Why don't Americans like to travel abroad?

[Jnew28]

Please read and share: http://stupidpartymathvmyth.com/1/post/2016/10/american-exceptionalism-simply-prevents-america-truly-exceptional.html

"Americans lack what they need most—passports. Of course, the problem is most dire in Red States.
While Israel has it’s birthright travel policy, perks (America needs the opposite) a special program to help Trumpeteers to travel, to get out of their caves, to contribute to society. If America wants to be exceptional – it needs to address its Trumpeteer problem."

[Revanchist]

1. Lack of funds?

If it wasn't for the military, I wouldn't have been able to afford to have visited the places I have.

[Jnew28]

2. Probably, or xenophobia. n/t

[bhikkhu]

84. Likely. You may as well ask why Americans don't buy more Bugattis

I'd love to travel more, but I work all the time. And don't have the money.

[tenderfoot]

3. It's expensive to travel overseas. No vacation time. etc.

I'm sure a lack of curiosity about the world past the end of one's nose has something to do with it as well. Many American's can't be bothered in seeing other parts of America.

[Jnew28]

4. Great points. n/t

[davidn3600]

5. Money.

A plane ticket to Europe easily costs over $1,000 a person. An average European vacation can cost a family $10,000 or more.

Then there is the issue of vacation time. We don't value paid leave in America. Most Americans are lucky if they get a week of PTO a year.

[Jnew28]

12. That, and, sheer chauvinism. n/t

[PJMcK]

31. Not really that expensive

My fiancee and I decided to go to Paris for the first week in January. We live in New York City and I was able to book a four-star hotel and roundtrip airfare (Premium Coach) for $850 per person. It's still some money but not nearly the cost you quoted, davidn3600. We'll have additional costs, of course, like meals and such but this, in fact, is actually less expensive than a trip I made to Los Angeles a few months ago.

I agree with you about vacation time. We're both mostly self-employed so we have more flexibility than many people.

The issue, I believe is that Americans don't know much about the world outside of their bubble. Too many Americans, especially the Republican base voters, think that the world outside the US is primitive and dangerous. Their fear and xenophobia limits their ability to understand the incredible world we live in.

[pkdu]

51. As someone who travels a lot for work , and for vacation - those numbers are waaay high

example

you can fly LAX to London for ~$500 (return) on Norwegian Airlines

I have never spent close to 10G on family vacation in Europe , but I will admit its not something most families can afford , even every other year.

[BlueMTexpat]

6. It's likely a combination

of not enough leisure time and not enough $$$.

US citizens are literally vacation-starved. Those in the public sector have some guarantees, but in the private sector, it's basically up to the employer - which means that if you don't have a decent employer or belong to a strong union, tough.

See, e.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country

In the majority of nations, including all industrialized nations except the United States, advances in employee relations have seen the introduction of statutory agreements for minimum employee leave from work—that is the amount of entitlement to paid vacation and public holidays. Several companies will offer contractually more time, depending on the sector. Companies and the law may also differ as to whether public holidays are counted as part of the minimum leave. Disparities in national minimums are still subject of debate regarding work-life balance and perceived differences between nations. These numbers usually refer to full-time employment, part-time workers may get a reduced number of days. In most countries, public holidays are paid and usually not considered part of the annual leave. Also, in most countries there are additional paid leave benefits such as parental leave and sick leave that are not listed here.
...
United States: There is no statutory minimum paid vacation or paid public holidays. It is left to the employers to offer paid vacation. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77% of private employers offer paid vacation to their employees; full-time employees earn on average 10 vacation days after one year of service. Similarly, 77% of private employers give their employees paid time off during public holidays, on average 8 holidays per year. Some employers offer no vacation at all. The average number of paid vacation days offered by private employers is 10 days after 1 year of service, 14 days after 5 years, 17 days after 10 years, and 20 days after 20 years.

Read this and weep.

[Jnew28]

7. For sure - it also likely has to do with regional culture. n/t

[BlueMTexpat]

10. "Culture" may

be too strong a word.

