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Old 04-04-2019, 09:43 AM
 
Location: NYC
5,231 posts, read 3,570,791 times
Reputation: 15892

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One thing I have learned after a lifetime is that most people, American or not, are simply not curious, especially about things that don't directly affect them. They seem to be content enough with tv, going to sports events & some local recreational travel. Out of my whole "group" that I came of age with, primarily blue-collar, no-one besides me has really gone anywhere besides Mexico, the Caribbean, cruises or perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime visit to a country of heritage like Ireland or Italy.

The fact that the US is bordered by oceans making it expensive to travel if a family, particularly since wages haven't really kept up with inflation here for a generation & our stingy vacation allotments compared to other advanced countries add to discouraging international travel.
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Old 04-04-2019, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Silver Spring, MD
1,991 posts, read 1,715,832 times
Reputation: 2172
Quote:
Originally Posted by CitySshark View Post
I could traveI I just never even think about it I live in NYC and I feel like if you can't find it here it doesn't exist,besides everyone comes here anyway I meet models from Tokyo,Club barons from Moscow,college kids from Austria.I meet a few Americans but they usually have kids in college here or one that moved here for a job.

This question comes up alot thought.I read alot of answers.mostly comes down to Americans just don't have the time or money.The American continent is huge it's easier and cheaper to travel whithin USA you can even include Mexico and Canada.

Americans like personal space and driving things you don't get much of in many countries.

Personally there's a few places I'm interested in going to.Kenya,Nigeria,Tokyo,Seoul,Mexico City Port Au Prince,Rome,Paris,But I really have no reason to go.Theres google Earth and my friends who do go have stories.
I have to disagree with this. I have found travel deals to international destinations that were about the same price of if not cheaper than domestic travel.

Here is the travel I have purchased for this year:

$291 NYC to Madrid.
$300 BWI-Las Vegas
$302 JFK- Nairobi, Kenya
$185 IAD to Barcelona (one way)
$390 London to Ft. Lauderdale/ JFK to London
$483 Washington to Sydney
$485 Washington to Tahiti

All of these fares were sale fares and not error fares.

I work for the State of Maryland where employees get about 11 weeks of leave (25 vacation/personal, 15 sick, and 14-15 holidays). Most of these trips are a week long. While the travel time to some of these destinations will be long I will get about 6-7 days on the ground and I feel that I will easily get my money's worth in experiences. I am also willing to sacrifice the desire to travel business class in order to visit more locations, I'm sure that I could only get one business class ticket for the amount I have spent for 6 international trips, business class is nice but not as nice as 5 more trips.
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Old 04-04-2019, 12:31 PM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,759,907 times
Reputation: 40634
My international travel, even to far fung places, is very often cheaper than domestic unless I'm doing tent camping primarily trips.
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Old 04-04-2019, 12:43 PM
 
6,803 posts, read 10,441,273 times
Reputation: 8304
Quote:
Originally Posted by kletter1mann View Post
I recently returned from a 6 week adventure travel trip to Laos and Cambodia. I traveled by bus, boat and motorcycle. It was the experience of a lifetime. I was very struck by how few Americans I encountered - practically none! The tourists/travelers were overwhelmingly Euros, Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians. These were not wealthy people, just regular working folks with the curiosity and will to see the world, eat new food and push outside their comfort zone. Americans, it seems, are interested mostly in inclusive resorts and Disneyland.



Why is this? Please don't respond that you've personally been where ever. That may well be. But I'm speaking of the extreme scarcity of Americans getting out and seeing something different and exotic. It's undeniable. What's wrong with us? Fear? Lack of education? Lack of curiosity? Spending money on fancy cars, houses, whatever, and that's it?
Very few people in America have the ability to get 6 weeks of vacation time, and a majority cannot or at least believe they cannot afford the overseas airfare/travel expenses without years of budgeting for it - so they tend to opt for trips closer to home because they can have more of them. Further, if they do not have close family/friends who have done it, they often do not feel comfortable about how to make safe arrangements for such a trip. They feel intimidated by the prospect of overseas travel.
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Old 04-04-2019, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Over yonder a piece
4,268 posts, read 6,260,223 times
Reputation: 7133
Quote:
Originally Posted by athena53 View Post
I'd say it's too expensive for the average American to go to Disney World but somehow they manage. It's partly priorities. Some people just don't want "foreign". I'm perfectly happy to have them all standing in line for Pirates of the Caribbean while I explore a park in Costa Rica.
The OP stated that they traveled for a 6 week period - that's the "extended period of time" I was referring to. Saving up $2K for a family of four to drive to Disney for a week and have a 4-day pass is totally doable.

