“Interesting people are interested people”
–someone I once knew.
I have a bone to pick.
I ran across an article a while back on Nomatic Matt, a popular travel blog, and it’s had me thinking… The gist of the piece is that, for essentially three reasons, very few Americans travel overseas. The tone of the article is that this is a source of shame, something revealing a less than admirable aspect of the national character.
My first reaction to the article was to agree – we Americans, generally speaking, can be far too ignorant about the world around us and a lack of exposure surely is a factor. I’ve spent my whole life, save for the first four days or so, with a passport, so the figures showing so few Americans own one (roughly 21%) does strike me at first blush as odd and surprising (a quick search showed Australians, for example, are twice as likely to own a passport). But, nevertheless, something bugged me about the pieces and I’ve been rolling it over in my head for a while. This happens to hit upon a subject I’ve thought about from time to time, in terms of myself, my family, and my country.
Family travel is important to us. I think the boys learn so much from the experience, and Mick and I do as well. It also brings us closer together, being on the common journey. I am never more in love with my wife as when we set out on a trip together, alive in the present moment, the humdrum static of routine rejected, our commonality confirmed. And international travel is an exciting part of our plans. I spent much of my childhood taking trips to Ecuador, staying for months at a time. Mick, for her part, would drop everything and drive to the airport this afternoon if the opportunity presented itself. Seriously, that’s not hyperbole – she’s hard to control at times.
That said, I feel it’s important to show the boys their own country as well. Sebastian asked the other day if we could take a trip to all fifty states. When I asked why he said “So we can see what’s fun to do there.” I love that. Love it. Of the more disappointing things I can encounter are people who have traveled the world, yet have never been anywhere in the United States other than New York, L.A., maybe San Francisco. Literally. People who consider the rest of the country, their country, devoid of interest – fly over territory. How, I wonder, is this any different from the person who’s never left his own country yet has settled on an ignorant view of the world?
It isn’t. Just as the lack of exposure to the rest of the world can lead to ignorance and intolerance, lack of exposure to your own country can breed ignorance and intolerance.
So, my impetus here is to tip my hat to the virtues of international travel, but to stick up a bit for the domestic version as well. Actually it’s my impetus as a father. To both encourage in the boys a curiosity about the world, as well as a curiosity and understanding of their home, and themselves.
The three main reasons American’s don’t travel overseas, according to Nomatic Matt, are geographic size, cultural ignorance, and fear. It seems to me these elements are intertwined, with geographic size being the linchpin.
At 3.79 million square miles, America is one hell of a big, geographically diverse country. It is perhaps the only country (someone correct me if I’m wrong here) containing a version of just about every climate in the world and a full spectrum of geographic variety. From the islands of the Keys to the island of Manhattan. The mountains of Alaska to the Kansas plains and Dakota Badlands. The Oregon rain forest (yep, we have one) to the deserts of Death Valley. You have high deserts, tropical zones, alpine regions, and barrier islands. Too much variety to list it all here. It’s certainly no reason to avoid the rest of the world – a beach in South Florida is not the same as a beach in Thailand after all – but it is fair to say one could spend much of a traveling lifetime exploring this country and exposing one’s self to a full canvas of offerings.
For the sake of comparison, New Zealanders are known to be avid international travelers. They too come from a country that offers geographic diversity, and they also happen to be quite far from most international destinations. However, they come from a country that is about the size of Colorado. It isn’t simply the geographic diversity, but the vastness of America that affects travel patterns, and by extension passport ownership. In many countries you journey 500 miles and you’re crossing international borders. In America you can travel 500 miles and still be in Florida. One can travel over five thousand miles and leave the passport at home (New York to Hawaii). But the Spaniard who travels 882 miles from Madrid to Samoens for a little skiing in the French Alps will most likely be considered more “well-traveled” than the Houstonian who travels 1315 miles to ski in Aspen, Colorado. By what standard? Most likely the cultural standard: the Spaniard arguably encounters a more vast difference in culture than the Houstonian, and his date is probably more easily seduced. 
