think he was eaten by wild animals near Providence, wherever that is. To be sure, there are good reasons why people should shun long drives, including environmental concerns and the relatively high accident rate of automobile travel. These are not, however, the concerns that my Eastern interlocutors most often invoke. Rather, they just can't seem to imagine sitting in a car long enough to get from one place to another.

It is not this way in the West. You wouldn't want to do it everyday, but it was not uncommon for myself and my friends to drive from Seattle to Portland for a day trip, returning the same evening. That's 170 miles one way, give or take. Hell, while I was at UO it wasn't even that unusual to do a Eugene to Seattle round-trip in a single day. Mention to an urbanite from the Boston-DC corridor that you're considering a trip that might take an hour (time spent in traffic doesn't count, for some reason), and they'll respond with a blank, stunned stare. Let me illustrate this point with a short play:

Cast:
Hans- Stasi Interrogator
John- Captured CIA spy hailing from Boston

Hans: Ve have vays of making you talk. Ve shall drive you to ze place of torture vere ve shall find ze location of your nuclear bomb.
John: (meekly) How long of a drive?
Hans: Four hours, but do not vorry. Ve give you a nice New York Review of Books and a thermos coffee-
John: (whispering) Four.... hours? (shrieking) OH GOD, GOD NO! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK!​

From here: Lawyers, Guns and Money: Pointless Rant: East Coasters Drive Like this...

Does anyone have an explaination for this, especially considering these same people will sit in traffic for hours, long after I've given up and decided to stop somewhere until the jam clears?

 

[Boemy]

I'll bet it's because the Atlantic seaboard states are so urbanized, psychologically they feel like it "shouldn't" take more than an hour to get anywhere, and if it does it must be impossibly far away. Whereas in the West we have a lot of space between major metropolises.

This topic is timely for me because I just got back from a 5 hour drive (middle of Oregon to eastern Washington.) It wasn't bad at all, I just brought a bunch of CDs and listened to them the whole way.

 

[MicksMom]

Your timing is great. We got a call last night about the truck we have for sale. The guy was going to call back this morning if he was coming. Hubby figured he wasn't coming because of the distance- he's on the "other" side of NJ from us- about 45-60 minutes away. Hubby & me? Road trips are nothing for us. We drove 2 hours each way to get a truck, then took it back the next day (and 5 hours each way, twice, for Caleb).

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

This reminds me sooo much of my last summer I spent in NY (Syracuse). I realized it took maybe ten minutes to get anywhere and a day trip was something you just didn't do (Unless you had nothing at all to do and you were obligated to see someone) In the south, in a small town, it takes 45 minutes to get to the nearest mall! I guess there's just something different about the pace of life. I remember thinking how odd it was that we drove all over CA from one place instead of spending the night there and changing hotels when we were off to another location.

I also think it depends where in the North East you grow up. When I lived in a small Central NY town, longer drives were sort of expected because we didn't have much nearby. But after you live in a more urban area like Syracuse where everything is at your fingertips, roadtripping is painful.

 

[Georgygirl]

Wow.....I had no idea! It was 20-30 min to the nearest town where I grew up. It was an hour and 20 mins to a city that had an actual mall or any department store other than walmart, lol!

That's why its so weird for me living in the suburbs of Chicago now. I can't tell where one town/city/village ends and the other one starts they're so close together. I'm used to a bunch of farm land between towns. Oh Iowa, I miss ya sometimes....

 

[CaliTerp07]

Really? I haven't noticed this! Hubby's family drives evvvverywhere. (They live in Baltimore). Vacation to North Carolina? Drive. Vacation to Florida? Drive. Visit friends in southern Virginia or Atlanta? Drive. Weekend in Boston? Drive. Work trip to Ohio? Drive.

These are 10 hour trips, some of them...ugh.

I grew up in southern California, and made the LA to Seattle trip many many times growing up (17 hours, straight through with just potty breaks). Never again. Now that I'm grown and I pick the method of travel, we fly.

I think it's more a money thing than anything though. My MIL doesn't work, so she has all the time in the world to spend driving to visit friends or family, especially if it saves money. I work crazy overtime though, so if I can save a few hours of travel time (and the frustrations of traffic in this area!), I'll spend the extra $50 or $100 to fly.

 

[Doberluv]

LOL. That was hilarious and so well written!

Yes, it is different how we perceive things. I'm astounded every time I go to the Seattle area to visit my family, which is quite frequent. I dread the 6 or 7 hour drive from my north Idaho cabin to Seattle. But when I really stop and think about it, it's not so bad. It's like a typical 8 hour work day but I'm listening to CDs and enjoying the scenery. But somehow, I still kind of dread sitting like that for so long in the car.

But then, when hanging out with my ex and his friends, one of his friends commutes from south Seattle to a city about 40 miles north called Marysville. And while I was there in Marysville last time, he said because of a Mariner's game, (if it's not that, it's something else a lot of the time) it took him three hours to get to Marysville, where he lives. I thought, "three hours!" That's half my (aprox) 400 mile trip!!!

It often times takes my daughter an hour to go 5 blocks in down town Seattle at rush hour. AN HOUR! Five blocks! And I complain about having to drive an hour to Sandpoint Idaho to go to Walmart. But it's 60 miles away, not 5 blocks.

All these city people....my family expound about how conveniently located all their shopping needs are and how isolated I am and how inconvenient it is for me to have to drive so far for most shopping, doctors and so on. I thought that way too and it's one part of why I am thinking of moving. BUT.....on second thought.....LOL. :rofl1: What's the difference if you have to drive 60 miles which takes about an hour and a couple of miles or a few blocks that also takes about an hour? The former is surely healthier for your car and for pollution. Stop-go traffic is infinitely worse for both of those things.