[Jnew28]

11. Ok... *Tribal propensities.

[kcr]

69. Yeah. It's too bad everyone couldn't be like special you n/t

[SomethingNew]

29. I would say it is almost entirely this

and has almost nothing to do with a lack of desire. My Republican father has never traveled outside of the US but he would love to and always talks about how much he wants to. He is even one of the lucky few that could afford it if he bothered to save up a little and made it a priority. In his case, like in many others, he simply feels that he can't take the vacation days at work. He has many health problems so a good deal of his time off is spent dealing with that and the rest he doesn't take because he is always worried about getting the projects done on time and making sure he keeps his job. It is a cultural thing here in America that taking time off work is sometimes seen as being a slacker or not pulling one's weight. I've been pushing him for years to just take ten days and go but I doubt he ever will.

I've done more traveling that many Americans but I am also severely limited. I'm fortunate enough to have a job that puts me in the top 5% of incomes nationwide and my firm has an "unlimited vacation policy." Good luck taking that unlimited vacation when you have to work 50-60 hours every week in order to keep pace and not get pushed out the door.

We need a cultural change here in the US to be more like Europe when it comes to vacation. I spent a few days in Amsterdam a couple of years ago and frequently ate/drank at the same bar. The bartender there told me he gets something like five weeks of vacation every year and it is expected that he take every day of it. I believe that in some countries that is even mandatory.

[BlueMTexpat]

45. This ...

We need a cultural change here in the US to be more like Europe when it comes to vacation. I spent a few days in Amsterdam a couple of years ago and frequently ate/drank at the same bar. The bartender there told me he gets something like five weeks of vacation every year and it is expected that he take every day of it. I believe that in some countries that is even mandatory.

As you note, this vacation policy is also the same for wait staff, hairdressers, salesclerks, machinists, construction workers, etc - not simply for "professionals." Leisure and travel are encouraged.

Productivity in Europe is high and the quality of life here is exceptional. Another thing of note: employment relocations most often occur during the summer so that the children's school year is not interrupted. Imagine that - where they actually practice family values instead of blathering on soulfully about them and never acting in the same way!

If we could truly bring about such a cultural change in the US where leisure, aka "pursuit of happiness," is considered good and a human right (as well as dealing with our serious issues of economic disparity, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) we could become that "kinder, gentler nation" that does not automatically fear "other," IMO. That's a lot to hope for, but it's certainly worth working towards.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Cuz they speak those funny languages and socialism and stuff.

[Jnew28]

9. Oh no!!! Scary nordic socialism! With their cheap health care and all.... n/t

[HughBeaumont]

13. I have a passport.

Until Airline Profiteering goes away, Canada is as far as I go.

Overseas travel just plain and simple costs too much goddamned money. If I were single, I could probably swing it if I saved for a year or two, but it wouldn't just be ME going, it'd be the wife and the kid also.

[Jnew28]

14. A lengthy paid vacation would presumably help, as they do in Italy. n/t

[HughBeaumont]

15. I like their idea of "13th month salary", as highlighted in "Where to Invade Next"

"That's the way the Italians see it . .. what good's a vacation if you can't afford to go on it?"

Like the lady says . . . "This is the only life you GOT."

[EX500rider]

25. "Until Airline Profiteering goes away..." You mean the avg $8 they make per passenger?

... the industry’s average profit is just $8.27 for each passenger that boards a flight. That doesn’t sound like much, and amounts to what is described as “a hard-earned 4% average net profit margin” by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a new report.

So you'd travel a lot more if the ticket was $8 cheaper? lol


http://time.com/money/3914325/airline-profits/

[HughBeaumont]

38. Fellate the poor corporations until the cows come home, I can't afford $900-$1900 a ticket.

Asserting that isn't too much to ask is just tone-deaf third-baser bloviating.

[EX500rider]

50. What's the plane cost? Crew cost? fuel cost? landing rights? etc..

Why would flying be cheap?

The plane alone:
737-800: US$96 million


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737

[PJMcK]

32. It's not as expensive as you think

Upthread, I posted about an upcoming trip we're taking to Paris. I used Expedia.com and got travel and accommodations from New York that were cheaper than a trip to Los Angeles.

