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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.
The lengthy vacation, sick and personal leaves for government employees are pretty common in most Blue States. Some travel agencies even offer special deals to their union.
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?
For me, a week.
Quote:
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?
For me, a minimum of two weeks for all those destinations.
Why the difference? Because I can get to Europe in about 8 hours, but Africa, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific require traveling for about 24 hours for me to get there.
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)
Usually air hubs, especially those huge one like JFK, can get you the best deal to fly international.
For example, if you fly to East Asia from JFK, you can get by as low as $600+ round trip in low season if you don't mind making one or two stops on the way.
Because there are at least 15 - 20 airlines that fly this route. Moreover, you can either choose to fly East or West or North, where any way can get you there at roughly the same time.
And if you have good planning and flexible with travel time, you can even get better deal. Some round trip direct flights (over 16 hours flight time) under $600 can be bought on Black Friday.
... 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?
First, I don't agree with you. I know lots of people that travel internationally. I work for an airline and our planes are packed.
Secondly--the USA is vastly different. California, Kentucky, Maine, Florida, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada--they are all so different. You could spend years traveling around the USA and see something totally different. Just our National Parks--Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, they are all different. Have you gone to Antelope Canyon to see the Poppy Reserve?? BEAUTIFUL! Have you done the Albuquerque Balloon Festival?? It is awesome--go up in the Balloon with the Mass Ascension! Have you done the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco? There is so much to do right here!
Travel is great--personally I am addicted to it. But I don't view people that enjoy their own backyard less of a person, or those that just travel the USA less traveled than me. My goal next year, after I get my Golden National Park Pass this year, is to travel to many of our National Parks.
Lastly--I am known for traveling. I don't brag about it. I do it because I enjoy it. Some people live vicariously through me because they just prefer to stay at home and look at my photographs. And that is okay with me! Do what makes you happy.
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
Most people in the US do not live in those cities, so have to buy the airfare to get to those cities first. So that doubles the price right there for most.
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.
Shouldn't you include the money/time spent getting to NYC when comparing to that Vegas trip which is leaving from your own city?
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.
Wow, six whole weeks? Hahaha.
I spent 18 years living in Asia. That would be equal to 156 6-week periods. Come back and tell me how you feel about Third World travel once you have done another 155 of those, okay?
Neighbors get up early in the morning to burn rubbish. Smoke drifts into the house through open windows (to cool down at night). Neighbor got rid of a couch down the block by lighting it on fire every night for several weeks. Polyester and other materials released toxic smoke, night after night after night. Fire department drove by and went back to the station. No problems, they said.
Noise.
Rubbish strewn everywhere.
Bugs everywhere. Cockroaches in the kitchen. Monitor lizards in the gutters.
Car and motorcycle drivers who bribed the examiner to get a pass.
Cars passing you in the emergency lane.
Cars tailgating.
Noise.
Police in compound next door singing (bad) karaoke every morning around 3 a.m.
Bi-level or tri-level pricing schemes. Yeah, we're charged more than them.
Toxic chemicals in the air. In the water. In the food. Want to complain to the government? Hahahaha. You are a foreigner. Shut your mouth!
And on and on.
Did I mention the nightly and morning burning?
When it is unusual, it is exotic. Exciting. Thrilling. And then someone gets killed in a motorscooter vs. truck squabble.
Been there; done that; didn't want the stinkin' T-shirt.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,762 posts, read 58,170,577 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teak
Wow, six whole weeks? Hahaha.
I spent 18 years living in Asia. That would be equal to 156 6-week periods. Come back and tell me how you feel about Third World travel once you have done another 155 of those, okay?
Neighbors get up early in the morning to burn rubbish. Smoke drifts into the house through open windows (to cool down at night). Neighbor got rid of a couch down the block by lighting it on fire every night for several weeks. Polyester and other materials released toxic smoke, night after night after night. Fire department drove by and went back to the station. No problems, they said.
Noise.
Rubbish strewn everywhere.
Bugs everywhere. Cockroaches in the kitchen. Monitor lizards in the gutters.
Car and motorcycle drivers who bribed the examiner to get a pass.
Cars passing you in the emergency lane.
Cars tailgating.
Noise.
Police in compound next door singing (bad) karaoke every morning around 3 a.m.
Bi-level or tri-level pricing schemes. Yeah, we're charged more than them.
Toxic chemicals in the air. In the water. In the food. Want to complain to the government? Hahahaha. You are a foreigner. Shut your mouth!
And on and on.
Did I mention the nightly and morning burning?
When it is unusual, it is exotic. Exciting. Thrilling. And then someone gets killed in a motorscooter vs. truck squabble.
Been there; done that; didn't want the stinkin' T-shirt.
add the roosters, discos (till 3AM), 4AM nightly dogfights, then the scooters start racing by about 5AM, the neighboring mall broadcasts "Blue-Light-Specials" starting at 6AM.
The different prices thing isn't as bad as it used to be, way more hypermarts around where everyone does there shopping from items that have price tags. You might still get it local markets but there is less and less reason to need to go to local markets instead of the nearest Tesco or Carrefour. Same with local transport, apps like Grab and Uber have made getting farang prices for tuk-tuks not as necessary.
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