10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America

fife

cincybearcat wrote:

fife wrote:

I don't think it has just to do with spending habits. I really do think that it is about people wanting to go. I don't make a lot of money in my job but I try to save some money to go on a trip a year. it might not be some far off place but something new.

Last year I went to Italy for 3 weeks and it was great experience. I think the key to a great country is for its citizens to see other countries and experience other ways of living.

You can get away from your job for 3 straight weeks? Nice! :P

I have 6 weeks of vacation but can only do 3 weeks at a time. I do understand the challenge of going away for a period of time however I look at things a bit different. I work 70 hours week most of the year and the reason I do that is a) my job somewhat demands that and i realize that to become a well rounded person i have to see new things. now to be honest, i don't have any children but do have a house that i have to pay a mortgage for and have other bills but at the end of your life i have never heard someone say man i wish i worked more and took less vacations.

fife

Jason P wrote:

On my visits to Canada, I have learned that the natives like to put mayonnaise on everything and that they have ketchup flavored potato chips. I was enlightened to experience a culture so different, yet somehow familiar. :geek:

where in canada have you been cause there are some great parts that are some of the best places to visit in the world

cincybearcat

fife wrote:

but at the end of your life i have never heard someone say man i wish i worked more and took less vacations.

Oh I agree. But I would also like to have 20 years+ of retirement where I can still travel pretty well, etc.

fife

cincybearcat wrote:

fife wrote:

but at the end of your life i have never heard someone say man i wish i worked more and took less vacations.

Oh I agree. But I would also like to have 20 years+ of retirement where I can still travel pretty well, etc.

thats true but let me tell you something. My mom never went away on vacation for most of her life (not becuase she couldn't afford too but she always was a saver) she always talked about going away when she retired and we kept telling her that she has to enjoy her life and she finally planned a vacation. it was her first and last in close to 30 years cause she died before she retired.

now while yes I went to Italy, that was a once in a life time trip. I still go away atleast once a year. This year im going to washington DC and while yes its not Italy, its is a new place that I can learn from.

Jason P

fife wrote:

Jason P wrote:

On my visits to Canada, I have learned that the natives like to put mayonnaise on everything and that they have ketchup flavored potato chips. I was enlightened to experience a culture so different, yet somehow familiar. :geek:

where in canada have you been cause there are some great parts that are some of the best places to visit in the world

I've traveled everywhere west of Quebec and Vancouver is one of my favorite cities. Canadian Rockies are in my top 5 north american destination recommendations.

fife

Jason P wrote:

fife wrote:

Jason P wrote:

On my visits to Canada, I have learned that the natives like to put mayonnaise on everything and that they have ketchup flavored potato chips. I was enlightened to experience a culture so different, yet somehow familiar. :geek:

where in canada have you been cause there are some great parts that are some of the best places to visit in the world

I've traveled everywhere west of Quebec and Vancouver is one of my favorite cities. Canadian Rockies are in my top 5 north american destination recommendations.

I love Quebec but you should really go east. some of the greatest times I have ever had. PEI is what heaven would be like if it exists

cincybearcat

fife wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

fife wrote:

but at the end of your life i have never heard someone say man i wish i worked more and took less vacations.

Oh I agree. But I would also like to have 20 years+ of retirement where I can still travel pretty well, etc.

thats true but let me tell you something. My mom never went away on vacation for most of her life (not becuase she couldn't afford too but she always was a saver) she always talked about going away when she retired and we kept telling her that she has to enjoy her life and she finally planned a vacation. it was her first and last in close to 30 years cause she died before she retired.

now while yes I went to Italy, that was a once in a life time trip. I still go away atleast once a year. This year im going to washington DC and while yes its not Italy, its is a new place that I can learn from.

Yep, I get away for 1-2 vacation a year for a total of 8-18 days or so and then lots of little trips. Just nothing outside the country much lately (except mexico and canada).

fife

thats true but let me tell you something. My mom never went away on vacation for most of her life (not becuase she couldn't afford too but she always was a saver) she always talked about going away when she retired and we kept telling her that she has to enjoy her life and she finally planned a vacation. it was her first and last in close to 30 years cause she died before she retired.

now while yes I went to Italy, that was a once in a life time trip. I still go away atleast once a year. This year im going to washington DC and while yes its not Italy, its is a new place that I can learn from.[/quote]