Stark differences amongst cultures shouldn’t be ignored, but it is interesting to acknowledge the relative distances we’re talking about, and put into perspective not only the nearly ridiculous size of the United States, but the fact that for 145 years (post Civil War) these country-sized territories we call states have remained open and free flowing.
“But A.J., that’s why it’s so boring to travel domestically – it’s all the same fat people.”
Oh, not so my self-quoting friend. An increasingly mobile society can lead to an increasingly homogeneous society and world, to be sure, but there remains a multitude of difference in the people you encounter traveling around the States. Walk around Seattle, then walk around Miami. The common currency may be the best clue you’re still in the same country. Meet a third generation Brooklynite and a third generation San Diegan then compare those two to a third generation Minneapolitan. Could Hawaiians and New Englanders be more different? Does an Idahoan relish in the song of language to the extent a Southerner does? How different is a local dish in New Orleans vs. one in Pittsburgh?
Even in an open and homogeneous society, vast geography informs a wide spectrum of culture. One of the most unexpected, subtle, and interesting observations that revealed itself on the cross-country camping trip of ’09 with Seb was how, as you work your way west across the southern states, conversation starts off a long, flowery, drawn out affair. Gradually, however, you reach a point when you’ve crossed Louisiana into Texas where the people don’t necessarily get any less friendly, but the exchanges become much shorter and more to the point. I’d never had occasion to notice, but it can mean the difference between a 35 minute exchange and a two minute exchange, each prompted by the same question. Which led me to think about how the Southeast, with its common love of language, is the region that may most closely represent this country’s connection to its English heritage, and how that directly correlates to so many great American writers coming from that region (Wolfe, Welty, Faulkner, O’Conner). To see it play out in front of our eyes with each passing day, experience the bear hug that is conversation with a Southerner, and notice it’s gradual absence as we drove west was charming and priceless.
And a lesson lost had we not taken the trip.
Maybe it’s me. I’ve had a love affair with the country since I was a 10 year old kid driving from Wyoming to Florida with my parents. It’s a love affair that was tweaked by trips with my father to National Parks, and tweaked yet again as a young man in my twenties listening to Charles Kuralt read from his book America as I drove to meet Mickie in the mountains of North Carolina.
So, no, Americans don’t travel overseas in the same percentages found amongst the Kiwis. Shame on those that can and don’t, they’re missing out deeply. But people who turn their nose down at domestic travel deserve a bit of the sideways look themselves. And in that train of thought I’d like to salute Exodus Family, a family of three who will be embarking on a journey to visit each of the 50 states over the next year, with a focus on being out in nature. Whatever, and whomever they encounter over the next twelve months, they will forever be better for it. A tip of the hat.
AJ- great post!
Well this American family certainly travels overseas and Internationally! I don’t disagree with Matt, it is frankly shocking to be traveling in Asia and only see a handful of Americans (or Canadians for that matter) and Aussies and Europeans by the drove. But your point is very well taken. There is so much to see and learn about our own 50 States, but I hope not at the exclusion of international travel. I want my children to have both, an understanding of the world and how really insignificant that the United States is in terms of a total global view but at the same time how vey cool and lucky they are to be United States Citizens and to have a whole huge diverse and fantastic county to explore!
Wasnt it Little Feat that said Texas is a whole world of it’s own! And that is just Texas!
Kristy-
No doubt! That’s the point exactly. Get out and see the world, but that doesn’t require neglecting the States…enjoy and learn about your country, and when you step out in the world do it with your best foot forward and challenge assumptions the world may have of Americans.
Thanks for the comment!
–A.J. & the Kickass Crew
I do wonder though Kristy, why you see more Aussies and Kiwis in Asia. Is it because they’re island nations, and therefore more likely to get out overseas, or is it cultural, a tradition/expectation of travel that’s passed on to the next generation? What do you think?
AJ – definitely one of my favorite posts! I’m finding that even the Bay Area has more places to explore than I could ever hope to explore. Our backyards contain whole universes if we’re willing to see them.
