Poll:Do you travel internationally?

[Meadbh]

As a wee lad, we traveled a lot with my father's business. Between 1951 and 1960 we had family households in, Havana, Caracas, London, Brussels, Marseilles, and Casablanca. After Casablanca my mom had had enough.
In my adult life I've been to Canada (I live in Upstate NY, not much of a trip, I concede), Costa Rica (twice), USVI (3 times), Puerto Rico, Australia, Tahiti, and Italy (also 3 times). My last trip to Italy was in 2011, and being there was great, but the travel back and forth was hell, entirely due to US Airways. I don't plan on going back to Europe, but I'd never say "never", I guess.
At this stage in my life, and with the way airlines cram us all in and treat us like cattle, I'm not enthused. Maybe...someday....probably...

Think about a transatlantic repositioning cruise. They are great value and very relaxing, if you have the time. Which, as a retiree, you do!

 

[Meadbh]

A good point. I once w*rked with a guy who grew up in Germany and only moved to the USA in his 30s. He was from Frankfurt, and I asked if he had ever been to Oktoberfest in Munich. His response was "Oh, no. That's much too far away."

We North Americans have a very different perspective on distance.

As a German friend once put it:
"The difference between North Americans and Europeans is that North Americans think 200 years is a long time, and Europeans think 200 miles is a long distance."

My US relatives had some visitors from Ireland, their first trip. They offered to take the visitors sightseeing and asked what they would like to see. The answer: the Grand Canyon.

So not all Europeans have the same perspective!

 

[Meadbh]

We went on a couple of Caribbean cruises several years ago and found that we didn't really care for cruise travel. So we didn't attempt any more international travel until 2 years ago. We went to England and Ireland and had a great time. We went to Canada (Is Canada international?) last year and enjoyed ourselves also. So now we're open to international travel, but we have several US and Canadian places that we need to conquer first.

Yes, Canada is international. I have to declare all my international assets on my Canadian income tax return, and they include US assets.

 

[Aerides]

While it might, at first, seem strange that american's travel internationally less than others, there's some logic to it:

A European can be in another country via a car trip often quicker than an american can reach the next state, many locations are reachable from a 1 to 3 hour flight... i can't get to California from Florida without a 6 hour flight, or an all day event if I have any layover which is likely.

Visiting anywhere but Canada (for not exactly a completely different culture - no offense to either side!), or Central/South America, requires a long plan and a lot of vacation days. Most working US adults get 2 weeks per year, so they aren't exactly going to spend 10 days in the Mediterranean, and are going to want to get as much actual vacation time out of the week they have off in the summer (compared to most other countries where 4 weeks is pretty normal, and where the culture supports long vacations). Going to Japan for me means I arrive tomorrow night. I have to factor 3 complete days of travel to get there and back.

The US is also pretty darn big and diverse. You can get a lot of different experiences in with no passport. Big city - Chicago, NYC. Ski trip? - CO, Beaches? about a dozen states. Hiking/Mountains, another half dozen. National parks for camping and monuments all over the country. Two disney's.

Add to that, the typical US education does not support immersion in other languages to the extent that a European or Asian one might, and you can start to see why it's just less of a thing over here.

 

[Meadbh]

^^^ All very good points, Aerides!

 

[Mango1956]

We’re from Scotland, UK, so can’t really vote, but yes, we travel extensively in Europe and to the USA, mostly to escape the lousy b****y weather here! [emoji3]

Yes! Having just come back from Death Valley, I will attest to all the folks from Europe there to escape their weather. However, both DH and I noticed the place was also chock a block with Oregonians escaping their own long winter rainy hell. Got to give it to them, though, they make like desert rats and get out on the bad gravel roads with the best of them ( that is to say, us).

 

[USGrant1962]

We go diving in the the Caribbean at least twice a year, and 3 times this year (beginning a week from today ).

I spent a ton of work time in UK before retiring but outside of that have not done much tourism in Europe - hope to start more of that. My UK work visa (and taxes) finally expired .

 

[davebarnes]

At 6'6" and legs that are longer than average even for that height, I would never consider an international flight outside of First Class which I can not afford.

Business class will be fine.
Or.
Fly to México and have surgery.

 

[Car-Guy]

I traveled internationally many times when I was working for Mega Corp #2. Mostly Europe and Asia Pacific. I saw much of the world in first class and got paid for it. Since I've retired I haven't left the US at all. Matter of fact, I don't even fly domestically anymore. I guess I got my fill of flying for free. Most memorable international cities for me that I visited were Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Amsterdam and Rome. I'd need to check but I'm pretty sure my US passport has expired by now.

 

[aaronc879]

Business class will be fine.
Or.
Fly to México and have surgery.

I have at least 3-4 inches I could spare off my ankles.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have read about leg shortening operations. Wonder if that would make the patient's muscles and tendons all loose and flabby.

 

[Scuba]

I had never been out of the US as a child and don’t think my parents had been except for serving in WWII. When I was 24 years old, I had the opportunity to visit Europe on vacation and Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia on a business trip. Got bitten by the travel bug and have loved travel ever since. I figure we can do USA trips later, but international travel gets harder with age so we are trying to make the most of years when we’re healthy and able.

