How often do you travel outside of your state?

47 comments

  2. Depends. The US is massive.

    Generally I’ll fly if its over 6-8 hours, other than that I’ll just drive. It also depends on how expensive/convenient flights are.

  3. Yes, cars and planes. Also cars and planes for the second part of your question. Sometimes buses like greyhound or something but that’s not as common

  4. Yeah, either one. Depends on how much time you have, how much money you want to spend, how much stuff you have to bring with you, and whether there’s stuff you want to stop and see along the way

  5. Those are the primary choices, yes.

    Which one we choose depends on a variety of factors including cost, time, purpose of trip, need for transportation at destination, etc.

  6. My absolute limit driving is about 10 hours, but realistically, anything over 5 means that I’ll get on the plane.

  7. Depends on distance, goals, how much time is available, and how many people are traveling together– three plane tickets costs 3x as much as one plane ticket, but driving costs the same no matter how many people are in the group.

    My personal preference is to drive unless driving just isn’t feasible.

  8. When I was growing up, my parents preferred driving. But now that I’m an adult, I prefer flying if it’s over 4 hours.

    Cost of gas and food will usually add up to about $100-150. And round trip flights will cost about $300-350 for me. So I’ll just save time and energy and just get plane tickets. I also don’t have to worry about car breaking down, getting lost, bad drivers, crashing, falling asleep behind the wheels, etc.

  9. When a friend asked me this once, it turned out he thought we had more distinct borders between states. They’re very fluid and moving between states is super simple. I only know when I’ve crossed from KS into MO because there’s a sign on the bridge and the GPS goes, “Welcome to Missouri.” I don’t mind long drives so I will typically drive as long as I can make it in about 8 hours. Otherwise I’ll fly. For going to Chicago specifically, I like the train but I don’t think I’d want to take some of the other train routes and would probably drive or fly instead.

  10. Almost always car. It has to be more than a 10-12 hour drive for me to consider flying.

  11. Cars, buses, and planes are most common. In the Acela corridor there is high speed rail so that is a feasible option as well. You can take trains to many places in the US but, aside from the Acela, it’s not high speed rail and so is very slow. Like, to take a train from Houston (where I live) to New Orleans, it’s 9.5 hours, but by car it’s like 5 hours.

    The farther away the state is the more likely people are to fly, but plenty of people also take long road trips.

  12. I used to live within walking distance of the state line. There’s a mall in NH where you can park in MA, shop in NH (no general sales tax), and if you really wanted to, walk to a restaurant in MA (cheaper meals tax, but longer walk and only to a burger place).

    But driving is the most common here within New England because the states are small. For cities on the northeast corridor, it’s usually train, sometimes drive.

  13. If it’s reasonable driving distance, a car. If it’s further, often a plane. Sometimes (mostly for travel between the major cities on the East coast) train is a possibility also.

    > How often do you travel outside of your state?

    Very frequently. We don’t really have borders between states, if that’s what you’re envisioning. Many people live in one state and commute to work every day in another.

  14. From where I live, I can, by car, be in Virginia in ~20 minutes, West Virginia in ~45, and Pennsylvania in an hour.

    General rule of thumb in USA is if it’s within 6-8 hours, it’s easier to just drive it. Anything over that is by plane. This, of course, does not account for road trips, which can be amazing.

  16. I am currently on an Intercity bus right now headed to Chicago. I’ve also taken the train to Chicago but the departure time sucks for the train

  17. It just depends on the trip you’re taking. Most of the time it’s by car but I’ll fly for a long distance vacation, sometimes.

    I travel into New Jersey or Delaware pretty much every working day, I live close to the border with both. I could be in like 4 other states within a couple hours

  18. If it’s not super far, I drive my car. Super far defined as more than 12 hours actual driving time. If it is then fly.

  19. Cars. Planes. Sometimes a bus. We don’t travel that much right now but we usually probably go to a different at least 8-10 times a year. My family lives in Illinois so we do go see them pretty regularly and we drive there since it’s only 2 hours each way.

