thursdaysd

Must have been more than 250 - I still have my first British passport, and for the trip when I moved to the U.S in Jan '75 (supposedly for 9 months, am still here...) I have a stamp saying I brought 750 GBP with me.

emmalee_71

Wow, does any of this really mattter anyhow. I'm married to a yank who does own a passport and has left the country many times, his brother and both parents own passports and have left the country.
I agree with those who stated the obvious that the US is very large and has many great destinations that I can't wait to see.
I can't believe I responded to this

j_999_9

>>Another difference is that we are rather more blasé about terrorism. We've lived with it for the last 38 years (much of it financed by daft Americans - thanks for that). <<

You asked fot it, audere. OK, now I guess you're going to say that's not anti-American. As we yanks like to say, r-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght.

Christina

I'll go with no. 2. Canada is a lot more homogenous than the US, so you need to go outside Canada for something really different -- like a tropical beach vacation. I've been to Canada a few times from the US, but it's just not that interesting to me, sorry, or there's nothing so special there that I would go there rather than near my home (like mountains, there are plenty of nice mountains closer to where I live -- not that I am that outdoorsy anyway). I think there is much greater variety in US regions and cities than in Canada, so if I were Canadian, I'd travel internationally more also.

Also, it gets pretty cold up there in winter, even in the most southern places.

kayd

I agree that the natural and manmade attractions right here, little paid vacation time compared with the rest of the industrialized world, and the assumption that overseas travel is too costly are factors keeping Americans at home.

Something else that might contribute to Americans' low rate of passport ownership is the language factor. In vast stretches of this country one hears nothing but English and many Americans have no opportunity to learn foreign languages beyond the most basic level, so they are not inclined to go where English isn't spoken. (They could probably understand the natives in the British Isles, Australia and NZ though)

klta

So, I'll buy that more Brits leave Britain than Americans leave America, but I'm not sure they get much credit for that. I can go from New England to the deep south and experience an entirely new culture in the same way a Brit can go to Spain. Maybe we should be talking about leaving the EU instead? After all, if the US has to play all of Europe in the Ryder Cup...

thursday

I started traveling alone when I was 19 and to this day (multiple solo backpacking trips later) the first reaction I get from people back home is: "A girl? Alone? You're so brave!" Which always seemed an asinine response to me (aside from the fact that I myself have been wary of going to Morocco or Turkey alone because of rumor and stereotypes.)

My humble opinion? It's just not part of our culture the way it is for others. Debate the statistics all you like, a Brit taking a gap year raises no eyebrows and if you've ever backpacked you know you'll run into Australians because "they always take a year or two off to travel". When I took a summer off in college to travel I was told I was probably hindering my career. And you know what? I was. I had to explain that "disappearance" to every job I applied for years, and contacts I lost while abroad labeled me a flake--even though I emailed while gone. Ingrained in American culture is the "get ahead or get left behind" philosophy--personal growth is admirable only if it's simultaneous with professional. Otherwise, you're lazy, a flake, a hippie, or lost.

Second to that but significant: fear. Whether others like it or nor and regardless whose fault it is, we've never lived with terrorism on a daily basis; but we have lived with numerous sarcastic comments about "ugly Americans". I know plenty of people quite literally afraid to travel because they're afraid of how they'll be treated--these people aren't even the stereotype (cuz I've met those people too), but they don't want to take a vacation to a place where they think they'll be jeered, derided, and mocked. I disagree and haven't found that through my own travels at all, but that's the message we get here--the world hates us. Again, whether it's true or not, I can't really blame them for not wanting to find out. Well, I can a little, but that's because I'm a travelbug.

laverendrye

Christina writes that "Canada is a lot more homogenous (sic) than the US, so you need to go outside Canada for something really different--like a tropical beach vacation"

OK, I'll rise to the bait.

It's certainly true that tropical beach vacations are hard to come by in Canada, but aside from her notion that if you've seen one mountain, you've seen them all, I'm not sure what she means by Canada as "homogenous". Perhaps in her "few times" in Canada she has managed to take in the length and breadth of the country. So Canada is not interesting to her--that's fine. But homogeneous? Hmmm...