It's all about perspective, isn't it.

 

[AGonzalez]

LOL, I know what you mean. I brought a friend of mine to Arizona from Long Island, New York. We lived in a very rural area of Arizona and when we went to Tucson, she goes "oh cool a short trip" and I'm like "Yeah if 95 miles is a short trip..." I also took her to Phoenix once and she was not thrilled.

That's what I LOVE about the western states, I love the open land and space between towns

 

[Renee750il]

When we moved to Tennessee, people here thought we were nuts because we'd drive 50 miles to Knoxville to go out for dinner. I've met people here who have never been out of Morristown!

 

[Zoom]

I'm so glad I grew up in the Plains...I love driving and long distances don't bother me. I've done KC to Denver at the drop of a hat and 2 RedBulls along the way. So long as I've got music, it's a breeze.

 

[MericoX]

I think the city-people vs country-people needs to be factored in. At least in Maine, to get to anywhere you need to drive a good bit.

That being said, I had no problem driving back and forth from Maine to Texas by myself. LOL.

 

[Angel Chicken]

Oh hell no, we drive everywhere. Planes are too expensive!

When Rob went to Nashville for work, his boss flew him in a helicopter. He said that was pretty much like riding in a car, but your up higher and it's LOUD. Rob said next time, he'd definitely be driving in.

We drove the long (10 hours, woulda been less if we wouldn't have stopped so much) drive to Florida, we'll be taking a long drive to Ohio this winter probably.

We even take day trips that consist of ALOT of driving... just to get BBQ from the other end of NC.

 

[Doberluv]

I've met people here who have never been out of Morristown!

Wow! That is provincial isn't it.

When my ex came from Czechoslovakia to Chicago, a polish lady in one of the many ethnic neighborhoods of Chicago said to my ex (all in Polish, mind you...she could not speak a word of English) that she was so distraught and worried about him going all the way to Seattle. LOL. He told her, "Mrs. So and so....I just came all the way from Praha Czechoslovakia. I am perfectly capable of going to Seattle. Don't you worry." See...she was a very old lady and was born in Chicago! Never stepped food out of her neighborhood where she had everything she needed. She worked there, shopped there, all her friends were there. She never learned ANY English. There is a larger (by far) population of Polish people in Chicago than there is in Warsaw. LOL. Now, how do you like that for provincial? :rofl1:

My ex lived in Chicago for about a year when he came from Austria and before that, what is now called Czech Republic. He learned to speak German fluently while in Vien. (Vienna) In Chicago, all of the people he worked with spoke German. All his friends in the neighborhood spoke Czech. He had no need to speak English until he came to Seattle, where I taught him everything he knows. (not just English) LOL. That's how it is in Chicago.

 

[Nechochwen]

I'm so glad I grew up in the Plains...I love driving and long distances don't bother me. I've done KC to Denver at the drop of a hat and 2 RedBulls along the way. So long as I've got music, it's a breeze.

It 'tis a fun drive. I just wish the speed limit on I-70 was 75 all the way

 

[Renee750il]

It 'tis a fun drive. I just wish the speed limit on I-70 was 75 all the way

Speed limit? You drive the speed limit?

 

[lizzybeth727]

I dunno, I grew up in north Alabama - nearest shopping mall, movie theater, etc. was 45 minutes away - and I still hate driving long distances. Two or three hours one way - no problem. But more than 5 hours and I'm going to complain. Recently I took a trip to New Orleans by myself (about 8 hours away), and I made the trip there in one day.... then the trip back I spent a night in a hotel. I just get extremely sore and uncomfortable sitting in that same position for so many hours on end.

I go back to AL every Christmas (14-15 hour drive, one way) - I drive so that I can take Luna and not fight the Christmas airline travel - and I always take the trip in two days. I think actually this year I'll take it in three days, maybe that way I can actually enjoy the drive a little more.

But I do laugh at people when they talk about long distances. My sister once was complaining about the 45 minute drive to my grandma's house - 16 hours away from me. Two of my friends wanted to meet up for a movie, they'd each have to drive an hour, and they were debating whether the movie would be worth it - friends that are at least 18 hours away from me. *shrugs*

 

[drmom777]

I started out in one of those Chicago neighborhoods. Czech newspaper, radio, all the stores and businesses ran in Czech. I started kindergarten without knowing any English at all.

 

[Nechochwen]

Speed limit? You drive the speed limit?

Oh hell no. But 15 over at 75 is much better than 15 over at 65.

 

[oc_spirit]

Haha I find that interesting too. I personally LOVE driving. If I've had a bad day and need to clear my mind, I go for a drive. I'f I'm bored I grab up the dogs and go for a drive to find a new trail to hike. Heck, I've even slept in my truck more than once (its surprisingly comfortable!). Consider this, I've only had my trucks for about 9-10 months and I've already put 40 000kms on her! I'll take the longer route in the country to avoid driving through the city (I hate driving through a city...too much stop and go, and stupid drivers!). I drive 4 hrs to dogsled races without a second thought. A random weekend drive took me 3 hrs away once just to stay a couple nights and come back again LOL I looked forward to the 3-4 hr drive for the UKC Premier. Honestly I just really love driving. But, I gotta do the driving. I get fidgety if I'm the passenger.

 

[Doberluv]

I started out in one of those Chicago neighborhoods. Czech newspaper, radio, all the stores and businesses ran in Czech. I started kindergarten without knowing any English at all.

That is so funny Drmom. It's so weird and interesting too. So, you finally learned English and didn't fear moving out of the neighborhood.