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America - its all a bit odd...

This seems a likely thread to answer the question.

Found this comment on YouTube - about why Americans tend to stay within their own borders:

Comment on a Hannah Hart video : My Drunk Kitchen

( Harto-sama talks about living in Japan for a year, side remark : ' Did you know only 10 percent of Americans have a passport ? That's crazy! ' )

Sarah Wendel 1 year ago

Only 10% of Americans have passports because its real damn expensive to not only get a passport but to also then leave the country. (Like I understand the importance of experiencing some culture shock and realizing that the world is much bigger than you think it is but its hard to do for most people.)


So, Question for those who are currently living in USA - How much is a passport ?

Question 2 - if you live in the very centre of the US [ I dunno - say...er...Mongville, Idaho ? ] - how hard is it to get to a 'foreign' country?

Canada or Mexico both count.

Question 3: This percentage figure is much quoted. What is the 2018 REALITY ?

Thanks
Fees are as shown below from the Department of State web site. It is $135 for a full passport book for an adult over 16 years of age. A passport card is available for $55 but it is only valid for travel to Canada and Mexico. Application is initiated at any US post office. .

Idaho is not in the center of the US. It borders Canada. From Omaha, Nebraska, say (which is in the center of the US) it would take about 1 to 3 days by car to travel to the nearest border (Canada or Mexico) driving the legal speed limit. Traveling by air is much quicker.

This guy estimates that 46% of Americans hold some kind of passport.
How Many Americans Have A Passport? | The Expeditioner Travel Site

I have a valid passport and have had one since my Army days. Yurrrop, Korea, Philippines, Central America, etc. all seem to require some form of documentation to pass through soldiers.

Passport Info.JPG
 
On this business of international travel. Some things to bear in mind.

The US is just about as geographically diverse as it is possible to be. There are, in no particular order:

Several mountain ranges. By mountains, I mean Alpine, Mont Blanc type mountains. There's nearly 200 mountains over 12000ft.
Arid desert and searing heat. Death Valley isn't called that for a joke.
Pacific Islands - Hawaii
Arctic tundra - Alaska
Wilderness - most of the the bit bordering Canada
Dense forests - most of the Appalachian region
Warm seas and silver beaches - Florida
Major metropolitan cities - the mid-Atlantic region from DC up to NYC is basically one huge metropolitan area
Enormous lakes. The Great Lakes are bigger than the entirety of the UK
There's 125 thousand lakes in the lower 48.
There's another 3 million in Alaska.
Stunning natural geological formations - Grand Canyon, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone etc.

Now if one happens to live in a country that doesn't have these, travel overseas is necessary and desirable to to see them. But if one happens to live in a country where it's not necessary to travel overseas, where you can speak your first language (mostly), use the same money, the same laws and customs (mostly), it's not too hard to see why many people have no need to travel overseas.

You want theme parks? There's 400 in the US. There's only 300 in the whole of Europe. You want Skiing? There's about 500 places to ski in the US. You want insane drunken bars? Go to the Redneck Riviera. Like arts and culture? Go to NYC or the National Mall in DC. Or even Gettysburg. Want to see living history? Go to an Amish area.

Of course if you want to experience different national culture, then you do indeed have to travel. To New Orleans :)

Your post sums it up well @Roadster280, why would you want to go outside your own country when it has pretty much everything.

Having been there plenty of times through work, my wife and I decided to have a holiday in the US, which meant that it was her first time there. One of the first things I did was to take her into the nearest Wal-Mart where I knew that the layout and range of products would be exactly the same as every other one. My point is that US citizens can travel just about anywhere in the lower 48 knowing that they can walk into any chain store, knowing that it will be just like the one at the end of their street - which for many would be a comfortable feeling.

As for New Orleans, I would go there again in a heartbeat. Probably the only place in the US that is not like the rest of it. Indeed, anywhere in lower Louisiana is usually good fun, especially as you can be addressed in English, French or Créole in shops and eating places, which really adds to the experience! My tip for new visitors to the US is to go with the flow and don't try and compare it with home. Cheers.....
 