  20. If I’m traveling in the Northeast (DC to Philly, NYC, or Boston) I’ll take Amtrak. Cheaper than a plane ticket and more convenient. It’s also the only region where our train service is comparable to Europe. Anywhere else it’s either car or plane depending on distance.

  21. Generally drive because 1) I hate flying and 2) you see more of the country.

    Train is also a really great way to travel. Not only do you see parts of the country you wouldn’t see by car, you can meet some really interesting people.

  22. I’ll drive up to 10 hours usually. Anything beyond that I fly. You can take a train or bus but I haven’t personally done those

  23. Planes, trains, and automobiles. Occasionally boats. I guess you could travel by hot air balloon too.

  24. Both. Planes if the states are far away from each other.

    I live in New Hampshire now but just last weekend drove to New Jersey for a wedding, crossing through Maasachusetts, Connecticut, and a part of New York State on the way down, and then crossing through upstate New York through albany and then Vermont on the way back.

  25. I prefer to drive, but if time is an issue, fly.

    EDIT: I missed the last question; in the past two years I haven’t, but pre-covid, 3 or 4 times a year on average

  26. I drive mostly, but depending on where and why I’m going somewhere I’ll fly. It’s 4-8 hours to the next state for me. And I usually make the 8 hour drive at least twice a year. I have family that are within 30 minutes from the Florida Alabama border. Almost my entire drive is in my home state.

  27. I travel outside several times a year, always by plane. Driving isn’t really an option unless you’re moving in or out of state and you have a lot of stuff to haul.

    In-state, I usually fly between Fairbanks and Anchorage. I occasionally drive if I either need to haul a lot of stuff or stay for an extended period and don’t want to rent a car.

  28. Yes to all options.

    Most frequently I drive, but that is because I have always lived near a border and/or in a small state. I will be in one or more of New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut. Massachusetts, or Delaware at least a few times a month and those are all fairly close to my home. Most often I visit NY or PA. For those two I will almost always drive (unless going to Manhattan where taking a train or bus makes a lot of sense) as driving would be easiest and most time efficient. To major cities say Boston, New York (Manhattan specifically), or DC I might take a train or drive depending on why I am going.
    Anything out of the North East / Mid Atlantic I am usually driving UNLESS I am going to my in laws in Florida as I will spend time driving around to various relatives houses in different non-city towns.

  29. I drive to neighboring states (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia). I only live an hour from the Georgia line.

    I don’t usually travel beyond those states, but when I do, I fly. I flew to Cleveland, Ohio a few years ago. I will be flying to Dallas, Texas later this year.

  30. If I’m going camping, I will drive up to 20 hours one way. Bringing camping gear isn’t practical on a plane, especially for a group of campers. Plus you get to see and explore great places from the ground that you can’t from a plane.

    Not camping? Depending on where I’m going, I might drive as far as 12 hours, or choose to fly for what would be a six hour drive.

  31. Anything less than 5 hrs and I will drive. Anything longer and I try to fly. I leave the state twice a month give or take what’s happening.

  32. It depends on a few things, mainly distance and time. I used to live near Amarillo and I would fly to Houston. That’s a 9 hour drive and I’d never leave my own state.

    Not so fun fact: I just looked it up and it’s cheaper to fly from Amarillo to Houston presently than it is to drive due to the current gas prices.

  33. Fly, drive, take a train. Maybe take a boat in some coastal states?

    There’s no universal answer to your question. It will depend a lot on everyone’s personal decisions about how they prefer to travel.

  34. Go to my neighboring state several times a year (good restaurants for dirt cheap my inlaws love) its also like a 29 minute drive so not a big trip.

    Two other states i fly to semi annually because i have family there

    The other ones not too often. If im gonna drop that much on a vacation id be better off leaving the country and at least experience a new country

  35. I usually drive if it’s anything less than 12 or 14 hours. Anything more than that, I fly. I did drive 32 hours straight with a friend to CO from NY a few years back.

    I generally travel out of state a couple times a year.

  36. Car if close, plane if far.

    MA to CT is not a long drive. MA to CA would be a crazy drive.