Cost and time are certainly factors. I believe that the deeper reason is that many Americans fear "the other" and can't imagine how marvelous our great world is. It's probably always been like this since the caricature of the "ugly American" has been around for a long time. It reflects how too many Americans behave when overseas.

[SwankyXomb]

41. A couple more rounds

of bankruptcies, bailouts, and mergers, and you'll be able to fly Airline. Not at a reasonable price or to anywhere you want to go, but ... AIRLINE!

[HughBeaumont]

44. Heh heh heh . . . Anymore, this Onion article will soon come to it's realistic inevitability.

http://www.theonion.com/article/just-six-corporations-remain-551

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

16. Where I work international travel is more or less compulsory

Yet a lot of people are pretty indifferent to it, we sent a girl to France a while back, I asked her what she was planning on doing while she was there and she said she had loaded two seasons of Mad Men on her iPad.

Although another girl who was really, really excited about going to France tried to get her parents to meet her in Paris when she was done in Toulouse and not only did her parents refuse, they bought her one of these: http://findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=100

She was going to basically the Silicon Valley or Seattle of France but her parents were acting like she was going to rural Moldova.

[Jnew28]

17. Now THAT is just sad. n/t

[marybourg]

27. Try sending WOMEN next time. ni.

[raccoon]

59. Thank you. nt

[mnhtnbb]

18. Those who have the money to travel aren't curious; then there are those who lack the money.

Our youngest son had a Fulbright scholarship to study theater in Berlin for 10 months from 2013-14. My husband and I made two trips
to Europe during that time--spending time in Berlin with him on each trip--and paid for the travel of our oldest son and his partner
to join us for two weeks on the second trip.

We have the money and have always loved traveling internationally, but I have to say,
that due to the hassle of airline travel, I'm not sure I want to go again. My motto for 30 years has been, "have passport, will travel".

I have a friend who recently returned from a marvelous vacation on a Mediterranean cruise, additional time in Greece and in France.
Her return trip home was a nightmare. Five hours waiting for delayed flight in Paris and then 7 hour flight to Atlanta; 5 hours waiting for delayed flight in Atlanta only
to not be able to get on the flight; overnight at crappy airport hotel; more hours waiting for standby the next morning and literally
only then being offered ONE seat (traveling with her husband) until 5 minutes before the flight was to leave they talked the gate agent
into offering a passenger $$$ to give up a second seat. They then both had to sit in middle coach class seats for 5 hours flying to San Francisco. What a horrible way to
end a marvelous vacation. And it's becoming more and more common to encounter that kind of awful trip if you travel internationally.

It really does change your view of the world--broadens your horizons as they say--and it's been interesting. But you do have to be willing
to engage the world and its people outside your comfort zone. There are lots of Americans who just aren't willing to do that. It's their loss.

[raccoon]

19. This American does.

As someone said, lack of money is undoubtedly a factor in many cases.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

20. Spam--

you are posting nothing but spam.

[PJMcK]

33. What?

Please explain. The linked article is fairly informative, I thought. Am I missing something?

Thank you, in advance.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

46. ALL of their "postings" are simply links --

back to the same blog that is selling a book. That is frowned on here.

[Odin2005]

21. We don't have the FUCKING MONEY!!! Or mandated PTO for that matter

This is why I hate the elitist moaning of Americans not traveling abroad, it's vile classist BS shitting on working class Americans.

[ncgrits]

35. Preach it! Nt

[LynnTTT]

22. Republicans don't travel ( except cruises)

I live in a very nice "over 55" community in South Carolina, although almost everyone is from northern states.
I can tell if someone is a Republican by talking about travel. In the past five years I've been to China, India, Turkey, Europe several times and we're going to SE Asia next month.
When people say they would never fly now because of the terrorist attacks, or say they would never go to Turkey because of Muslims, or show scepticism about their safety in India, I often jokingly say "I bet you're a Republican". Inevitably, turns out I'm right. That's where the "xenophobic deplorables" comes from.

[PJMcK]

34. ^^^ THIS ^^^

Your "joke" is right on the money, LynnTTT. Republicans generally don't go exploring because of their fears. They like cruising because they're protected in their little nest aboard ship. The areas around most cruise ship docks tend to cater heavily to the passengers so they don't have to go out on their own. By the way, I tried a Google search of the political leanings of cruise ship passengers but came up empty.

