Has terrorism affected your retirement plans?

[rodi]

My heart goes out to the families of those affected in Nice yesterday. We were a little taken aback since we were there just a year ago.... it's a lovely city.

We haven't changed our travel plans... but I'll admit I'm hoping for some airfare sales if enough folks decide to cancel plans or stop travelling.

I live in area with earthquakes. A tsunami could hit when I'm walking the dog at the beach. Wildfires are a real risk where I live. There are lots of thinks to focus your fear on. I try to be prepared, aware, and alert... when at home or when travelling.

 

[Shanky]

An American far more likely to be killed by a dog or gun toting relative in the US than by a terrorist in Europe.

 

[Moemg]

We are also booked on a transatlantic to Barcelona next spring . Hopefully that area will stay quiet.

 

[RobbieB]

No fear of terrorists have I says me.

If you are afraid, the terrorists have won.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Not retired yet, but my boss forbids me travelling to Turkey unless it's for work, and then I'm not allowed off the base.

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[easysurfer]

An American far more likely to be killed by a dog or gun toting relative in the US than by a terrorist in Europe.

Was going to say something like you, but you gave a nice chart .

Despite all the terrible headlines, statistically dying from terrorism or on a plane isn't as likely as many other threats.

 

[kcowan]

We were taking the train from Brugges to Cologne in June and the train was delayed by a bomb threat in Brussels central station. We changed trains in Brussels south anyway and the direct train was not impacted at all.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I would still go to Europe and never wanted to go places like Turkey, Egypt, Africa anyways. I did go to Thailand and although it was beautiful it was so hot even in winter and the pollution and poverty-ugh! No desire to see any similar countries either.

 

[Nemo2]

I wouldn't mind revisiting Israel, (DW's never been), but things are always somewhat 'iffy' there anyway.

As to Europe - we are not drawn to crowded events, (such as the Nice fireworks display), which are pretty much the prime targets, anyway...but sitting in an airport waiting to fly from, say, Toronto to Vancouver could possibly make one just as vulnerable.

Whatever.....Oct 31st, sciatica or no sciatica, terrorists or no terrorists, we're flying to Malaga regardless.

 

[Nemo2]

How about these new super size cruise ships that hold 6500+ people? I don't even want to think what could happen if one were attacked at sea.....

Not wishing to sound callous, (I'd never set foot on one of those monstrosities anyway), but they'd make great artificial reefs...(and no, I didn't mean wreaths.)

 

[mh]

It has for me. No overseas travel. I am now solely responsible for an elder and care , If something happened to me it would have a major effect on that.



As for me, if it was only me, I would go ahead and travel anywhere. If I was killed in some incident, I sure wouldn't care.

But you are just as likely to get killed in your hometown by someone running a red light while texting, no ? So I don't see the logic there .


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[ivinsfan]

As for lower airfare to some of these places, I've already seen an article about capacity cuts by Delta in this mornings paper..they will tweak these numbers so that fares never get too low.

 

[audreyh1]

As much as I'd like to agree with this, I think you just have to count the number of terrorist attacks across Europe over the past year or two and compare that with the (much, much smaller) number of attacks in U.S. cities. Of course, the absolute risk of being killed in a terrorist attack is very small, even in relatively dangerous places. Still, though, it's pretty clear that Europe is more dangerous from a terrorism perspective right now than the U.S. is.

9/11 still looms large.

We have other mass killings in the US that aren't labeled terrorist attacks.

So I don't see it that way from a personal safety point of view, because I don't confine my concerns only to terror attacks.

 

[H2ODude]

To me, the statistics just don't warrant a change in behavior. S__t happens all the time and the chance we'll die on a trip to Spain in September is pretty darn slim. Then it will be Tanzania in December. Now, will we side trip to Juba S Sudan or Syria? Not likely. How many Americans die in auto accidents each year vs were killed here in US in San B and Orlando?

I think the chance of death or injury is far greater in some of the places we actually chose to be in where DS was working around Africa. However, we always felt safe because of the situational awareness he developed that we followed. And got to meet some really great 3rd world folks to boot. Alas, we are not likely to return to Timbuktu.

Our tolerance for long flights is a far greater factor in our travel plans. Just not worth it in most cases. NZ and Aus still on our bucket list but the flights just make it unattractive.

If things got terribly worse, we might change our plans. However, I'm afraid we'll just have to accept that it is a dangerous world out there. As it is here. Heck, I'd rather be blown up than drool through dementia.

 

[jimbee]

Statistically, it's more dangerous driving to work, so I stopped doing that a couple of years ago.

 

[Dawg52]

Hasn't affected my travel plans. I don't have any.

 

[Just_Steve]

ALl the focus on plane travel, large cities, large public gatherings at significant events..

How about these new super size cruise ships that hold 6500+ people? I don't even want to think what could happen if one were attacked at sea.....

I get anxious now when I turn on the TeeVee each morning....what will today's tragic story be?

Not as big as your example but it has happened.

MS Achille Lauro

 

[Walt34]

Hasn't affected my travel plans. I don't have any.

+1

We don't travel simply because we don't like it not because we're afraid of terrorists nutcases.

 

[Car-Guy]

No it has not. However, I don't travel internationally since I retired. Been there, done that.

Domestically (US) I still travel a lot and anywhere/anytime I want but try to be aware of my surroundings and am always "prepared" just in case. I don't (and hope I never will) allow any fears of terrorism or nut cases to change my plans.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Not retired but from a travel planning perspective: Yes and no.

It plays a small part in our decision making process on where to go. There are so many places we want to visit. Why go to a place that might have issues right now when you can go next year?

It's not just about being impacted directly by a terrorist act that's an issue. Indirect impacts could be sites being closed, lines could be longer due to increased security checks, events could be cancelled, flights could be delayed/cancelled, etc.

If we're already booked, we'll analyse the situation and won't necessarily change plans. I know these aren't necessarily terrorist situations but it's still about risk assessment:
We still ended up going to Bangkok in 2014 when the odd bombings and shootings were going on with the government protests. And we still went to Seoul in 2015 when South Korea had the MERS outbreak. It was a lot less crowded!

 

[NYEXPAT]

We are rethinking going back to USA to live for five years,IMHO Peru is far safer especially after the election of PPK. We will stay out of Lima when Obama comes in November.

 

[braumeister]

There are so many places that beckon to me, particularly in Europe, that I wonder if I'll ever tire of traveling there.

Even places I've been to more than once. I'll probably never tire of at least half a dozen European cities that I've visited numerous times. Summer, winter, whatever -- they keep calling me.

I firmly believe that my chances of being caught up in a terrorist action are no higher than being hit by a beer truck while crossing the street in my home town.

 

[audreyh1]

There are so many places that beckon to me, particularly in Europe, that I wonder if I'll ever tire of traveling there.

Even places I've been to more than once. I'll probably never tire of at least half a dozen European cities that I've visited numerous times. Summer, winter, whatever -- they keep calling me.

I firmly believe that my chances of being caught up in a terrorist action are no higher than being hit by a beer truck while crossing the street in my home town.

That's how I feel. Half the time I wonder whether I'll move there.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We really love Europe too.

 

[frayne]

Well, so much for my trip to Turkey !