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Because Diving from Berlin to Lisbon is like Driving from Kansas City to Cleveland.
This in a nutshell. Europeans often can't understand the concept of living in such a huge country (unless they're from Russia). They also don't understand that, since we are such a big country, our regions vary by look, regional (not overall American) culture, and things to do.
The US is also surrounded by water on two sides, along with the Gulf Coast. We border only two (also large) countries by land while Europe, a continent roughly the same size as the US, is composed of numerous mostly small countries, each with their own cultures, languages, climates, topography, etc. You can drive easily to another country, in a relatively short amount of time, and experience something completely different than your home country in Europe (and note, it's easy to travel within the EU - practically like passing US state borders). It's similar just within the US, though our overall culture does not vary greatly between regions, just slightly, and our language is the same. But Northern NJ and Southern CA couldn't be more different if they tried, for example. I can drive for 12 hours in almost every direction possible and still be in the US. Many Europeans can drive for 12 hours and have already passed through at least one other country.
Until people realize that the US is so huge and we need to fly pretty far to visit European countries or those anywhere else, we're going to be accused of disliking travel (though it is expensive to fly across an entire ocean in either direction) and of not being worldly.
Until people realize that the US is so huge and we need to fly pretty far to visit European countries or those anywhere else, we're going to be accused of disliking travel (though it is expensive to fly across an entire ocean in either direction) and of not being worldly.
Most people I know travel outside Europe. US and Thailand seems to be most popular.
I am going to UAE next month. The plane ticket costs about the same as to New York. The flight time is over 7 hours. Yes, traveling to another continent is expensive. Americans have the highest disposable income in the world.. So what is the excuse?
Most people I know travel outside Europe. US and Thailand seems to be most popular.
I am going to UAE next month. The plane ticket costs about the same as to New York. The flight time is over 7 hours. Yes, traveling to another continent is expensive. Americans have the highest disposable income in the world.. So what is the excuse?
Are you European? Then that probably explains it.
The excuse is that not every American is rich or has time. People in my own family can't even afford to take their kids to Disney World in Florida yet you want them to go to Thailand or some other place overseas? It's not even a very safe country for foreigners, so shelling out money for an expensive resort so they can feel safe with their kids is even worse on their wallets. If it's cheaper anyway to go to Florida, where they can get a new experience you can't get here in NJ, then why not? It takes far less time to travel more locally within the US than it does to fly across the ocean and then some.
Don't forget, the flight from NYC to CA is 6 hours. It's like 12 to Hawaii. Those are long flights just to get to the other side of our country. People still don't understand.
Americans who have the means to visit the world do so if they wish. And if they don't wish, I'm sure they have valid reasons and don't need to explain them.
Most people I know travel outside Europe. US and Thailand seems to be most popular.
I am going to UAE next month. The plane ticket costs about the same as to New York. The flight time is over 7 hours. Yes, traveling to another continent is expensive. Americans have the highest disposable income in the world.. So what is the excuse?
Well that's great. For me, a flight to Dubai would take just under 24 hours getting there, and 36 hours getting back. That's TWO AND A HALF DAYS out of my vacation, being tortured on some airline, crammed in like sardines. Back in the day when flights weren't so full ... it might have been worth it. Today, not on a bet.
To Singapore, 24 hours each way. The shortest flight to Oslo is 18 hours. To London, 12 hours. To Sydney, 20 hours.
In 5 or 6 hours, I can be on the beach in Hawaii or Florida, or in New York City or Montreal.
As for Americans and their disposable income, I think you don't quite have an understanding of it. Take out that top 5%, and there's not so much disposable income.
Don't get me wrong. Travel is great. I love to travel. If you could move some of those places closer to home, and make them less expensive to get to ... I'd be there in a minute.
Well that's great. For me, a flight to Dubai would take just under 24 hours getting there, and 36 hours getting back. That's TWO AND A HALF DAYS out of my vacation, being tortured on some airline, crammed in like sardines. Back in the day when flights weren't so full ... it might have been worth it. Today, not on a bet.
To Singapore, 24 hours each way. The shortest flight to Oslo is 18 hours. To London, 12 hours. To Sydney, 20 hours.
In 5 or 6 hours, I can be on the beach in Hawaii or Florida, or in New York City or Montreal.
As for Americans and their disposable income, I think you don't quite have an understanding of it. Take out that top 5%, and there's not so much disposable income.
Don't get me wrong. Travel is great. I love to travel. If you could move some of those places closer to home, and make them less expensive to get to ... I'd be there in a minute.
Right. I love visiting Europe, but even from Texas, it's at least a 7 hour flight. Plus - I have to drive to the airport (two hours) and get there two hours before an international flight. I mean - I really have to want to go somewhere to do all that. So - two days, two full and uncomfortable days, of just getting there and back.