Is she talking population and demographics? How about the Province of Québec, with a vastly different culture and language from the rest of Canada. What about Toronto, where 50% of the population was born outside Canada and another 25% are the children of immigrants? Or Vancouver, where the demographics are equally diverse? What about Newfoundland? Spend a few minutes on Water Street in St. John's and you'll realize you're in a different world from the rest of the country.

Perhaps she means geography. Aside from tropical beaches and the like, Canada is as geographically diverse as the U.S. and far more so than most other countries.

So why do Canadians travel abroad then? Because they are bored with the homogeneity of their country? Hardly.
I suspect that the makeup of the population is more outwardly oriented than in many other countries, including the U.S. And yes, in the midst of those brutally cold winters, many of us like to escape our igloos and log cabins for a few weeks on a tropical beach, even in the U.S. where you still don't need a passport (but not for long). Me, I'd rather be skiing.

Cimbrone

I'll never forget meeting a 20-year-old English girl in Florida who lived in Manchester but had never been to London. I could not hide how stunned I was.

I'm an American who can attest to the insularity of my fellow Americans. I have one relative who won't eat rice because of the time he spent in Asia during WWII. My own parents used to say they didn't want to visit Europe because they had "heard it [was] dirty." And I have co-workers (I'm a teacher) who view me as some kind of intrepid adventurer when I say I'm going to Europe. You'd think I was signing up for the next space shuttle.

ET

It’s interesting to note the tone of condescension and the all inclusive generalizations in many of these posts. The only thing that could explain it is that the benefits of being widely traveled have been lost on these particular posters.

Molloy95

Fascinating thread. Found Thursday's experience (in having to explain her "absence" on her career path) especially interesting.

I still have to cast my vote for the ridiculously low number of days we are typically "allowed" to take off work, coupled with the amount of time it takes to get somewhere where a passport is required. I have heard of people who take unpaid leave to travel, but that can have the same consequence Thursday has dealt with.

I have read a number of articles recently about Americans' general reluctance to use even the two to three weeks most companies provide. A NYTimes article (link below) seems to suggest that people's identities are so tied to their jobs that they think they are irreplacable, even for a few weeks. Alternatively, people fear their employer will realize they CAN get by without them and will make that a permanent condition. Very sad!
www.tiny.cc/PUHuA

Me, I just got back from a trip to France, can't seem to stop reading this board, and am thinking how interesting a trip to Buenos Aires would be. I'd go in to February if I didn't think it would be a HUGE deal to take time off work. Of course my husband is Irish (did someone mention the Ryder Cup ;-)), do you think that influences my attitude toward travel? Or did my attitude toward travel perhaps influence my choice of spouse . . . .

milliebz

I think it's ridiculous to say that is is not expensive to travel abroad from the U.S. I was fortunate enough to get 3 FF tickets from the U.S. to Athens and home from Istanbul. The one ticket I purchased was over $1700. Had I purchased all four that is prohibitive for most average Americans before they even leave the country. We do not have the same really cheap airline options like Easyjet to get us from one country to another. We also have a train system that is shameful at best. Our country suffers from a socio-economic gap that is limiting for many both economically and socially. If you work at Walmart or a vast array of minimum wage jobs, travel is not an issue. You have neither the money or the vacation time. Our laws do not require an employer to give one day of vacation time. However, you can get in your car and drive to Disney or the Black Hills for a weekend and stay in Motel 6. You can easily find a hotel room that accomodates a family of four without have to buy two rooms or rent the suite. If you stay at the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton in New York, chances are you can afford to travel to Europe.

As for the passport issue. You can travel all over the United States where every state looks different than another without a passport. Can you imagine having the Hotel desk clerk, or the train conductor or the bus driver ask you for your passport? You can boarad, a bus, train or plane and check into a hotel without a passport which you cannot do in Europe.

