Canada vs Italy: How Distance Feels Different

Welcome to my blog! Today let's talk about distances. And about how I had to completely recalibrate my idea of "near" and "far."

Canada is big, really BIG. To go from Toronto to Vancouver, you have to drive about 4,400 km. That's 44 hours of driving. To give you an idea: it's like driving from Milan to… Jerusalem.

My first Italian shock:

• In Canada, three hours by car takes you to the next city: same landscape, same people, same accent.
• In Italy, three hours throw you into a completely different world: a new region, a dialect you don't understand, food you've never tasted, and even the climate changes!

This experience really changed my mindset. Before, I thought 3 hours driving was a short trip. Now, I see that it means very different things depending on the country.

Canadian geography for Italians:

• Canada is as big as the whole of Europe.
• The province of Ontario is as big as France + Germany + the UK.
• In Quebec, you can drive 12 hours in a straight line and still be in the same province.

This affects the lifestyle — in Canada, long drives are normal and often necessary for work or school. In Italy, people tend to live closer to their jobs or schools, so daily travel distances are usually much shorter.

Europe: everything is next door

Another major difference is the distance between European locations.

• In Europe, with a two-hour flight you can go anywhere: London, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam.
• In Canada, with a two-hour flight you're still in the same province — if you're lucky, maybe you'll reach Ottawa.