My daughter lives in Guam. For me to get there will take a minimum of 21 hours, and $2100 dollars too. Sheeze!
Meanwhile, I can be just about anywhere in the US mainland in six hours or less, from a local airport less than an hour away. And it's not like we have a shortage of "sights" to see right here in the US. Plus, like someone else mentioned, we have a very mobile society and we tend to have larger families as well. My CLOSEST child lives five hours away! Just a few years ago, I had one grown child in Alaska, one in Idaho, one in Austin (five hours south of me) and one in Wichita Falls (four hours north of me) and parents in Arkansas, one brother in Houston (three hours south of me) and one in Ohio (18 hours by car and six hours by plane). So ummmmmmm, who will I go see on vacation or over the holidays? Suffice it to say that I had plenty of travel on my hands WITHOUT leaving the United States!
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 12-28-2013 at 07:50 PM..
These "Americans are so close-minded" folks just don't seem to grasp that it's not that no one wants to visit overseas, it's just that with everything factoring in, it's cheaper, easier, and just as (and sometimes more) entertaining, to visit somewhere in North America.
I have traveled overseas courtesy of dear Uncle Sam so I think I've got a taste. But in spite of having been to 49 states, there's still many things I still haven't seen here yet, not to mention all the great places I've been to that I want to see again...far too many to list here.
My inclinations on further overseas travel always get trumped by my preferences to keep my money here at home although I would like to participate in that dead goat equestrian sport they have in Afghanistan. I do see myself visiting Great Britain at some point as I hear they speak a reasonably discernible variation of English, plus I want answers on why the Scots have blacklisted our McFarland Clan, who do I see about that?
I really can't understand why the (generally Euro) butt-hurtness is exhibited in this regard, although I'd bet if an alternate view-point was raised about why people overseas don't visit the states, we would be accused of boorish provincialism.
I have been all over Europe, and Americans are EVERYWHERE.
There are more Americans in, say Rome, or Paris, or Venice, or Berlin, then there are visitors from the biggest European countries. And for Americans, it's a $1,200 plane ticket and a huge time commitment, while for a German (to take one example), it's a short car/train ride and can easily be done anytime.
So Americans are obviously huge travelers, which makes sense, because there is so much wealth in the U.S. The U.S. is the wealthiest major nation on earth, and has over 300 million people.
I was actually in Rome, in October, and we were having a fancy dinner near the Spanish Steps, and we just realized that almost the entire restaurant was American. The economy in Europe (and especially Italy) kind of sucks, so that's probably one reason there are fewer European tourists. Places like Canada or Australia have representation, but are small. Japan has economic issues, and China, while huge, is still poor, and tourists from China tend to go on tour groups.
1. It's expensive - What other people forget is that Americans have to worry about stuff expensive health insurance, car insurance, and all kinds of stuff that people in countries that have more socially democratic countries don't have to worry about.
For a family in America, somebody getting sick immediately can take you out of 20,000 - 50,000 dollars even if you have insurance, so you constantly have to worry about money, even if you're currently healthy, because if you don't, you'll lose your house, car, job, and everything you worked for VERY easily, so traveling almost seems like something that is for "rich" people and for people without responsibilities like kids and working class jobs.
2. We get far less vacation than everyone else - It's funny to hear certain politicians make us working class joes out to just be "lazy", because it seems that we work harder than any country that isn't a 3rd world crap hole, in terms of hours. And we get anywhere from a week to a month off every year.
3. America has everything already - We have arctic climates, deserts, tropical climates, Las Vegas, New York City, Hollywood, South Beach, Chicago, every sport known to man (except soccer), movie stars, famous athletes, etc. . . Hell, you could probably find elements of all of those things in California alone.
4. Americans are insecure - Our politicians and corporations have created a people who are literally scared to leave out of our front door. Our news is all about violence, death, and threats from everywhere. We're afraid of the inner-city, we're afraid of terrorism, we're afraid of European socialism, we're afraid of Mexicans, and we're afraid that the rest of the world is plotting against us because that's what Fox News and the corporate news papers tell us.
A lot of Americans do indeed think the rest of the world hates us. This is the fault of the left and right in this country. The right tells us that they hate us because we're soooo free and soooo lucky to live in a country run by large conglomerates and military defense contractors, and the left tells us that they world hates us because we're sooo fat and terrible and we don't read enough and we're religious and we only speak one language (most of us) and we don't like soccer.
That above all else I believe keeps Americans from traveling. That insecurity.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Good luck with that guy.
In a world where we make 1/2 what our fathers did to work the same job with worst hours and less benefits and way less vacation time. And then there's 100 guys there to take our jobs for even less.
This was a very refreshing and accurate post! Rep.
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