Even some Americans don’t realize how big the US is. When we lived in Houston, a guy from the northeast was in town on business and he casually mentioned he was going to make a quick drive up to Dallas after work, spend a few hours, drive back that night, and be ready for work in the morning. He was shocked when he was told how long it would take to drive to Dallas.
that’s about the same time it takes to drive from baltimore to dc... but not the same distance.