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Old 12-17-2014, 06:03 PM
 
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If you live in the western US, pretty much anywhere outside of the West Coast costs at least a thousand dollars to visit per person. Even going to Denver from Portland say, is gonna eat up $250 worth of airfare, plus $100 a day for accomodations, food and transit, so a week there would cost $1000 and up!

Europe and Asia both cost more than $1000 for a round trip plane ticket, and even visiting the eastern US or Mexico will again cost you more than a thousand dollars. If you don't have a car, you're extremely limited in terms of the trips you can take in the West. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc are off limits unless you take an overpriced coach to those areas. Pretty much the only "affordable" trips worth taking if you live in the western US and don't have a car would be to visit Vancouver, Victoria, Hollywood/Disneyland, Vegas and Tijuana. If you're a city person Vancouver and San Francisco are the only cities vibrant enough to warrant a vacation.

The US in general is isolated and sucks for travelers but living back east is much better since visiting Europe is a bit more affordable, there's a lot more packed into that region, the Carribbean is close, Quebec is close, etc.
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Old 12-17-2014, 06:12 PM
 
Location: Austin
603 posts, read 928,163 times
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Never mind
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Old 12-17-2014, 07:30 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,813 posts, read 32,386,974 times
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I travel by foot about 2 blocks to see the ocean every day. Doesn't cost me a thing.

Learn to be happy where you are, or move somewhere you'll be happy. Traveling is overrated.
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Old 12-17-2014, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne
17,916 posts, read 24,269,567 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post

Traveling is overrated.
As someone who is flying to the east coast to see family I haven't seen in a year, I have to disagree.

Besides which, I agree that being happy where you live is important, but having no curiosity or no desire to expand your horizons and enrich your life with experiences is dull for some people.
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Old 12-17-2014, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
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What???
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Old 12-17-2014, 10:32 PM
 
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,734 posts, read 23,728,028 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele View Post
If you live in the western US, pretty much anywhere outside of the West Coast costs at least a thousand dollars to visit per person. Even going to Denver from Portland say, is gonna eat up $250 worth of airfare, plus $100 a day for accomodations, food and transit, so a week there would cost $1000 and up! .
This isn't just a western phenomenon. I'm going to Boston this summer for a few weeks. While back there I thought about doing a jaunt across the pond. I checked airfare from Boston to Ireland and it was around $1100. Airfare to other cities across the pond were very steep as well. The airlines collectively have the market cornered under their own terms with higher airfares and fees along with record profits. Hotels are getting more expensive everywhere as well, many of them are nickel and dime'ing with new "resort and amenity fees."

This is just the reality of traveling, it has a lot of expense. You can either afford it or you can't. And if you can't afford it you can either b*tch about it or find some way to make it happen. I think you are just looking for more reasons to scapegoat the west, but these reasons aren't really supporting your argument, or whining I should say. Just move somewhere else and find reasons to be happy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele View Post
If you're a city person Vancouver and San Francisco are the only cities vibrant enough to warrant a vacation.
Disagreed. I love visiting Seattle, and if you can't have fun in LA, well then that's just dumb.

Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele View Post
The US in general is isolated and sucks for travelers but living back east is much better since visiting Europe is a bit more affordable, there's a lot more packed into that region, the Carribbean is close, Quebec is close, etc.
I think the Pacific Rim is pretty good as well from an accessible standpoint on the West Coast. Yeah Asia is a bit further than Europe is from the East Coast, but you're complaining about $250 airfare to Portland, so how could you afford to fly to Europe anyway?

Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 12-17-2014 at 11:00 PM..
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Old 12-17-2014, 11:23 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert_SW_77 View Post
Just move somewhere else and find reasons to be happy.
It cost a fortune to move to another state, and moving to another country is really difficult if you don't have a career that will help you. It would cost me at least $1500 even to move to Washington state, let alone back east of out of the US.
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Old 12-17-2014, 11:51 PM
 
26 posts, read 28,532 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele View Post
and even visiting the eastern US or Mexico will again cost you more than a thousand dollars.
Where on earth are you getting your flight quotes? I just ran a flight to Cancun from NYC and LAX one month out and they were $401 and $408 respectively. I've flown between PHL and LAX twice this year for $350-450.

East coast to Europe is cheaper, duh. Yea trips to Asia are more because the Pacific ocean is bigger but the cost savings from west coast to asia is as big as the east coast to Europe savings.
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Old 12-17-2014, 11:53 PM
 
3,750 posts, read 4,947,930 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by truth1ness View Post
Where on earth are you getting your flight quotes? I just ran a flight to Cancun from NYC and LAX one month out and they were $401 and $408 respectively. I've flown between PHL and LAX twice this year for $350-450.

East coast to Europe is cheaper, duh. Yea trips to Asia are more because the Pacific ocean is bigger but the cost savings from west coast to asia is as big as the east coast to Europe savings.
Is that one way or round trip though? Still, what I meant is that any vacation to anywhere from the West Coast is going to cost at least a grand a person even if it's just a few days long.
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Old 12-18-2014, 01:38 AM
 
Location: Somewhere below Mason/Dixon
9,454 posts, read 10,759,446 times
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I think the OP is wrong. West coast folks can visit Alaska and Hawaii cheaper, countless western national parks, trips to Hollywood and California beach areas, Mexico etc. Also it is not that much to fly east if they want to do that. Many people in the east could easily complain about access to west coast attractions in the same way. We all live somewhere that is closer to some attractions and further from others. My home in the southeast is a lot closer to a Carolina beach vacation than it is to California wine country. That is life. If I want to taste wine in California I need to pony up a bit more money for the flight. Again that is life.
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