[ileus]

23. It cost money? most of us live more than 2 hours away from a border.

Takes me 12 hours to drive to Toronto Canada.


What is it you believe they'll discover in other countries they know nothing about and can't speak the native tounge?

What if instead of dolling out money for travel, we actually round them up and reeducate them in the FEMA camps they believe are waiting. Nothing will get them to come to their senses faster than to set an example of 40.

[GulfCoast66]

24. This is so wrong

I think you are bending facts to fit your narrative.

American is a huge country. It I made the 8 hour drive to Georgia I could have gone thru multiple European countries. All on one tank of gas.

Plus, I have never seen the Pacific Northwest nor the California wine country. My mother has seen both yet has never left the country.

Finally I get 7 weeks off per year and earn an above average income. Try going to Europe with 2 kids on 40k a year and 2 weeks off each year. Not doable. But driving to Hilton Head would be.

[left-of-center2012]

26. When I lived in Portland, Maine ...

When I lived in Portland, Maine I met a lot of people who had never been to Boston, less than 2 hours away.
Now that I live in New Mexico I've met a lot of people who have never been out of state.

[dembotoz]

30. money and time and language

live in the middle of the county sorta so any foreign county is a long ways away
trying to learn spanish which is going ok i guess

hell i have a vacation place a hundred miles away that i pay 2 grand a year for (trailer in a campground-seasonal site) and i hardly get there.....

[kimbutgar]

36. It's that most Americans don't have the money to travel overseas

I am fortunate my husband works for a big airline and we get almost free airfare. We try to take advantage of it. My hubby has 6 weeks paid vacation and I work as a sub teacher so I schedule my work to travel in off times. We are fortunate but if he didn't have that job we wouldn't be traveling overseas much.

[no_hypocrisy]

37. Lots of Americans don't know that most Europeans can speak English better than they can.

The American tourists believe that they will be utterly confused with a barrage of French, Italian, or German and won't go to those countries unless they are on an American guided tour.

Also outside of pizza, spaghetti, and hamburgers, they fear they won't be able to eat "exotic" cuisine.

Finally with a sense of American exceptionalism, they actually proud to have never visited another country.

In other words, those who don't travel are a variation of George Babbitt (see Sinclair Lewis).

[duffyduff]

93. Yeah. At least in Europe it is no big deal about the languages.

Unless you go out of the tourist areas meaning like the backcountry, you should never have to worry about language problems.

When I went to Italy about ten years ago, virtually everybody I came in contact with was multilingual. Typically they could speak Italian, German, and English.

It was like going to another state rather than another country halfway across the world.

[edbermac]

39. Too many foreigners over there.

They don't speak good American and they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Was in London and Paris in early Nov 1992, following the election every day in the foreign papers.

So thrilled that Big Dog won it!

[Throd]

40. Simple. People don't have the money or the time.

America is a huge country with plenty to see, so it is much more convenient and frugal to travel domestically.

[sofa king]

42. George W. Bush

[JI7]

57. yup . take out the ones who don't travel due to money and time

I wonder how many could afford it but just have no interest.

[Vinca]

43. At this point if I travel abroad I might stay there.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

48. I would if it was inexpensive.

Unless a vacation costs me less than a few hundred dollars, it's not happening.

I camp in a tent or bivy sack, mostly.

[liberal N proud]

52. Because our top notch education system does not teach multiple languages

People don't go because they don't know the language.

[philosslayer]

66. What language is that?

European? You think Germans speak Italian? Or the French speak Swedish?

[mothra1orbit]

53. Europeans have an immense advantage

in that their countries are small and close together. It's much easier to sample other cultures--and frequently--if their are but a train ride away.

[Warpy]

54. I remember when middle class people took whirlwind tours of Europe

My own parents were sticks in the mud, my dad having seen enough of the world in WWII, so we did our traveling here. That slowed in the 70s when wages fell far behind inflation and stopped in the 80s. Upper middle class people still traveled, but the middle class was falling into the working class at that point.

