Ask a Finn!

[Pyrrho]

...

I would like to visit the U.S. and do a road trip through the country, hopefully in a few years.

If you do that, make sure you consider how very large the U.S. is.  Many people don't get a sense of how huge this country is, and imagine that going from one place to another will be much faster than it really is.

Here is an overlay map of part of Europe and the (Continental) U.S.:




Here is another overlay, though this is obviously North America, and not just the U.S.:



From that, you can see why most Americans never visit Alaska.


Here is a map of one state over Europe:



Granted, that is one of the largest states, but it should help one get matters into perspective.

Particularly in the western states of the U.S., the drive from one city to the next can be a very long drive.

If you are going from New York to Los Angeles, it is almost 4,000 km:

http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-f...os+Angeles

Given that you drive on roads, and not in a perfectly straight line, you would probably be driving a bit more than 4,000 km.

Edited to add:

Using MapQuest, the suggested quickest route (so without any sightseeing along the way), it is 4497.07 km and will take 43 hours and 22 minutes, not counting delays due to traffic, or any detours that may occur due to road construction or whatever.

http://www.mapquest.com/#a9a3fa835ce60734babe1612

The hours are constant driving, so if you can handle driving 10 hours per day, you will get there in 5 days.