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I travel alot and meet alot of other traveling ppl from all over the world, but I never meet americans except for when traveling in the US (well, I do, but not as often as i should).
You have a fantastic country, I get that, but still, theres so much more to see.
I dont know anyone of my friends or family who havent been to USA or Thailand.. Most of the ppl I know also visited China, Caribea and Australia. (and almost every Swede have visited Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Greece & France before the age of 10)
Read somewhere that only 20% of the americans owns a passport!! That cant be true, can it?
A theory I have is that u maybe dont have so much vacation? (Most Swedes have 5-6 full paid weeks every year. So does our neighbouring countries Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany).
I travel alot and meet alot of other traveling ppl from all over the world, but I never meet americans except for when traveling in the US (well, I do, but not as often as i should).
You have a fantastic country, I get that, but still, theres so much more to see.
I dont know anyone of my friends or family who havent been to USA or Thailand.. Most of the ppl I know also visited China, Caribea and Australia. (and almost every Swede have visited Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Greece & France before the age of 10)
Read somewhere that only 20% of the americans owns a passport!! That cant be true, can it?
A theory I have is that u maybe dont have so much vacation? (Most Swedes have 5-6 full paid weeks every year. So does our neighbouring countries Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany).
Whats your theories?
I can't speak for anyone one else, but I'd love to travel the world - if only I owned a bank.
I dont know anyone of my friends or family who havent been to USA or Thailand.. Most of the ppl I know also visited China, Caribea and Australia. (and almost every Swede have visited Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Greece & France before the age of 10)
Originally Posted by burgler09 Moderator cut: see comment I bet that most americans have seen a great number of states in the USA. Europeans can travel to a different country like Americans can travel to different states. We can't just hop on a 30 dollar flight over the Atlantic ocean. Moderator cut: see comment For the record, I saw more Americans in Colombia than I did Europeans altogether.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 12-22-2011 at 06:25 PM..
Reason: Personal attacks are not permitted per ToS. We may attack ideas but we do not attack the speaker of the ideas.
Could be that we are not all as wealthy as the people in Sweden. To travel from the east coast of the US to Europe would be around $1000 per person - to start with. The average person's vacation time is 2 weeks and single days through out the year for legal holidays. That would be for those that have jobs. The unemployment rate right now is very high and many have jobs that are well below their skill level with low pay, as good jobs here are scarce.
Last edited by Newdaawn; 12-20-2011 at 06:28 AM..
Reason: addition
Could be that we are not all as wealthy as the people in Sweden. To travel from the east coast of the US to Europe would be around $1000 per person - to start with. The average person's vacation time is 2 weeks and single days through out the year for legal holidays. That would be for those that have jobs. The unemployment rate right now is very high and many have jobs that are well below their skill level with low pay, as good jobs here are scarce.
Hmmmm. Wealthy Chinese travelers are flooding the vacation market. I wonder where they get THEIR money?
Naw...it couldn't be the profits they make off cheap Chinese labor, could it?
I am not shocked by only 20% of Americans having a passport. Up until a few years ago, US citizens could travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and I believe some other Central American countries with only a birth certificate and a secondary form of ID (driver license). Given the incredible geographic and climactic diversity in the continental US, the availability of arctic destinations in Canada & Alaska and the availability of tropical destinations in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the entire Caribbean, it was pretty easy to experience just about anything you'd like without having to spend the extra $ on a passport. Obviously one couldn't experience the history and culture of say, Asia or Europe that way, but given the relatively short amount of vacation time available to US workers the closer destinations almost always win out.
Europeans can travel to a different country like Americans can travel to different states. We can't just hop on a 30 dollar flight over the Atlantic ocean.
Exactly. I can hop on a plane and fly 3,000 miles and still be in the US. Keep country size in perspective and it makes sense.
With that said, I am fairly well traveled and always run into Americans overseas, and I am not talking about typical destinations like London, Paris, etc.
I am not shocked by only 20% of Americans having a passport. Up until a few years ago, US citizens could travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and I believe some other Central American countries with only a birth certificate and a secondary form of ID (driver license).
I was just reading something about this. Since the laws have changed, the number of Americans with passports has gone from 20% to 27%. Still pretty low, considering it costs much less to get to Canada or the Caribbean than to Europe.
It is all about what people value. Some people truly don't have spare money to travel, and then there are people who'd say they don't have the money, but buy a new big-screen TV every few years.
I do think it's true that Europeans can't really grasp how big the U.S. is, and how many cultures it contains. I live on the East Coast, and it would take me maybe a half hour longer to fly to Western Europe than to the West Coast of the U.S.
I will be going to Europe for the first time next year, and hopefully by budgeting well, I can make return trips every few years. In between, I will travel domestically or to cheaper destinations.
I am not shocked by only 20% of Americans having a passport. Up until a few years ago, US citizens could travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and I believe some other Central American countries with only a birth certificate and a secondary form of ID (driver license). Given the incredible geographic and climactic diversity in the continental US, the availability of arctic destinations in Canada & Alaska and the availability of tropical destinations in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the entire Caribbean, it was pretty easy to experience just about anything you'd like without having to spend the extra $ on a passport. Obviously one couldn't experience the history and culture of say, Asia or Europe that way, but given the relatively short amount of vacation time available to US workers the closer destinations almost always win out.
I'd agree with the above. We live on the west coast, so we can drive to the beach, the mountains, the desert - all in one weekend if we wished. Plus we go to Hawaii at least once a year.
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