Face it, people who can't afford health care are not going to drop a grand on plane tickets overseas. People who can't afford to send their kids to anything but a local community college aren't going to sign up for cruises. People who got fucked over ten years ago and now owe more on their homes than they're worth aren't going to take on more debt to travel. People who can't afford to lose overtime pay by taking that measly 2 weeks of straight pay vacation time aren't going to pay through the nose for 10 countries in 10 days tours.

If you want Americans to travel and broaden their perspectives a little, you're going to have to focus on their wages. It's funny how much in this country comes back to the fact that wages were allowed to drop too far, too fast.

[philosslayer]

67. When was this?

I grew up middle class in the 70s. Nobody went to Europe. Nobody. I know many middle class people going to Europe here in 2016.

[Warpy]

74. Mid 50s to mid-late 60s.

It didn't last long and the type of whirlwind tour was satirized in "If it's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium," a bad movie best missed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064471/

[philosslayer]

88. Uhh... that wasn't the middle class

Europe became a fashionable destination in the 50's and 60's for the upper middle class, but it was still out of reach financially, for the most part, for the middle class. When I was a kid, I didn't know anyone who went to Europe on vacation.

[Warpy]

89. It was out of reach for the working class

but for people who had two cars, who could put their kids through college without scholarships or loans, who could afford household help whether or not they had it, and who were able to invest for retirement, it was not only within reach, it was sought out. The cue that this was a middle class phenomenon then was by how many countries they crammed into so few vacation days. Middle class people wanted good value for their money and they got it in Europe, still recovering from depression and war.

By the end of the 60s, European economies had rebounded and were starting to overtake ours in some industries. The rate of exchange was less favorable and the glory days of the quickie budget European tour were over.

The fact that you didn't know anyone who took one of these tours doesn't mean they didn't exist. You came along too late for them.

[philosslayer]

90. I'm not sure where the hell you grew up....

But I can assure you "middle class americans"; those with two cars in the garage, weren't regularly taking the kids and traipsing to Europe in 1965. Sorry; it wasn't happening.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/mother-traveled-to-europe-in-the-mid-1960s-she-was-the-talk-of-the-town.cfm

[Rex]

55. Most live paycheck to paycheck.

And don't have the money.

[procon]

56. I have redneck relatives who were shocked when we traveled to Italy and parts beyond.

They have the impression that European countries are somewhat of a cross between the squalid street scenes they see on Game of Thrones, and the strange shops of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. They are convinced that there is no electricity of running water, but outdoor potties, watery soups, warm beer, and thieving beggars are the norm. They think antique cars are still in use because Europe can't make cars like the US. There are few modern conveniences because of high taxes and almost no one works because everyone lives off the dole. There is only newspapers because people are too poor to have TVs or WiFi unless it's at a good hotel or the airport where Americans are.

Refused to hear anything that challenged their notion of American Exceptionalism.

[BeyondGeography]

58. In addition to everything else that has been said here, Americans are scared of the world

They live in the comfiest, coziest place on earth. The roads are ginormous, endless space, big-ass cars and the food is straightforward and abundant. The rest of the world is messy, crowded, built for people half their size. The languages, oy! What to eat? How to ask for it? Manual transmissions...wtf? Headaches galore.

The money argument...don't totally buy it. Las Vegas gets 40 million visitors a year and a lot of those people are blowing two grand per visit minimum on airfare, hotel, food, entertainment, gambling, etc. Most, needless to say, are Americans and the flight time from the East Coast isn't much longer than a night flight to Europe.

Fwiw, I graduated high school in Hong Kong, college in France, am married to a German whose family we visit regularly. Just spent a week over there and boy was it great to get away from our media. It always is.

[philosslayer]

68. I have German relatives who are terrified of coming to the US

They're afraid of getting shot.

[BeyondGeography]

72. Their primary fear now is the exchange rate

[Buckeye_Democrat]

85. You don't buy the money argument?

I drove to New Orleans to see the Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Alabama in 2015 after buying a ticket on Ebay at less than face value, and I slept in my car for the three nights that I was there. Hotels in the area were outrageously priced, especially with the high demand.

