Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
^100% accurate, plus I'd rather spend my money helping out fellow Americans than some other country where they'd just as soon spit on a Yank if given half-a-chance
Well you gotta go and visit to disabuse'em of that notion!...;-)...
And yest it is expensive to travel overseas from here. Those Europeans and Asians are lucky in that most countries are relatively near to them so they don't have to go into penury to travel.
But if I look at the stats though I wonder say how many Spaniards visit Poland or how many Italians visit Scandanavia? Is it alot or are they stuck in their own countries like us????
well I certainly look down my nose at Americans who think "the US has everything and we don't have to travel abroad". It is like you learn to play the piano but only play Bach.
People judge. I judge. Many pretend not to judge but in reality they still do. That's the real world.
I guess it just doesn't really matter to me WHY someone doesn't want to travel abroad. Of course the US doesn't have everything, but there are so many things and places to see here. Some people would prefer to see that first, others prefer to head abroad. Some people just don't like to travel. To each their own.
Sorry to revive a dead post but this is spot on! I think these are all accurate but I also think you can't overlook cost. It is expensive to travel overseas and most middle class working stiffs just can't afford it.
it's not expensive, most ppl simply don't have the vacation time to do it.
I think it is also the vacation time. I am going to Paris in a little over a month and will be there for 18 days. It is our honeymoon so we have had good luck getting the time off work, but both employers have complained that it is a long time to be gone. I am missing 2 weeks and one day of work, taking in weekends and so is mu husband, we both get 2 weeks of vacation oer year, but taking it all at once is causing both employers to have issue.
And I am not paying for the flight and doing the prep required for a week or even 10 days...
well I certainly look down my nose at Americans who think "the US has everything and we don't have to travel abroad". It is like you learn to play the piano but only play Bach.
People judge. I judge. Many pretend not to judge but in reality they still do. That's the real world.
I am an American and I love my country, but, you are very right regarding your assessment. I love seeing and visiting other countries and have done so as much as I can. When my brother was stationed many years in Germany, I took advantage of the military tours available to kin of the military. I traveled to many countries and have often been surprised that people back in the states are not interested in doing same. I've never tried to push my adventures off onto anyone because I learned long ago no one is interested. But, when someone mentions a place that was the setting for a movie they saw, I do comment that I've been there and that's it. Prior to the military tours, I also went to various places in Mexico and Canada. The last time I flew to Canada was to Calgary and it's the last time to be out of the states. Only a few months after 9/11 and I thought I would never get back to the states. There were five checkpoints which were identical. Stand in line a long time. Hand all the identification to the clerk. then go around a corner to stand in line again for the same inspection. It was all being done by the US of A. I decided that day would be the end of my travels to other countries and it has been. I am no longer able to stand and stand some more.
This has got to be about the stupidest blog I've ever read in my life. What's more, I can't believe people actually buy his brand of baloney. I realize that Nomadic Matt is a shill for the travel industry, but let's get real. Sure, there are a very small percentage of Americans who wouldn't cross the border if their life depended on it, but the guy's contention that Americans are afraid to travel overseas is not just incredibly stupid, but also shows a lack of understanding for the working lives of most adults in this country. It borders on weird.
My guess? Nomadic Matt comes from a pampered childhood, one where parents funded every single whim he ever had. He also has no real obligations in his life other than cranking out a self-aggrandizing website. The true irony is that while he's lecturing us on our limited perspective, it's never occurred to this nitwit what kind of obstacles prevent the average American from enjoying his lifestyle. Funny, Matt, but most of us can't just quit our jobs and leave our kids at home while we seek self-actualization in the Andes.
The reason most Americans don't travel that much overseas isn't because they are a bunch of knuckle-dragging cultural know nothings, but rather for two simple reasons:
1) The average American gets 13 days of paid vacation every year. That's it. 13 days. The next lowest industrial country is Japan with 25. Meanwhile, most industrialized countries get six weeks.
So what do we do with those 13 days? Let's see. Plan on on burning at least a few of those vacation days attending family get-togethers such as Thanksgiving or Christmas or family weddings. Or you need to take a day off here or there to attend to personal business. Take one or two more vacation days to have a nice three-day weekend and you're down to one week of vacay. That's it.
Okay. So let's just say you have that one week of vacation and decide to hit Paris. By the time you travel from anywhere but a handful of cities with direct flights from the United States to Europe, you'll be looking at 11-13 hours of flying at a bare minimum, once changing planes is taken into consideration. Add two hours on the front end for checking in and another two hours on the back end clearing customs, and that means a full 15-17 hours of travel.
And if you aren't exhausted from your flight, you'll still be woozy from jet lag. I don't know about you, but the last time I was overseas was in New Zealand on business, I needed 2-3 days to reset my body clock. I've tried everything from the Jet Lag diet on. It's a real deal challenge, especially when you have a very limited amount of time abroad.
That means Days 1-3 of your European vacation is spent traveling and shaking off jet lag. Repeat that on the back end of your trip, and that gives you perhaps 4-5 actual days of enjoying the Louvre, eating baguettes, and whatever.
2) The expense. The aforementioned flight to Paris costs roughly 3x what a similar flight to a Caribbean island will, without paying the huge penalty in jet lag. Just the airfare alone for my family of five to go to Europe would completely pay for a rather lavish vacation here in the western hemisphere, before I pay for the first taxi ride or croissant.
Don't get me wrong. I'll make it Europe with my wife. But only when we have the time and the moola to really enjoy it. Right now, with professional obligations, my children's school, etc., crowding our schedule, I just don't have the scratch or the time to make it happen. And that's true for the large majority of Americans.
NOTE: Sorry. I just realized this was a Lazarus thread and that I had actually made these same arguments several pages back. Evidently, it still ticks me off.
Why is this unfortunate? Who is more qualified to speak to the shortcomings of a nation than its own citizens?
Blah blah blahbity blah. It comes from the motivation behind it. Look, nobody has ever accused me of jingoism. But there's actually a kind of feeblemindedness about that kind mentality, a pathetic need to look and sound cosmopolitan at the expense of one's own country. You can almost see people who say such things looking around and expecting a golf clap from the literati the moment they finish their sentence.
I've actually traveled a lot. And, guess what? I've encountered provincialism in every country I've visited. I've found really stupid and backwards practices in every country I've visited. I've encountered people who were just breathtakingly ignorant about what goes on beyond their little corner of the world. I've met otherwise educated British, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Italians, French, you name it who were shockingly unworldly whose travel was pretty much confined to resorts on Ibiza or Disney World. So this slavish, "We Americans are so ignorant about the world" just comes off as so much preening self-righteousness.
Airfare has increased dramatically the past few years. I have been to England a few times and I intend to go again but the price keeps going up higher and higher.
I've given up everything I can give up and still can't afford the airfare. It didn't used to be this way.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But, when someone mentions a place that was the setting for a movie they saw, I do comment that I've been there and that's it. Prior to the military tours, I also went to various places in Mexico and Canada. The last time I flew to Canada was to Calgary and it's the last time to be out of the states. Only a few months after 9/11 and I thought I would never get back to the states. There were five checkpoints which were identical. Stand in line a long time. Hand all the identification to the clerk. then go around a corner to stand in line again for the same inspection. It was all being done by the US of A. I decided that day would be the end of my travels to other countries and it has been. I am no longer able to stand and stand some more.
