I think the mistake in this thread is that people are comparing Americans to Europeans.
First) How many Americans do you think have never been out of their home state? If you live in NY or Massachusetts, it is over 2000 miles to go to Vegas, and over a 1000 miles to go to Miami. There isn't any person living anyhwere in Europe who could travel 1000, let alone 2000 miles and not be either in another country or on another continent. So unless you are a complete couch potato, you really need a passport. If you lived in Italy, for example, within a 2000 mile radius, how many countries could you visit. I would need a list of UN membership to answer that question, but it must be about 100 countries.
Second) As stated by Magnus, very few Americans get more than 2 weeks of vacation time per year, and most of them are school teachers, which is not really paid vacation, since they could make more money teaching summer school, if they chose to do so. In fact, a very large perentage of Americans get no paid vacation at all. I would love to see the figures on this but my guess would be that it is in the 40 to 50% range of the able-bodied people of working age.
Third) Most people can't afford to travel abroad any farther than Mexico or Canada, or the Caribbean, which you don't need a passport for. They neither have the time nor money to do so. Flights to Hawaii, Florida, Vegas, LA, or SF, which are the most popular destinations can be had with special deals that include accomodations for very little money, a bit less than the cost of a ticket to LOS. Going to LOS, you lose a day going and a day coming back, which is 2 days. Going to a US vacation spot, you get on a plane in the AM, and are there for lunch, losing no time at all from your valuable two weeks(which most people up half of for personal days off during the year). Most people take a one week vacation to Hawai or elsewhere once a year.
Fourth) All my friends say they are so jealous of me for taking off months at a time. They would all love to go to LOS, or Europe, or S. America, or Asia. The ones with the money don't have the time. The ones with the time don't have the money. The ones with the tiem and money have been there or India or S. America, or Europe, Australia, and love to travel. i don't know any of these people who supposedly don't want to travel abroad. Maybe that is because I live in the SF area.
Fifth) Many people in the US live a long distance from where their parents live, where they were raised, and have family. For them, often the precious week or two on vacation is spent travelling cross country to see folks who they wouldn't see, otherwise. This is especially true for couples with kids, because they would like them to have a chance to meet their grandparents.
I only got a passport in 2001, to travel to LOS. When I was i my early 20's, I often went to Mexico, Guatemala, and Canada. I never flew. I hitchhiked, took trains, and buses. Cost of transportation, next to nothing. No passport. Would I have loved to go to Asia or Europe or Africa. You betcha! I was so jealous of my friends who did, but no way could I afford to.
So, all these comparisons to Europeans are totally out of line, IMHO. There can be no fair comparison!
JayBee