My daughter and I are going to England for a week and airfare alone was $1500 for the two of us. So $1500 spent before you even get to lodging, food, shopping, entertainment - even just for one week it'll be expensive. I can't even imagine the cost of a 6-week trip, even if you stay in hostels and only spend $10/day/pp on food.
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Old 04-04-2019, 02:21 PM
 
Location: Honolulu
1,708 posts, read 1,133,313 times
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It is true that if you don't live close to an air hub, it is very expensive for Americans to do international travel.

For example, if you live somewhere in rural Midwest, the only air hub with direct international flights is Chicago. So you have to drive 200+ miles to Chicago, probably stay overnight in the airport hotel and pay parking for 7-14 days.

If the travel is done in winter, it is even more humbug because you don't know how much delay will be on the road and/or at the airport.

Before you make the trip, you are already exhausted -- both financially and physically.

Even if you live in medium-size cities, i.e. 100K+ population, it is still humbug because many airlines have cut back service and stop flying there.

Last edited by Ian_Lee; 04-04-2019 at 02:34 PM..
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Old 04-04-2019, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,259 posts, read 22,690,080 times
Reputation: 16409
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian_Lee View Post
For example, if you live somewhere in rural Midwest, the only air hub with direct international flights is Chicago. So you have to drive 200+ miles to Chicago, probably stay overnight in the airport hotel and pay parking for 7-14 days.
Both Detroit Metro and Minneapolis also have a good number of international flights out of the Midwest. And starting from a small 'spoke' airport that connects with those international flights at ORD, DTW or MSP can often be cheaper than starting at a hub- when Delta controls 80% of the air traffic at DTW, they can impose monopoly pricing on tickets that originate or finish there. If the spoke airport has better competition among legacy carriers, it can be cheaper to start there instead of a non-competitive hub because the legacy 3 are fighting for your business. (Airline ticket pricing is more about what they can charge than some sort of reflection on how much it costs them to fly you between a few places)
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Old 04-04-2019, 02:46 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
16,355 posts, read 10,368,317 times
Reputation: 36117
Quote:
Originally Posted by shellymdnv View Post
I work for the State of Maryland where employees get about 11 weeks of leave (25 vacation/personal, 15 sick, and 14-15 holidays).

You have to be pretty senior to earn that kind of leave, at least 20 years of service if I'm not mistaken. Not to mention, sick leave is supposed to be for when you're sick. The average working stiff in the United States does not earn that amount of leave, which is surely one factor among several for why many Americans don't travel overseas, at least not with any frequency.
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Old 04-04-2019, 03:12 PM
 
2,639 posts, read 1,980,891 times
Reputation: 1988
This is probably a good point to ask some questions. If you are traveling for reasons other than business...

1. Flying from the U.S. to Europe, what is the minimum amount of time there that would make the trip worthwhile?

2. Flying from the U.S. to Asia, what is the minimum amount of time there that would make the trip worthwhile?

3. Flying from the U.S. to Africa, what is the minimum amount of time there that would make the trip worthwhile?

4. Flying from the U.S. to Australia, what is the minimum amount of time there that would make the trip worthwhile?
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Old 04-04-2019, 03:21 PM
 
Location: Australia
3,602 posts, read 2,275,044 times
Reputation: 6931
Quote:
Originally Posted by shellymdnv View Post
I have to disagree with this. I have found travel deals to international destinations that were about the same price of if not cheaper than domestic travel.

Here is the travel I have purchased for this year:

$291 NYC to Madrid.
$300 BWI-Las Vegas
$302 JFK- Nairobi, Kenya
$185 IAD to Barcelona (one way)
$390 London to Ft. Lauderdale/ JFK to London
$483 Washington to Sydney
$485 Washington to Tahiti

All of these fares were sale fares and not error fares.

I work for the State of Maryland where employees get about 11 weeks of leave (25 vacation/personal, 15 sick, and 14-15 holidays). Most of these trips are a week long. While the travel time to some of these destinations will be long I will get about 6-7 days on the ground and I feel that I will easily get my money's worth in experiences. I am also willing to sacrifice the desire to travel business class in order to visit more locations, I'm sure that I could only get one business class ticket for the amount I have spent for 6 international trips, business class is nice but not as nice as 5 more trips.
I have been trying to talk DH into business class travel as I do not enjoy 24 hour flights stuffed into economy. However yesterday I priced a potential trip, Sydney to Rome, Rome to Kenya and home. $A2,500 each on economy and $A11,000 on business. As you said, nearly six times the price. ouch.

Those prices you have found are really cheap. Enjoy the trips.

I guess we always made travel a priority and I used to allocate roughly half of my income to pay for family holidays. Now we are retired I think we would be spending about the same on travel most years as we do on our other general living expenses. But it seems that will not stretch to business class.
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