That is so right Lance, and so great coming from someone who loves and lives world travel! They shouldn’t be mutually exclusive!
Most Americans would love to travel overseas but they cannot afford it or they they don’t want to take a chance of getting kill in a foreign country which you hear about a lot.
You have a better chance of being killed in Detroit my friend.
There are four reasons Americans don’t travel overseas, and three of them are the same reason they don’t travel inside the US. We don’t travel ANYWHERE because of:
** The expense. (I don’t know about you, but I was looking at a family trip to Disneyland, and for the same money we can pay our mortgage and car payments for 6 months.)
** The time it takes. I get four weeks a year vacation, and that puts me into a very small minority I know. But company policy prohibits taking more than one week at a time.
** Culture. Preceding generations didn’t travel either, and they passed it along.
For overseas, all of these are just magnified a bit, plus there is the fear factor. There ARE countries where Americans are NOT welcome at all, and some where they are putting themselves into danger just by being there. And of course, the news media never bothers to point out that it’s not the whole world, although the world in general doesn’t care for us all that much. Even 25 years ago, in Europe, I saw that attitude all over. Our money was always welcome, and WE were (usually) welcome as individuals, but Americans — that vague, unspecified group that NEVER quite includes the ones you’re talking to at the moment — were frequently disliked, or even despised.
John-
Sadly I think Americans have become much more fearful than reality requires. The world isn’t a big scary place, only the unknown is.
As for domestic travel, if you’re looking into Disney, or places like it, you can bet on spending a good bit of money, but certainly the amusement park type trips don’t constitute the entirety of your universe of possibilities? Taking the family on a camping trip can be very low cost, and unforgettable. I took our oldest son cross country for a 10 day camping trip and spend under $900, including gas. You can check that out here.
Even if you aren’t the camping type, you can lessen the cost of travels and lodging you can use services such as Air BnB, and you can also rent your place out while your gone to offset your expenses.
Those are just two easy examples to help make travel and adventure more possible. Interested to hear what you think, and thanks for the comment.
A.J.
A.J.-
Gee, you sound like a travel agent there.
The expense of travel and vacations is always an issue. Disney was just an example, and it IS a really expensive one, particularly when it costs a thousand bucks just to get there and back. But honestly, anything other than weekend camping trips — and everybody in the family has done those and detests them — runs into more cash than I’m willing to part with just to be somewhere else for a few days. Your mileage may vary, but I can’t bring myself to spend a potful of money and having nothing to show for it other than a couple of tchotchkes and few photographs nobody will ever see.
As for fear, I tend to think that too many Americans are afraid of “outsiders” — like people who don’t speak the same language or who don’t think that McDonald’s is fine family dining. That’s a shame, but even back in the 1970′s Americans weren’t very popular in some places, and that situation hasn’t changed. I think that people are more prone to be afraid of that situation now, instead of just being annoyed or even amused by it. That’s how we dealt with it when my wife and I were stationed in Heidelberg, and we scooted all over Europe by car and train. (Gotta love being able to do that.)
I can’t bring myself to spend a potful of money and having nothing to show for it other than a couple of tchotchkes and few photographs nobody will ever see.
John! John….you’re making me sad and my wife implores you not to make me sad. What happened to the intangibles? Not all things of value can be put on a shelf. The shared experience is what you have to show for it. An example: In college I camped out all night with friends to get tickets to watch my #1 ranked Florida State Football team play #2 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. Once I got the tickets I was offered $500 for my ticket, and I turned it down. We drove up, 12 hours, watched our team get beaten by Notre Dame, then had to drive back another 12 hours. And I wouldn’t do a thing differently if I had to do it over again. I will always have that experience and the memories, whereas the $500 would have been long forgotten.
Mickie and I even look back now at trips we took two years ago with the boys and have real feeling for those experiences. Have you ever looked back and said, “Hon, remember that time two years ago when we went to the mall then stopped at the restaurant we always go to when we go out, then went home and watched The Bachelor? What a great day!”