Also, during my current research I have found Walkingarounds comments to be somewhat true. I am always surprised to read trip reports that say I stayed at such and such hotel for 1 week or two weeks. I always found it odd that one would travel to a different country and set up shop for a week or two on a package tour. It is so costly for us to just get to another country that we want to see and do as much as possible. And yes, it's about people, food, culture, everything.

Lastly, there are a number of Americans who are not comfortable outside of their comfort zone and sometimes it has little to do with whether something is truly foreign. I would not feel comfortable at a NASCAR event and NASCAR goers might not be comfortable at some of my venues. You don't have to go far. A lot of the apprenhension to foreign travel is ignorance and an unwillingness to educate themselves about people and culture. Europeans have a HUGE advantage over us with their ability to travel abroad if just geographically.

Carrybean

"It is no harder for a resident of Windsor, Ontario to get to a beach in February than it is for a resident of Detroit, Michigan. Other parallels are Toronto and Buffalo."

My point was, U.S.citizens don't have to leave their own country to sunbathe in February.

logos999

>You can boarad, a bus, train or plane and check into a hotel without a passport which you cannot do in Europe.
Why would I need a passport to do this in Europe? There are people here that don't have passports and travel all over Europe as well without one.

audere_est_facere

J999_9:

Do yourself a favour and go and google "NORAID". Then come back and talk to the grown-ups without sounding like a berk.

Forestland1

I can't believe I'm responding to this either...except that my Canadian business involves tourism so the question of the American passport may impact my business so this thread I've found interesting, thanks to bob brown.

First of all I found it funny how the original question turned into something other than it was...just a simple question and not a slam against Americans.

Secondly I agree with laverendyre in his response to Christine. Well said laverendyre. Christine needs to see more of Canada before she makes blanket statements like this one, "I think there is much greater variety in US regions"...they just come across a little arrogant and actually a little ignorant Christine.

In our younger years we had some beach vacations in Florida because it was more easily accessable...two hour flight from Toronto, and we thought cheaper, but we were wrong. Then we discovered the carribean and realized that it was better value and I'm sorry Florida... nicer beaches, and just as accessable. Now we are forgoing the winter beach vacation for Europe. We live right on a gorgeous stretch of sand beach and i don't know how many times, from spring to fall we say, "people pay thousands of dollars for this and we live here!" That's when we decided we needed to spend our vacation dollars on exploring other parts of the world.

I think more Canadians have passports for two major reasons...both of which have been mentioned...because we are more outward oriented and the cold winter escape is a real factor.

In order that I can afford to travel hehehe...I sure hope Americans decide to get their passports and continue to travel to Canada. The bulk of my American customers are actually cottage owners, and of course they will get their passports if they don't already have them and continue coming. But our concern is with the rest of the potential U.S. travellers to Canada. Will it be too much of bother for them?

j_999_9

audere: do yourself a favor and get over the American thing. It's mentally unhealthy, as we all can attest to by your posts.

(And I notice you had no reply for my verified charge of your being anti-American. Your best move of the day.)

kerouac

Whoa, I'm glad I stayed out of this one, as outrageous as my opinions may be sometimes....!

angethereader

I think distance is a factor. My state - Wisconsin - is the same size as the country of France. France is one of the larger countries in Europe, while Wisconsin is a medium sized state.

Driving from my home in Southern Wisconsin to my sister's home in Northern Florida takes nearly 20 hours traveling at an average speed of 70 mph.

Until the new laws I'd traveled several times to Canada, gone on a Caribbean cruise, gone to Aruba, and traveled to Mexico several times. With all those options many people don't bother with the hassle and expense of a passport. You could go all these places plus anywhere in the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii without one.

That said I do own a valid passport because I’ve wanted to travel to countries that require one. And we did not bring the kids on any of those trips.

laverendrye

Wisconsin the same size as France???

I don't know what geography they teach in in Wisconsin, but the state measures 65,503 sq mi, while France is 260,558 sq mi. Only a tad larger than Wisconsin, but just smaller than Texas.