I know what you mean. I went on a US road trip last month. Down through PA to Virginia Beach and then up the east coast and through VA to Montreal. The first thing I noticed was that American highways are no longer much better than comparable Canadian roads. At best they are only marginally better. TBH, the best highway we drove on was the 407 from Vaughan to Hamilton.

The second thing is the volume of drivers who drive criminally dangerous. Weaving in and out of heavy traffic. We nearly got smoked at least 5 times in a week. I usually only experience that once or twice a year.

Third, the high price of public transport. There are several cities that I would rather not drive in. We had always planned to take the ferry from Stanton Island to Manhattan and then use the subway and walking to get around. That wasn't too bad. Washington was $60 for two 3 day passes. Brutal.