On this business of international travel. Some things to bear in mind.

The US is just about as geographically diverse as it is possible to be. There are, in no particular order:

Several mountain ranges. By mountains, I mean Alpine, Mont Blanc type mountains. There's nearly 200 mountains over 12000ft.
Arid desert and searing heat. Death Valley isn't called that for a joke.
Pacific Islands - Hawaii
Arctic tundra - Alaska
Wilderness - most of the the bit bordering Canada
Dense forests - most of the Appalachian region
Warm seas and silver beaches - Florida
Major metropolitan cities - the mid-Atlantic region from DC up to NYC is basically one huge metropolitan area
Enormous lakes. The Great Lakes are bigger than the entirety of the UK
There's 125 thousand lakes in the lower 48.
There's another 3 million in Alaska.
Stunning natural geological formations - Grand Canyon, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone etc.

Now if one happens to live in a country that doesn't have these, travel overseas is necessary and desirable to to see them. But if one happens to live in a country where it's not necessary to travel overseas, where you can speak your first language (mostly), use the same money, the same laws and customs (mostly), it's not too hard to see why many people have no need to travel overseas.

You want theme parks? There's 400 in the US. There's only 300 in the whole of Europe. You want Skiing? There's about 500 places to ski in the US. You want insane drunken bars? Go to the Redneck Riviera. Like arts and culture? Go to NYC or the National Mall in DC. Or even Gettysburg. Want to see living history? Go to an Amish area.

Of course if you want to experience different national culture, then you do indeed have to travel. To New Orleans :)
You missed out how poxy US holiday/leave is in comparison with Europe. Spams often don't have time to waste travelling too far - which is why you see gazillions of US retirees doing Yoooorp.
 
Now that’s all fine and dandy (as I understand some of the natives are wont to say) but where in all that incredible flora and fauna can one find a (even half-) decent beer???
 
Now that’s all fine and dandy (as I understand some of the natives are wont to say) but where in all that incredible flora and fauna can one find a (even half-) decent beer???

Here's the beer aisle at my local supermarket.

IMG_0119.JPG


Every one of those fridges on the right contains beer.

They carry Warsteiner, Beck's, St Pauli, Leffe, Duvel, Stella, Kronenbourg, Carlsberg, Guinness, Boddingtons, Nuclear Brown, Presidente, Modelo, Red Stripe, San Miguel, Heineken, Amstel and Corona to name a few. Then there's the American mass market brands, the Budweisers, the Millers, Coors, Pabst etc. Then there's the craft brews. About a quarter of that aisle is craft brews. There's wheat beers, IPAs, stouts, you name it.

If somebody couldn't find a beer they were happy with there, I'd suggest they're being too picky. About the only thing that's hard to find is a British-style cask ale on draught. But I don't particularly care for those anyway, so no loss as far as I'm concerned. Bear in mind too, I live in a rural area, some way from town. Not in a major city. This supermarket is 3 or miles from me.

So, to answer the question, just about anywhere.
 
Thanks for the answers.
If you figure U.S population at 320million, and the number of passports in issue at 110M, then that's....er....carry one, ....add three...knit one purl one...

Near enough 33% ?

( much more than cute but daffy Hannah Hart thinks - but wa--a-y short of 47%)

And French insularity is so well known that the French themselves ruefully acknowledge it.....as per Roadster's view

" why leave good ol' USA? We have everything RIGHT HERE!"

so French government types lament
<< L'Esprit Hexagonale >>

( France landmass looks a bit hexagonal. French businessmen show a marked aversion to leaving l'Hexagone )

Arrse - everyday a kollidge day innit doh?

Incidentally, my question related to CONUS - trips to Honolulu or Nome don't count.

Or Guam,PR or Samoa which are basically autonomous American colonies*

So,to sum up. Two thirds of US citizens have never been outside their own country ?

And a handful of preserved National Treasure status buildings dating back to pre 1640 - when my local pub started serving.

Dis-donc,que voulez vous?



