Dilemma: fly or drive?

"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
04/28/2014 at 16:35 • Filed to: None

During a shared holiday I recently rekindled the flame between my former ex (from 8 years ago) and myself. We obviously want to spend more time together. There's a slight problem though: we live 850 km (528 miles) apart. I could drive my Peugeot there but I can also fly there. What would you do?

Extra things to consider: driving would save me about €75 total, given the location of the airports flying would save me about 2 hours each way and the vast majority of the distance I'd have to drive would be on the German Autobahn. I wasn't planning on significantly exceeding the recommended maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph) though.

DISCUSSION (22)

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:38

She is an ex for a reason, unless its guaranteed sexy time, then go by planes, trains, and automobiles.

philipilihp > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:39

I would drive. Unless there is crazy traffic, which, in Holland, there could very well be, at least for that stretch. But 75 Euros makes 2 hrs worth it, I think.

Stupidru > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:41

Unless you're more interested in rekindling a relationship with your car, fly

Lekker > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:43

I highly suggest to drive. Me and my wife are 1,500 miles apart so I can't just drive there. From my experience, I have driven that length twice (once with her). The drive is actually a lot of fun, and gives you a lot of time to think to yourself (which may come in handy given you are resparking an old flame). Besides, with a car you have the options of when to stop, where to stop, and IF to stop. You wouldn't be restricted in terms of when you can leave and when to arrive. It is all up to you. Besides, If I had the chance to drive to see my loved one every once in a while -a decent distance too- I would take the opportunity. Just my 2c :)

jkm7680 > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:43

I would probably drive, Less fuss for her I'm guessing.

jariten1781 > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:44

If it's mostly countryside on the route then drive; if it goes through metros then fly.

duurtlang > philipilihp
04/28/2014 at 16:45

The Dutch part of the trip is minimal (50 km) as I live in Groningen and would be going straight to the border. The thing I don't look forward to is to spend 8 hours in the car by myself.

trynthink > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:46

Maybe you already accounted for this, but driving 1000 miles has a non-negligible maintenance effect on your car (plus depreciation). It's possible that you would break even or come out behind when you add on the per-mile maintenance and depreciation costs. Also, at least in the US, flying is much safer than driving.

dinobot666 > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:47

I've gone on 3,000 mile road trips, just for fun in the US. Of course, the cost of fuel and vehicles are generally cheaper here. That and I hate flying.

quarterlifecrisis > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:48

I spend a lot of time in the car alone, between driving for a dealership after my regular job and on weekends, and driving to visit friends/going home (10-13 hours each way depending ona few variables). My advice, audiobooks. I dated a girl that was in med school 4 hours away from me, and became a fan of audiobooks to pass the time when driving alone. That being said, I'd probably split driving and flying in your situation.

duurtlang > trynthink
04/28/2014 at 16:52

I drive a 14 year old Peugeot 406 coupe that's at the bottom of the depreciation curve and given the bulletproof nature of the car I'm not too worried about extra maintenance. Nevertheless it is something to consider, good point.

Safety is not something I'm concerned about though, driving is much safer here as far as I'm aware. Not safer than flying, but I do consider it negligible.

philipilihp > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:54

Yeah that is tough on a regular basis. Good books help, though! How often are you planning to make the trip?

KirkyV > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 16:55

I'd say it's all down to how interesting the roads you're going by will be. If there's plenty of pleasant scenery and decent driving to be had - and a few nice spots that you'd like to visit along the way - then go by car. If not, fly.

Personally, I'd fly, but that's mainly down to my Peugeot being substantially less well-suited to long-distance cruising than your Coupe. Oh, and I've never actually flown anywhere - well, we apparently flew to Ireland once when I was tiny, but I can't remember a thing - before, so I'd quite like to see what it's like.

duurtlang > philipilihp
04/28/2014 at 16:57

Audio books I presume? Anyway, if everything works out I plan on doing this about once every two months, maybe slightly more often.

desertdog5051 > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 17:00

Not have repeated the same mistake again.

trynthink > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 17:00

Oh man, the 406 coupé is pure sex! Anyway, if I had the money and were in this position, I'd fly regardless, just because I'd rather spend a few hours reading and sleeping, arriving more-or-less refreshed, versus 8 hours of paying attention and not being able to do much else besides listen to music or an audiobook.

philipilihp > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 17:03

Haha yeah audiobooks! Highly irresponsible otherwise. Once every two months, I would drive for sure.

duurtlang > KirkyV
04/28/2014 at 17:10

Have you ever been to Germany? It's a very beautiful country at times but long stretches of highway are just plain boring. If I were to take country roads the trip would take forever. I know some of our American friends here have the German Autobahn on their bucket list but to me it's not that interesting.

You should definitely fly sometime. Get one or a few friends (or your girlfriend), go to the Ryanair (or similar) website and pick a destination that's both cheap to fly to and cheap to stay in. I picked Warsaw (Poland) last year, but that's just an example. Anyway, it's a great way to spend a few days (weekend?) for relatively little money. I believe I spent a total of about €150 for the two way flight and two nights in a 4 star hotel. It can be done even cheaper.

Dunnik > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 17:22

Fly. You will want to be refreshed when you land to meet your ex, instead of tired after a long drive. It's also safer than driving, statistically speaking.

It costs more but it's worth it under the circumstances. I suppose Eurostar isn't an option in this case?

duurtlang > Dunnik
04/28/2014 at 17:50

If by Eurostar you mean a train, than yes it actually is an option. It takes about an hour longer than driving myself if I were to drive non stop, which I won't. So in the end time isn't an issue. The problem is that it's almost three times as expensive as driving and almost double the cost of flying. It's probably the most comfortable option though.

KirkyV > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 18:28

I've never been, I'm afraid to say. The closest I've ever gotten is Luxembourg, and as I recall, I spent most of the journey there asleep in the back of our family's VW Transporter... While I'd like to see it at least once - it's not that far away, after all - I have similar feelings on the Autobahn. Motorway driving is boring by its very nature, and I doubt being able to travel a bit faster than I'm used to would do much to alleviate that boredom, at least after the first few miles.

I've got a couple of friends who fancy the idea of going on what we in the UK call a "Lad's Holiday" - a group of teenage boys go to some inexpensive, sunny foreign locale, and proceed to get very drunk and further damage our country's international reputation - but the idea's never really appealed to me all that much.

Still, I think I've at least a few friends who'd see the appeal in browsing for cheap places to fly to, and picking whichever sounds most interesting. And I've got two friends who'd definitely be up for a flight to Cologne around August...

E92M3 > duurtlang
04/28/2014 at 22:21

Anything less than 12 hrs I prefer to drive. Flighing eats up a whole day for me anyway. 1hr drive to the airport, 2hrs waiting and boarding, the flight, 1 hr taxing/unboarding/waiting for baggage. Not counting if you need a rental car (which doesn't sound like you'll need in this case), plus the drive to get to your destination. I can't sleep on a plane anyway. I'd much rather be in control over who I sit next to, the temperature, and food choices. Also prefer to have my own car over a crappy rental.

Not to be pessimistic but you can go home at anytime too should things not workout, instead of having to wait for your flight or change flights. I reconnected with an ex once, and it worked great long distance. In my mind she was still the same girl she was when we broke up. It wasn't until I spent a few days with her I realized she was completely different and not the same person (or even someone I could be with).