What counts as a cross country drive?

[hotdogPi]

No disputing the first part, but I don't think KC is necessarily more similar to Baltimore. In what ways?
I'd classify KC as "Midwest" and Denver as "just beyond Midwest". I can't imagine they're as different as KC and a true East Coast city like Baltimore, but I don't know enough about either city myself to say definitively.

1. Suburbs of Denver just suddenly stop at a certain point if you're going east or west; there are suburbs all around Kansas City and Baltimore (except where there's water in Baltimore's case). This is despite there being no physical barrier to the east of Denver.

2. Kansas City and Baltimore both used to be more important than they are now. Denver is growing.

3. The minorities in Kansas City and Baltimore are primarily African-American. Denver doesn't have as many African Americans, but it has a decent number of Hispanics.

[Henry]

East-west: Atlantic to Pacific

North-south: Canada to Mexico

[Roadgeekteen]

I can see 2 ways of thinking it. 

E/W, you could require going to/from a state that touches a state that touches the ocean.  Yes, that means a trip from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas is "cross country" - and that's good enough in my book.  But it also would include Memphis to Las Vegas - that's less clear to me.

N/S is a little less clear.  I'd consider a trip from a state that touches Canada to a state that touches the Mexican border or Gulf of Mexico.  I'm not quite sure how you categorize Great Lakes boundaries though.  Michigan or Wisconsin to Alabama - yeah, probably that's cross country.  But Cincinnati to Huntsville?  Ehh, harder to justify that.

There should be some consideration for diagonal travel as well.  For example, Seattle to Birmingham AL, or Boston to Albuquerque.  Those don't meet the nearly-sea-to-sea or border-to-border definitions.  But I'd consider both of them to be lengthy enough to count.

I'm not sure if I would count north-south as cross country.

[kphoger]

I'm not sure if I would count north-south as cross country.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to a north-south trip as "cross-country".

As for distance...  Wichita (KS) to Portland (ME) exceeds 1700 miles.  I'm not even sure I'd attempt that in two days.  How can a trip that long, that goes from the high plains through the Midwest across the Appalachians to the New England coast not be considered "cross-country"?

[webny99]

The north-south dynamic is an interesting one. I wouldn't think of a trip from here in New York to Florida as cross country, but a trip from here to Texas is a different story.

[1995hoo]

I've never heard anyone refer to a north—south trip as "cross-country." I'm sure one reason for that, though not necessarily the only reason, is that we're used to seeing maps on which north is up, so we visualize "cross-country" as east—west (or vice versa) because that is literally "across" the map as we're used to seeing it.

[Konza]

What if you cross both the eastern and western continental divides?

[kphoger]

I've never heard anyone refer to a north—south trip as "cross-country." I'm sure one reason for that, though not necessarily the only reason, is that we're used to seeing maps on which north is up, so we visualize "cross-country" as east—west (or vice versa) because that is literally "across" the map as we're used to seeing it.

One other reason is that I'm not sure I've known anyone to cross the US from northern to southern border.  Not personally known, anyway.

[Scott5114]

I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.

I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.

Nah.  You can't cross the country if you start off in the middle.

800 miles gets me from NY to the IL/IA border.  That's not a cross country trip.

Then it's a lame term that nobody should bother using.

Albuquerque to Chicago is a pretty impressive multi-day drive that takes you through a bunch of varied parts of the country, but we're not going to call it "cross country" because it literally doesn't cross the country? Then the term doesn't need to exist.

[kphoger]

I think they should rename the high school running sport then, too.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would say a drive long enough where a reasonable person would spend the night instead of completing the route in one go. So, call it somewhere around 800 miles, give or take.

I endorse this definition. Otherwise you can't have a trip originating in the central states be "cross country" at all, and that's lame.

Nah.  You can't cross the country if you start off in the middle.

800 miles gets me from NY to the IL/IA border.  That's not a cross country trip.

Then it's a lame term that nobody should bother using.

Albuquerque to Chicago is a pretty impressive multi-day drive that takes you through a bunch of varied parts of the country, but we're not going to call it "cross country" because it literally doesn't cross the country? Then the term doesn't need to exist.

That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.

[kphoger]

PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,

I've actually changed my mind ...

So do you have a new working definition, then?

By your original definition, this 2200-mile drive isn't a cross-country trip either.

[Scott5114]

That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.

What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".

[Roadgeekteen]

PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,

I've actually changed my mind ...

So do you have a new working definition, then?

By your original definition, this 2200-mile drive isn't a cross-country trip either.

Yeah I changed my mind. Also for my first definition, I forgot WV.

[Roadgeekteen]

That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.

What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".

It's "cross country", Chicago to Albuquerque would be a "long trip", but not "cross country" in my eyes. If you don't even hit EST or PST then it doesn't count.

[hotdogPi]

Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.

[kphoger]

Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.

Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston flight a cross-country flight?  I think it would go over Ontario airspace.

[Roadgeekteen]

Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.

I'd say so, as it's in the spirit of the term.

Another question: Is Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS, crossing the border at Sault Ste.-Marie, cross-country or not? You didn't fully cross either country.

Well, is a Seattle-to-Boston flight a cross-country flight?  I think it would go over Ontario airspace.

Yes duh

[ozarkman417]

driving to a cross country meet doesn't count... 

The longest I've had to drive for one of those was only a couple of hours.

[MikieTimT]

Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.

[hotdogPi]

Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.

You can't drive to Hawaii. (However, your definition doesn't specify the mode of transportation...)

[MikieTimT]

Any trip where all 50 states are transited before ending the journey.

You can't drive to Hawaii.

https://www.matson.com/ocean-services/hawaii/ship-your-car-to-hawaii.html

I'd bring a few days' worth of rations, though.

[Scott5114]

That's borderline for me, the eastern part of America however is a huge part of the country that you miss. Chicago to Albuquerque maybe. Denver to Kansas City is in no way cross country. I've actually changed my mind and now would probably consider Chicago to LA cross country but just barely.

What makes you think the eastern part of America is relevant enough it has to be included in any definition of the term? It should just be a term for "long, multi-day drive", since we don't have a term for that. If you want to specifically say a "coast-to-coast trip", then say "a coast-to-coast trip".

It's "cross country", Chicago to Albuquerque would be a "long trip", but not "cross country" in my eyes. If you don't even hit EST or PST then it doesn't count.

Oklahoma City to Kansas City is clearly a "long trip", but it's also clearly not in the same class as ABQ-Chicago, nor, say, OKC-Washington DC.

[jeffandnicole]

I once drove from NOLA to Toronto...although I never truly considered that cross country even though it went from border to border. Not bad considering my starting/ending point was NJ!

[kphoger]

PST to Atlantic coast state plus Pennslyvania and Vermont. Can't say EST as I wouldn't count South Bend to Vegas as cross country,

I've actually changed my mind ...

So do you have a new working definition, then?

By your original definition, this 2200-mile drive isn't a cross-country trip either.

Yeah I changed my mind. Also for my first definition, I forgot WV.

So do you have a new working definition, then?