The USA does not have train or bus infrastructure. We looked at it but it would take weeks to get home on a train. It’s just not viable, but I wish it was. I take the bus in the city I live in almost anytime I can.

I have driven from Mississippi to Washington when I’ve moved and I’ve driven from MS to Denver during COVID to see friends (we did the whole 2 week quarantine before and took many precautions). I am driving back to see family for the holidays because flying is 2x the price plus dog boarding. We’re bringing our dog so we don’t have to pay the $700+ to do that.

For CO2 emissions: flying 2,000 miles both ways would be 1.2 metric tons of CO2 per passenger (using an online tool I found). We are driving 2,500 miles both ways, and having an extra passenger makes it more efficient per passenger. So for 2 passengers, 5,000 miles in a Tesla is 1 metric ton of CO2 total, which is 0.5/passenger, over half of what flying would do. Sure, I could just not go see my grandpa who has been struggling to breathe and in pain almost daily, but I haven’t seen my family in 2 years, and I miss them.