 

[DrRoy]

I didn't count almost yearly trips to the family cottage in Quebec. Up to 2009, 3 trips to different parts of Britain (DW has family there). Since 2009, 3 trips to Europe and 2 to the Caribbean. Might average closer to once per year over the next 5-10 years. RE'd a year ago and just have more time. This year, Patagonia.

 

[marko]

Traveled abroad 200 days a year for over 25 years during my work life. Europe, Asia, Japan. Lived in France and Japan for a while.

Racked up 4,000,000 miles along the way. Still go to Europe once or twice a year to ski or see friends.

Side note: Flying back from Florida last week the flight attendant quietly handed me a bottle of wine, thanking me for my business over the years.

 

[IMATERP]

In my 30's - three or four times a year (Business and/or Pleasure.). I've actually been to 52 countries.

In my 40's and 50's - typically once a year (and I am counting cruises.)

Planned 60's (after wife retires) - Once a year or every other year contingent on bargains. I am certain that we will do several last minute TransAtlantic cruises.

 

[athena53]

Business class will be fine.

DH was 6'2", older, and had a creaky back, so we quit flying Coach on long-hauls years ago even though it severely reduced the amount of travel we could afford. Now that he's gone and I'm only 5'7" with a perfectly-functioning back I still fly Business on long hauls. It's not just the big seat- it's the Priority check-in, TSA and Immigration lines (varies by airport), fewer junk fees, airline lounge access, etc. I bypassed some pretty bad lines in my travels to and from India because I was flying Business for all except the London-DFW portion (not enough FF miles!). Even on the Coach segment, my Lifetime Gold status got me into a few priority lines and I was able to use the BA Lounge in Heathrow before my Coach flight to DFW because I'd arrived on a Business Class flight from Delhi.

Sadly, Australia is off my bucket list. I won't fly it in Coach and Business Class is crazy expensive. Could I come up with the money without jeopardizing my finances? Yes. Is that a good use of the $$$$ compared to what other travels I could buy with it? No way.

 

[Koogie]

I have at least 3-4 inches I could spare off my ankles.

Maybe he didn't mean that kind of surgery...

Mind you, a 6'6" woman should be just as uncomfortable in cattle class as a man so I don't think it is money well spent....

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Following up on one of the points made by Aerides: It seems that the poll is meant for forum participants who live in the US. We live in southern Switzerland, just over the northern border of Italy and take a twenty minute trip most Saturdays to an open air market in an Italian town. So, my answers would definitely skew the results.

That said, we do travel quite a lot each year...the relative proximity to other European countries is a major advantage here -- Less than two hours by air gets us to the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, etc.....

-BB

 

[gerntz]

I am always amazed when I learn that there are so many Americans of all ages have never left the U.S. at any time in their life, and I vaguely remember reading somewhere that a majority of Americans have never travelled abroad and that a majority of Americans do not have a passport.

I'll hazard that you haven't lived much in lower middle class flyover country or slums nor own your own small business.

 

[CardsFan]

When we talk of "international" travel, and how little of it Americans do, it's easy to forget context in the discussion. If you grow up in Nebraska and travel upto 1,000 miles east, or 1,000 miles west, and up to 600 miles north or 600 miles south, you'll never leave the United States. If you make the same distance travels from Prague, however, you can visit every country in Europe, from Spain to England all the way to Russia. The latter is "well traveled internationally" while the former "never left home, but they both traveled the same distance. Also, anyone who doesn't believe that you won't see different cultures traveling the states hasn't done so.

EXACTLY!! We sometimes lose sight of the size of the USA.

While working, I traveled all over the world, and enjoyed the experience of different cultures. I also traveled all over the US, and had similar cultural experiences.

Since I have FIRE'd, however, I realize how little of the natural beauty of the US I have experienced, so that is now a new objective.

 

[audreyh1]

Five years of full-time RVing we covered the US pretty thoroughly, so now our focus is more international.

 

[traineeinvestor]

Not sure if I should vote or not -living in HK, international travel is almost unavoidable.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

EXACTLY!! We sometimes lose sight of the size of the USA.

While working, I traveled all over the world, and enjoyed the experience of different cultures. I also traveled all over the US, and had similar cultural experiences.

Since I have FIRE'd, however, I realize how little of the natural beauty of the US I have experienced, so that is now a new objective.

+1 Since we left the US, we regret not visiting dozens of scenic and otherwise very interesting places there when it was a lot easier and cheaper!

-BB

 

[marko]

EXACTLY!! We sometimes lose sight of the size of the USA.

Years ago, we had a customer who flew in from Sweden. Looking at a map, he thought he'd fly into Chicago, rent a car and "drive an hour or so" to Boston. After a few hours of driving, he turned back to Chicago and got a flight.

His perspective of distance was of a much smaller country.

 

[Corporateburnout]

I traveled quite a bit domestically and internationally for business and DW accompanied me on a couple of trips. For the last 4 years since retirement we've had a couple of international trips a year (not counting our almost annual 300 to 500 miles driving trips to the provinces of Quebec and Toronto).

Our ability to speak a couple of foreign languages makes it more enjoyable to experience different cultures.

We plan on a couple of more years of distant travel before the aggravation and hassle with flying take over.