As a naturalized American who lived in 3 other countries including two in Europe and who travels often all over the world, married to a European, etc I must say the US has its perks and it’s definitely in my top 5 countries to live. I lived mostly in the south and the east coast so I don’t have a full picture of the US as a resident. But it’s the same in Europe, living in Berlin is very different than living in Sicily, even Milan is very different than Sicily being the same country. So to be fair the US should be compared to Europe not to a particular country. The car culture in the US I think is fine because the country is built around it, the interstate system is pretty good and gas is cheap. I do like road trips very much, at my own pace not having to worry about train/flight schedules. In Europe taking long family road trips by car as we do in the US would be prohibited and even stupid in the eyes of many Europeans. I also like that you can talk to Americans everywhere and get to know people. In Europe you start talking to a stranger they look at you like you went crazy. Being social is part of having a good quality of life too, so the US ranks pretty high there.

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Gud 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

So in the beginning of your paragraph you say it's "very different" depending on where you are in Europe, but towards the end, you generalise the entire continent.

I travel all over the world for work(Though mostly Europe) and my experience has been that Europe is a very diverse place.

Currently outside London where you can absolutely chat with random strangers(I'm from Sweden, so obviously I don't).

	▲	teekert a day ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah bit strange remark. Many people I know drive thousands of km for their summer holiday.

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ahartmetz 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't know what you mean with family roadtrips being prohibited? Maybe too expensive, that's all I can think of. Cheap motels are rare and, obviously, fuel is much more expensive. All other necessities are easily available and legal.

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WhatIsDukkha 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You should start a timer every time you get into the car.

For most Americans it might add up to 7-10 hours a week or more.

That's a lot even over a few weeks.

That's not time walking with your kids or dog sniffing the flowers, that's the opposite.

	▲	DarmokJalad1701 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> For most Americans it might add up to 7-10 hours a week or more. I live in a major city. It is more like ~4 hours/wk for me. The car drives itself. It is very relaxing. It is my alone time for either thinking or listening to podcasts. I am in a nice air-conditioned, HEPA-filtered cabin and I can be on my own schedule.

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Hikikomori 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

>In Europe taking long family road trips by car as we do in the US would be prohibited and even stupid in the eyes of many Europeans.

What?? Caravan or road trip with regular car is a very common vacation in Europe. In France there are tons of free places to stop over the night. In the nordics you can camp anywhere that isn't close to someones house, even on private land. But no I wouldn't take the car instead of a 2-3 hour flight, especially as our cities have excellent public transportation.