  38. The farthest I have driven was from North Carolina to the outskirts of Chicago. It was over 750 miles and 12 hours of driving to pick up a puppy, then right back on the road. F that never again.

  40. I fly when: Distance is more than a thousand miles. And I have only about a week off because I don’t want to spend the entire time driving. Usually this involves renting a car once I reach my destination.

    I drive when: If I have a lot of time off to do a decent road trip.
    Or if the distance is 500 miles or less. If we have wrapped Christmas presents and expect to bring home presents our family receives. If we’re bringing the pets along. If many of us are traveling or if a friend wants to come along at the last minute. When I don’t want to worry about flight cancellations due to weather.

    I take the train when: I am traveling to New York, Philly, or Washington, DC, on my own and I don’t want to deal with a car in the big city.

  41. It really depends on how far and personal preference. If I want to vacation in California, 3,000mi (4,800km) away, I’d need to plan an extra 8+ days into my vacation for driving time (about 40 hours of driving each way). A plane would take me about 5 hours each way.

    I have family in two neighboring states. It’s a 2-4 hour drive, depending on who I’m visiting. I have taken a train and buses for a day visit, but I prefer to drive if I’m staying a few days so I have access to my car. Flying would be impractical in these situations because it’s more expensive PLUS the time spent driving to the airport, getting through security, waiting to board, flying there, waiting on transportation from the airport, traveling to my destination would take a similar amount of time.

    I hate flying in planes, so I just don’t travel far enough for planes very often. I have family that lives a 16 hour drive away and prefer to drive rather than fly.

  43. I’m about to travel to California to visit friends this weekend from North Carolina. We’re flying, as it takes about 9-10 hours or so to make the trip by airplane, when you add up all the waiting at the airport time and waiting for the luggage time.

    When we visit friends down in Atlanta we drive; that takes about 7 hours or so to make the trip, adding up all the pit-stops along the way.

    My threshold, nowadays, is “which is faster?”, favoring driving when it’s a close tie. The trick is while an airplane travels at 500 miles per hour while I can only average around 60 miles per hour driving, you can lose up to 4 hours just waiting around the airport, waiting to check baggage, waiting in a TSA line, waiting for them to board the airplane, waiting for them to unpack the airplane so you can grab your luggage, waiting to rent a car.

    So if the trip is less than 4 hours drive, it’s a no-brainer; we drive. That gets us up to about the DC area. Between 4 and 8 hours drive (around 450 miles distance), it’s often a toss-up if there’s a major airport; we often drive, and sometimes we may break up a drive to stay someplace interesting. (So Nashville–we’ll spend a night in Asheville, NC, because I love Asheville.)

    Longer than an 8 hour drive and we fly. So that’s flying to New York City, for example.

    —-

    Edit to add: It’s why, by the way, high speed rail doesn’t really work well except in very limited corridors in the United States. We took the high speed rail system from Rome to Naples–but then we didn’t have a car on either end of the trip. Frankly, however, it would have taken the same amount of time (once you factor in the ‘waiting around the terminal’ time) to simply drive to Naples from Rome than it would to take the high speed rail. (Yes, in the middle we were doing 200mph–but only for a short time. Most of that trip we were doing somewhere between 0mph and 80mph. Yes, 0mph: the bench outside the train while we waited to get on board was stationary.)

    So in my “which takes less time and is more convenient”, since I own a car, high speed rail *never wins.*

  44. Business trips, I generally fly. Personal trips? It depends on the distance, the purpose of the trip and the accessibility by plane — including the availability of direct flights and flight time (for example, I can drive to Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas from here in about 8 hours, but with direct flights, it’s an hour and a half and I get to sit back and relax).

  45. > How do you travel between states?

    I leave work and get on the highway. About 10 miles (16km) down the road, I cross the border from New York into New Jersey. I continue driving at the same speed I was going. I drive another 10 miles or so and then I cross a bridge. About halfway across the bridge, I cross the border from New Jersey into New York.

    In the mornings, I commute on the other side of the river and so don’t have to go through New Jersey.

    > How often do you travel outside of your state?

    Every day, but I usually don’t stop.

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