I explored New Orleans (mostly the French Quarter), tried various food and visited some wildlife preserves in the surrounding swampland, so it was a nice experience beyond a football game. I don't care to visit that area ever again, though.

Las Vegas? I've been there too, but only for one day in a 6-day trip that included Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater, the Lowell Observatory, Sedona, Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright architectural school), Biosphere II, Sonora Desert Museum, a solar-power research operation in Phoenix, etc. The entire trip cost me a few hundred bucks.

I lost about ten bucks gambling and stayed in a dilapidated Motel 6 during the brief Las Vegas excursion. That's another place that I never care to see again.

I would LOVE to see more of the world, but some people really don't have the money to burn!

[Warren DeMontague]

60. I can answer that: Because it usually requires a long plane ride in coach, unless you're rich.

Have you been on an airplane lately?

[alarimer]

62. For me, it's always been the expense.

Of course that mostly depends on where you go. But it has also been that traveling is just damned uncomfortable. I've always wanted to go to Australia, but sitting in coach for that long just saps my desire. Plus I am anxious when I am in unfamiliar places. It's just too difficult sometimes to overcome that.

But I don't take vacations, per se, either. Mostly when I take time off to go somewhere I am visiting family (not exactly a vacation, if you know what I mean).

A lot of jobs don't offer paid time off. Others put it in one box that is meant to be used for everything (sick time, doctors, kids, vacation) and travel takes a back seat because most companies are downright stingy with their time off. Not to mention that you are often criticized if you take it at all.

[Quantess]

63. Broad-brush statement.

Can you imagine anyone saying "why don't muslims like to travel abroad?" and NOT getting called out for it?

In any case, I live in europe and I hear Americans talking american, in public, all the time. From my perspective, lots of americans travel to europe.

[demmiblue]

64. Are you affiliated with this site?

The only posts that I have seen from you have been linked to this site.

Clickbait.

[Peaches999]

65. It costs money to travel internationally

[kcr]

71. No it doesn't! Everyone in America lives near NY/LA and has tons of free time.

So it has to be they aren't like the special few who post here

[Yo_Mama]

81. Applause!!! A lot of Americans have 2 or less weeks of annual vacation.

http://cepr.net/documents/publications/no-vacation-update-2013-05.pdf

Especially when it comes to couples, if you get less than two weeks and want to see families ....

[marlakay]

70. I would love to

have passport, checked earlier in year for a summer trip to Europe for my 60th and ended up going to Maui it was lots cheaper.

I really wanted to go to Paris. My hubby likes to stay home, I am asking around my friends for a travel buddy.

[Skittles]

73. it costs a LOT of money and they don't get much vacation?

[LeftInTX]

75. Money

I could go drive to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico it is closer than Houston, but it is always hot down there and it isn't much fun. I would rather go swimming or something.

[get the red out]

76. A lot of people don't have the money

I have been abroad, not much though. I have just not had the money or opportunity to be a world traveler. I am a southerner, but a liberal one. There's no shame in having family obligations and no money.

I would imagine there are plenty of people with literally no opportunity, so they just don't think about it. And I know hard-core Republicans that happily travel abroad on vacations and it doesn't change their thinking one bit.

[Jamaal510]

77. I want to

visit Ukraine one day to visit a girl who I have been talking to the past few years, but I don't have near enough money yet. Also my family is concerned that the country is still unsafe because of the violence. I'd love to go one of these days, though, to not only visit my friend, but to see how different it is from Oakland and the U.S. in general.

[whistler162]

79. 'Cause the dang fureigners ain't able to speek

gooderer Inglish!

[Yo_Mama]

80. They do, but it costs money, which a lot of people don't have.

For many, it's a dream trip once they've retired - if they have funds. If they can retire. These days, many work into their 70s.

[Texasgal]

82. Who the hell can travel abroad

unless you are wealthy?

Seriously, there are a ton of working class people out there. This link is stupid and makes a mockery of the working poor!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

86. +1

[Quantess]

92. I make my own priorities.

But then again, I happen to be childless.

[Travis_0004]

83. I just spent 5k on plane tickets to Australia

Total flight time, more than 19 hours. At least I don't have to fly coach.