I don’t expect everyone to share our likes or passions, but can only say that, through our experience, getting out there and seeing new places together brings us closer, even in stressful times, and YES it can be quite stressful to travel with three kids age 7 and under. Yes, there are times when it would be so so much easier to be sitting at home watching a little tv. But what comes of that, what life is grabbed by the lapel and lived doing that? Now we’re touching on what, in my opinion, truly ails present day Americans – the relentless clinging to comfort.
Adventure is sometimes uncomfortable. But working through it together is a test and a triumph.
It’s not about the tchotchkes and few photographs John! It’s about the shared experience!
Tell me generally where you live and what you enjoy, and we’ll work with you to come up with some ideas, what do you say?
Don’t be sad, A.J. I’d hate to think I made you sad. It sounds like you’ve got things pretty well under control, and I admire that. All I was doing here was stating my take on the reasons that Americans don’t travel in general, and internationally in particular. It’s not all about clinging to comfort, although that plays a part. It’s lack of funds and time, coupled with a culture that doesn’t value travel. (Geeze. I’m repeating myself again.)
There’s nothing wrong with spending money, a lot or a little, to make memories and share experiences with the important people in your life. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, and it’s worthwhile, but when money is scarce, then the necessities of life have to take priority. All the fond memories in the world won’t keep groceries on the table. Like many Americans, my family doesn’t have the surplus funds needed for recreational activities (other than the occasional movie or dinner out) unless there’s something else to gain in the process, some way of spending every scarce dollar twice. It doesn’t need to be much, at least not for us — a required conference, a worn-out Christmas tree that leads to an all-day road trip to check out an interesting store — but there needs to be SOME sort of payoff or we just can’t justify spending the money, particularly if it’s more than $100 or so. That’s why I say that the traditional “vacation” or “travel” experience leaves nothing to show for it. You’re only spending the dollars once.
BTW, we’re in central Texas. Love being outside, hate camping. Getting old stinks but it beats the alternative, and we’re trying not to slow down at 60. Flying used to be fun before the Gestapo TSA came along. Murphy’s Law is not just a serving suggestion. Road trips are great but not so much for the person doing the driving. An Alaskan cruise would be great but the price tag is horrifying. Winter is more fun than summer because you can put on enough clothes to be warm but can’t take off enough to be cool. We enjoy going places we haven’t been, seeing things we haven’t seen, and (when we can convince each other) doing things we haven’t done. We hope that someday before we’re too old, we’ll be able to indulge ourselves a little. We hope.
Sorry to hijack your blog.
You can have it back now. Rock on.
Hi John,
Noticed you live in Central Texas. Have you ever heard of Enchanted Rock State Park? If you get a chance, check out some of AJ’s posts written when he and our son, Sebastian, took their epic cross-country adventure together a couple of years ago. I was too far along in my pregnancy with our third son to join them, but am anxious to get back with them someday and see it myself. The first is called Enchanted, I’m Sure… and the second is called Shall We Rock?, which also includes a video montage of their experience. Get out there and indulge a little. Life is too short!
Enchanted Rock isn’t far from here at all, and we’ve been there a couple of times. It’s pretty scenery, and a nice climb to the top of the dome. You can’t really see much from there but the bottom, but it’s fun. Indulge… Yes, I know life is short, but spending what I don’t have (time or funds either) doesn’t make it any longer. I have to deal with the lower levels of Laszlo’s hierarchy before I can devote resources to the top. I know what you;re saying — and I’m with you — but there are other demands that take priority over recreation. (Like a son attending a private university, with no scholarships.)
As someone who has taught and traveled overseas I am happy to agree with you on this one. Overseas travel changes you for the better and should be highly sought after. However with the high expense that comes with traveling overseas I can see why a lot of people want to but can’t find the means to.
With that said domestic travel is a much easier, much more affordable and can also be just as rewarding as traveling overseas. I currently live in Florida but still make treks out to California (when my bank account can afford it) or even Georgia for a fun weekend trip. Some places you travel to in the states can seem otherworldly and give you that travel insight into yourself.
Have you ever been to Savannah,GA or Pensacola,FL?