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If this is actually true, it may be because many Americans fear that they will be held accountable for Donald Trump and will suffer reprisals, if they step outside our country.
Don't be ridiculous. 92,000,000 Americans traveled internationally in 2018, versus 80,000,000 in 2016. When we were in South Africa and the Netherlands last year, we spoke to plenty of people of all nationalities and made plenty of friends. Not one of them those people ever brought up politics with us.
I wish people would base their assertions on actual fact.
So it's being a snob to have a different worldview because you're educated, affluent, and well-traveled? That sounds like a class-envy label to me.
It's being a snob when you lord it over other people that you have traveled and they have not.
No class envy with me, as I have traveled extensively (I have family overseas, for crying out loud). I just don't go around acting like I'm better than others because I go these places and they don't.
And I didn't invent the term travel snob. It's a widely used term.
If this is actually true, it may be because many Americans fear that they will be held accountable for Donald Trump and will suffer reprisals, if they step outside our country.
That's a really stupid statement.
Over 60 million Americans would be proud to be "held accountable for Donald Trump".
The folks mentioning limited vacation time are spot on. Most companies here only provide 10 days of vacation per year to start, and depending on their policy, you might get 15 days/year once you hit the 5 year mark, then 20 days/year at 10 years. A lot of us don't stick around at a company long enough to get to that point, for various reasons. Couple that with the expense of flying overseas and the amount of time it takes to do so, the logistics just aren't as favorable.
So very much this. I've been working in the civilian world for 25 years now, and it seems every time I got close to the 'three weeks vacation' mark, something happened and I had to start again at another company. I've been at my current company long enough to finally hit three weeks.
Also, something to keep in mind--a lot of companies in the States have an 'accrual system' of getting vacation time--for example, you earn so many hours per pay period, and you can only request what you have saved up. My company used to do this, and it was just impossible to save the time up, because things kept cropping up. We've since switched over to 'you get all your time at the beginning of the year', and it makes it a lot easier to plan things out.
There is also the travel time for some places. Australia and New Zealand have been on my list forever, but they'll take a long time to get to from where I am. Now that I have more vacation time, it's more feasible, but there's still the money factor.
If nothing else, though, I was in several foreign countries thanks to the military, so I'll at least be able to say I've been other places, even if I never get out of the States again in my lifetime. I'm glad for that at least.
Lack of curiosity, short vacations, absence of familiar facilities like a row of Walmart+Lowes+Sears+HomeDepot+Costco, stores, fear of everything foreign - especially food, fear of surprises.
I'm extremely skeptical that many people decide not to travel internationally because there isn't a row of familiar big box stores nearby during their vacation, or that Americans have an innate fear of surprises more than anyone else.
I agree with time being the biggest factor. And second money. Several on here quoting....it's only a few hundred for this flight or that flight. But if you are in your prime earning years, you also mostly likely have a family. So multiply that number by 4 and it suddenly skipping that latte doesn't make that much of a dent.
Some people spend their off time doing their hobbies or sports. Some are traveling. However, some people play golf and want to hit that course they've dreamed of. Some people do woodworking and travel to learn extra skills at a convention for example. Some people like overlanding or off road vehicles and may travel to and spend a week on the trails. In my area most men are fisherman and hunters and precious time off is saved for deer season. I ride gaited horses, for example, so I can't wait to head to Shawnee National Forest or East Fork TN to get out on some of the beautiful trails with my buddy. And many people with kids in sports must use their time off to take their kids to tournaments or things like dance recitals.
"Travel" to see other countries is considered a hobby we choose just as these other things are.
Also, I think we see travel as not necessarily the same thing as "vacationing" which would be more of a relaxing time to unwind.
I was very fortunate to make an excellent friend who moved here from England. Her husband was hired as CEO of a major company. The company is owned by Germans so he was able to negotiate to keep his rather large amount of vacation time (which would dwarf the vacation time given to the US factory workers working at the same company).
They had previously traveled extensively and regularly and I loved hearing of her trips to Dubai, Spain, etc.
I found it amusing that once living here in the US, they took one, maybe two trips to visit their family in England per year (and complained about the cost and travel time). The rest of his vacation was spent in Naples FL! Every. Single. Time. WHY? He said it was because he could get whatever style of cuisine he desired, and sit on an amazing beach all day. And when he had time off of his stressful job that's all he wanted. He enjoyed the fact that they were familiar with the area and had their favorite restaurants and spots to visit. SO, at least in this case, even British expats who were raised with travel as their culture resorted to American style "vacations".
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