"Take for example a Brit or a German. The people you grow up with and your families might move to another city, but they are always just a reasonable train ride or drive away."
Not that reasonable.
I'm a Brit, living in Scotland. Many, many of my friends live either 5-and-a-bit hours' train ride away (London) or 7-8 hours by train or car away (Bristol).
Contrast that with the distance between Southern California and Maine... a day-trip by land for you would be a multi-day monstrosity for an American. :(
I was contrasting with the parent comment, which was lamenting 2-5 hour flights - almost exactly the same travel time that I'll need to see my more distant friends.
I do agree that I wouldn't want to do a US-style road trip to visit people!
Not that reasonable.
I'm a Brit, living in Scotland. Many, many of my friends live either 5-and-a-bit hours' train ride away (London) or 7-8 hours by train or car away (Bristol).