Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm so sick of hearing the topic about Americans and why they "hate to travel to other countries".
I think the responses have been great though. First off, the states offer so much and it can take a lifetime (and a ton of money and vacation time) just to see a good portion of America.
Almost everybody I have ever talked to about traveling abroad would love to do it or do it more, but the US is isolated and it's very expensive and time consuming to travel to other countries. Many of those countries thumb their noses at Americans.
Yet I find that Americans do travel overseas quite often despite the money, time and general anti american mentality of the rest of the world.
I know I would LOVE to see as many countries as possible and I would personally like to see a lot more than just Paris, London and Sydney myself. I would like to visit the Middle East, Russia, Korea (south ). Japan, central american, africa and a whatever else. I'm interested in it all.
But it comes down to time and money and there is just enough of either.
Another way to look at the question is, why can't the rest of the world find enough to entertain and interest them within their own country, that they feel they have to leave it?
Another way to look at the question is, why can't the rest of the world find enough to entertain and interest them within their own country, that they feel they have to leave it?
It's not that people don't like their own countries. People are just often very curious abut life outside of what they know.
Another way to look at the question is, why can't the rest of the world find enough to entertain and interest them within their own country, that they feel they have to leave it?
I think some people like to see other cities and scenery in other countries.
Many American people I meet are literally afraid to travel. They are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and go into an unpredictable situation. Afraid to take a risk.
And many of them actually think that the USA is simply the best. So there is no reason to go anywhere else.
Americans these days are mostly all about being comfortable. Instead of putting on a backpack and exploring a developing country, they would rather just sit around watching TV, getting huge, logging on facebook 15x per day.
I think some people like to see other cities and scenery in other countries.
That really doesn't answer my question, which was why isn't there enough to satisfy them in their own countries?
I understand why people like to travel. But why are so many (mostly) non-Americans hung up on whether people travel to other countries or travel within their own country?
Another way to look at the question is, why can't the rest of the world find enough to entertain and interest them within their own country, that they feel they have to leave it?
They don't live in such a large country like we do.
My home state (Minnesota) is almost as large as the United Kingdom.
The British going down to France is like me going down to Iowa and/or Missouri
Resurrecting an old thread here!
Yes, an interesting topic that has nonetheless come up very often. My answer: we actually do, a lot more than Europeans, because we actually cross oceans when we travel to Europe, Asia, and Africa! LOL sorry for the bad literal interpretation but no really Americans put a lot into traveling. We're in what I call a "difficult flying" zone. We bear the worst of the worst of jet lags. We have 15+ hour flights that take huge tolls on our body (recently flew from San Francisco to Dubai, 15 1/2 hours)! If you're complaining about that long 14 hour flight from Europe to Jakarta, understand we can't even get there directly, more on that later. Our flag carriers are mediocre at best (US Airways, Delta) and downright awful at worst (American, United, of course we can fly other international airlines, but those usually cost more!). We're forced to connect if we're going to destinations that aren't as accessible from here (Belarus, Croatia, Indonesia, etc.), bearing with flight delays, tight time schedules, and other connection quirks (granted, some Latin American, Caribbean, and Oceanic countries that are accessible from the US aren't accessible directly by air from Europe either, but due to the sheer size of the US, unless you live in a lucky city that serves Nicaragua, Bolivia, or Fiji, you'd still have to connect, often in a city far away). The visas issued to us always seem to be more expensive. We can't even go to Cuba for regular tourism purposes, unless done illegally. Some people around the world seem to hate us for being American too ("American tourists!"), and more than once people have made it hard on me (and others) because of being American. Oh yeah, and complaining about the rude TSA agents? We're treated just about the same as foreigners, believe it or not. OK, so Europeans still encounter some of these problems, but certainly not on the level that we experience it. And yet Americans rank towards the top in terms of nations that travel the most. So while we may be the worst tourists in the world, don't say we don't travel! That being said, if you live in Europe, consider yourselves lucky!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). Japan, central american, africa and a whatever else. I'm interested in it all.
