Why don't Americans travel abroad?

[Kapt Z]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Wish I could be lucky enough to study broads in the UK. Why stop at one?

Who said 'all' the interacting was in class?

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Kapt Z

Who said 'all' the interacting was in class?

As you may have heard, the Subsim Meet will be In Copenhagen this year. It should be announced soon, I'm expecting to get the green light from McBeck any day now. So, I hope all you travelers will join me in Denmark in Sept!! I wanna study some broads, too!

Originally Posted by Bewolf

Well, there is a certain anti americanism observeable, Europe not beeing an exception. And yes, it may very well happen that americans get involved or asked about politics and taken responsible for the actions of their governments in debates, that may indeed happen.

I'll be wearing my Bush in 2012 shirt

Neal

[MothBalls]

There's probably a bunch of people like me who just quit traveling. Before 9/11 I traveled for both business and pleasure quite often. The before and after pictures are completely different.

I quit traveling because I don't feel comfortable being an American outside of America. It's not the terrorist or criminals that scare me, it's the confrontational drunk in the bar, or the uneducated slug on public assistance blaming me for all the worlds problems. I've had people be rude, obnoxious, and totally assinine towards me only because I'm an American. Didn't take me long to just say screw it, I'm staying home.

Read Skybirds dribble crap of a message. That's why I don't travel. There are actually people that stupid in the world, and I don't need or want to meet them.

[Max2147]

My interactions with politically-minded foreigners have actually been pretty pleasant. It probably helps that I'm a liberal who thought that Bush screwed the country up pretty badly, but I've found that most foreigners are very capable of distinguishing between a country's government and its people.

I remember I was in London during the lead-up to the Iraq war, when they had a massive anti-war protest. I went to watch (but not participate), and I was very pleasantly surprised that among the hundreds of signs I saw and dozens of chants I heard, there was almost no generic anti-Americanism. Everything was either anti-war or anti-Bush. The only things that could have been interpreted as anti-Americanism were two blood-splattered American flags (and one of them was on the same poster as a blood-splattered Union Jack). I never felt uneasy or threatened, and when some of the people standing near us found out we were Americans they actually seemed pretty happy that we were there.

When I go abroad I try to fit in with the local culture, but I don't try to hide the fact that I'm an American (my accent would give me away even if I tried). I get a lot of questions about the US, but they're usually more curious than confrontational. A lot of people just want to know what the US is really like.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I think, as you said, America is a big place:
A trip from Madrid, Spain to Warsaw, Poland is about the same as a drive from El Paso, Texas to Detroit ,Michigan, or Seattle, Washington to Omaha, Nebraska
2,868 km : 1782 miles.

Ahh, now that's not such a great example.

Travel isn't about the distance coved.
200 miles in some parts of Europe can take you in to a radically different culture,
lifestyle, language, nation, landscape etc.
2000 miles in Australia or America, for example, might only change the landscape.

London to Moscow may be the same distance as [American City #1] to [American City #2],
but that hardly tells the full story.

Originally Posted by Bewolf

Well, there is a certain anti americanism observeable

Over here people tend to make a distinction between 'Tourists', 'American tourists' and
'Asian tourists', but I don't think they are treated differently, aside from people complaining
about their driving more than European tourists. I don't know if there is any truth there.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Letum

Ahh, now that's not such a great example.

Travel isn't about the distance coved.
200 miles in some parts of Europe can take you in to a radically different culture,
lifestyle, language, nation, landscape etc.
2000 miles in Australia or America, for example, might only change the landscape.

London to Moscow may be the same distance as [American City #1] to [American City #2],
butthat hardly tells the full story.

Well, seeing that we cannot hop into our car and drive 200 miles for that radical culture change, I think distance plays a role in our travel plans

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Well, seeing that we cannot hop into our car and drive 200 miles for that radical culture change, I think distance plays a role in our travel plans

I meant that it is false to say something like:
"Americans don't need to leave the country because you can travel so far within it
whilst Europeans are obliged to leave their countries when they travel because their
countries are so small."

[Max2147]

Originally Posted by Letum

Ahh, now that's not such a great example.

Travel isn't about the distance coved.
200 miles in some parts of Europe can take you in to a radically different culture,
lifestyle, language, nation, landscape etc.
2000 miles in Australia or America, for example, might only change the landscape.

London to Moscow may be the same distance as [American City #1] to [American City #2],
but that hardly tells the full story.

Take a bunch of New Englanders and put them in the rural Deep South, and I guarantee that each side will say the other has a radically different culture, lifestyle, and language.

I remember arriving at a southern BBQ place in rural North Carolina with a guy from New Jersey. Now North Carolina isn't really Deep South, and New Jersey isn't as Yankee as you can get, but the poor guy still got a huge dose of culture shock. He was convinced that somebody there was going to grab one of the guns off the wall (or from their belt) and shoot him.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I've met several American tourists, and thus have formed a few points to follow, to survive interactions with British people:

1. No I dont know the Queen
2. London isnt only just down the road from.. well anywhere else in the country
3. I dont have tea and crumpets at 4am
4. Please speak a little quieter
5. (This one is from my sister) No, we dont measure how much jam we put in our donuts.
6. We drive on the LEFT in STICK SHIFTS

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Kapitan_Phillips

I

1. STICK SHIFTS

"Stick shifts" ?

Isn't that an Americanism?

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Originally Posted by Letum

"Stick shifts" ?

Isn't that an Americanism?

I didnt want to confuse the poor dears, Letum.

[Tchocky]

An old joke...

Me - Well, I'm from Ireland

American - Wow! My grandmother was an O'Flaherty! Did you know her?

Me - Yes, (aside) but then everybody did

[JALU3]

Travel takes time and $$$.
Like it has been said most employers give little time off, I'm salary and get 2 weeks. And like others have said employers dislike you taking it all at once. The longest time I had been out of work, while I had a job was 1 week, and that was only because I had surgery on a tumor, and couldn't hold down food! And let me tell you that although we have sick days, I don't know anyone in my section who has used any when it hasn't been significant (there's only 4 of us).

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to travel, but who has the time and money? Those who have both are fortunate.

Anyways, I did this for another board that I am on, go ahead and post your own. Unfortunately I cannot say that I have added to this. Maybe if I win the Lottery.

[TDK1044]

England is a great Country...it just needs a roof!

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Perhaps I shouldn't talk since I've been to Europe five times and traveled a lot as a kid when my father was being stationed abroad in the Air Force. However, I think a lot of may come down to the fact that geographically large countries (Russia, China, USA) tend to be insular countries. When the average citizen can travel several thousand miles in any direction and see the same language on the sign posts, the same restaurants, fast food joints, hotel chains and use the same currency and everything is convenient you tend to think that's the whole world and it's enough. In more crowded Europe with smaller nations and nation states you've had to live cheek by jowl with your neighbors and through history it's been in your best interests militarily and diplomatically to get out and find out what they are about. Plus, you have a culture of travel stemming from everything from Marco Polo to establishing colonies abroad. Here in American our culture of travel stems from Lewis and Clark...camping!

This is spot on.
I live in northern italy. In less than 200km I can be in France, Switzerland or Austria.