* " Can he say that? What? No, colonies! ?? "
" No. Get in the helicopter. You got the cable ties right? "
 
On this business of international travel. Some things to bear in mind.

The US is just about as geographically diverse as it is possible to be. There are, in no particular order:

Several mountain ranges. By mountains, I mean Alpine, Mont Blanc type mountains. There's nearly 200 mountains over 12000ft.
Arid desert and searing heat. Death Valley isn't called that for a joke.
Pacific Islands - Hawaii
Arctic tundra - Alaska
Wilderness - most of the the bit bordering Canada
Dense forests - most of the Appalachian region
Warm seas and silver beaches - Florida
Major metropolitan cities - the mid-Atlantic region from DC up to NYC is basically one huge metropolitan area
Enormous lakes. The Great Lakes are bigger than the entirety of the UK
There's 125 thousand lakes in the lower 48.
There's another 3 million in Alaska.
Stunning natural geological formations - Grand Canyon, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone etc.

Now if one happens to live in a country that doesn't have these, travel overseas is necessary and desirable to to see them. But if one happens to live in a country where it's not necessary to travel overseas, where you can speak your first language (mostly), use the same money, the same laws and customs (mostly), it's not too hard to see why many people have no need to travel overseas.

You want theme parks? There's 400 in the US. There's only 300 in the whole of Europe. You want Skiing? There's about 500 places to ski in the US. You want insane drunken bars? Go to the Redneck Riviera. Like arts and culture? Go to NYC or the National Mall in DC. Or even Gettysburg. Want to see living history? Go to an Amish area.

Of course if you want to experience different national culture, then you do indeed have to travel. To New Orleans :)
They still lack class and their (gun) culture clearly needs a re-think.
 
The federal minimum wage for tipped staff is something like $2.50 an hour because it is assumed that tips will make up the difference. It hasn't gone up since the '70s.

Sent from my Lenovo TB2-X30F using Tapatalk

Well if that's the case that is a disgusting way to treat the employees by the employer, and an equally disgusting treatment by their Government!
 
(...) A2 - hard to cost but I don’t imagine it’s much different to Brits going to the US. In reality nearly 67 million Americans travelled abroad in 2016 so it can’t be that difficult. Mostly to Mexico and Canada:

For the most part, these travelers didn’t stray too far from home; more than half of the year’s international travelers — 37,403,398 to be exact — stayed within the confines of North America, with Mexico proving to be the year’s most popular destination (25,181,630 trips in total), followed by Canada (which saw about half that traffic, with 12,221,768 visits). Europe was the third most popular destination, with 11,831,870 Americans headed to the region, followed by the Caribbean (6,579,691), and Asia (4,388,391).
US Government figures.
(...)
You need to define what "travel abroad" means before comparing numbers. The 12 million figure for US visitors to Canada is for overnight trips. The latest (2016) statistics from Canada puts overnight visitors (staying at least one night in Canada) from the US at about 14 million. More extensive figures for 2010 (the most recent I can find) put overnight travel to Canada from the US at roughly 12 million, but same day travel (returning to the US on the same day) at 7.4 million.

Same day travel from the US to Canada has declined to about half the level from its peak in the late 90s early 2000s. Overnight travel has declined as well, but not by as much. The main cause appears to be the increased security theatre beginning in the early 2000s making short term trips less worth the aggravation and time involved in getting back into the US (travel into Canada is less of a hassle).

A major issue for Americans making overseas trips is going to be simply cost and time. They have to go much further to get anywhere worth going to, making flights inherently more expensive and time consuming than might be the case for people living in some other parts of the world. Popping over to a neighbouring country for the weekend isn't really a practical option for most Americans, given the distances involved. For example, London to Paris is 462 km, and there are excellent high speed train connections with which to make the trip. New York to Montreal however is 596 km (30% further), and the rail connections are nowhere near as good or as fast. New York to Toronto is a good deal further (800 km), and New York is much closer to Canada than most other major US population centres.

So in general, the Americans have fewer options for visiting foreign countries that are near at hand, and even those options are not necessarily all that close.
 
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