Yep, I get away for 1-2 vacation a year for a total of 8-18 days or so and then lots of little trips. Just nothing outside the country much lately (except mexico and canada).[/quote]

you should try PEI in the east coast in canada and also one of my favorite places in the world and its called churchill which is Manitoba. not many canadians go there but it is great but does get cold. so go in either late summer like August.

tybird

fife wrote:

I love Quebec but you should really go east. some of the greatest times I have ever had. PEI is what heaven would be like if it exists

And here I thought that Nova Scotia was a little bit of heaven here on Earth

tybird

Go Beavers wrote:

tybird wrote:

Go Beavers wrote:

You pointed out another thing that American's don't know about America, that you don't "have to" have a car. Once people can acknowledge it's a choice, they aren't beholden to their car. Many more people could easily bike or walk to work than are at the moment. When people search for a place to live in relation to work, having a car allows them to live 30 miles away, but check in a year later and they "have to" have a car to get to work because they live 30 miles away. I say, if you decided to live 4 miles from work, you wouldn't have to have a car. That being said, I also understand some areas of the country facilitate alternative modes of transportation better than others. Also, not driving runs counter to out culture of convenience that we're accustomed to.

Many cities and towns don't have sidewalks that extend beyond "downtown"....many cities and towns don't have bike lanes....four miles??? Do you seriously think that the majority of Americans could (or would) walk four miles a day? Does the topography and climate of every town and city in America make walking up to four miles feasible? I would love the convenience of walking or biking to work or the store, but under our current circumstances it is not happening.

I'm not sure about a "majority". While it could happen, I only set my sights on "more" people getting to work other than by car. My guess is, based on earlier posts, that you live in the Southeast, which is usually considered pretty abysmal overall for cyclists and pedestrians. Here's a list of the first 15 friendliest cycling cities from bicycling magazine (might be 2011's list):
1 Minneapolis
2 Portland, OR
3 Boulder, CO
4 Seattle
5 Eugene, OR
6 San Francisco
7 Madison, WI
8 New York City
9 Tucson, AZ
10 Chicago
11 Austin, TX
12 Denver
13 Washington, DC
14 Ann Arbor, MI
15 Phoenix/Tempe, AZ

Certainly there's a significant chunk of the U.S. population in these cities where people could make changes where they're less dependent on cars.

You are correct, I'm in the southeastern U.S.....and you are correct it is abysmal for bike riders and walkers.

fife

tybird wrote:

fife wrote:

I love Quebec but you should really go east. some of the greatest times I have ever had. PEI is what heaven would be like if it exists

And here I thought that Nova Scotia was a little bit of heaven here on Earth

all the east coast is great but PEI was just my favorite.

tybird

fife wrote:

tybird wrote:

fife wrote:

I love Quebec but you should really go east. some of the greatest times I have ever had. PEI is what heaven would be like if it exists

And here I thought that Nova Scotia was a little bit of heaven here on Earth

all the east coast is great but PEI was just my favorite.

We only got to explore NS. :(

Jeanwah

redrock wrote:

True tybird. Just like the UK has such diversity from the top of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall passing by Wales, Norfolk, the Midlands down to the south coast. And France from the North to Brittany to the Cote D'azur and the Pyrenees and alpes. Only to name a couple of countries. But, whatever this diversity, the 'regional' differences - accents, food, habits, etc., it's still the same country - the same 'essence' in a way, the familiarity. Whilst any travel enhances one's spirit (even from city to country or vice versa), experiencing 'foreign' cultures can open up one's mind completely, open one's eyes, gain understanding, even change one's perspective on things. And not just opening one's eyes to the foreign country but to the 'home' country as well.

Traveling the United States isn't all that diverse, like redrock states above. You can't defend traveling one country and getting the kind of experience in it that you get from traveling abroad. The same language is spoken across the U.S., making it far from diverse. Same with the culture in general. Society is pretty much much the same across the country. Not traveling abroad doesn't have any reasonable defense when talking about what we're talking about in this thread, based on the OP: Learning more about your own country by stepping out of it.

cincybearcat

Jeanwah wrote:

Traveling the United States isn't all that diverse, like redrock states above. You can't defend traveling one country and getting the kind of experience in it that you get from traveling abroad. The same language is spoken across the U.S., making it far from diverse. Same with the culture in general. Society is pretty much much the same across the country. Not traveling abroad doesn't have any reasonable defense when talking about what we're talking about in this thread, based on the OP: Learning more about your own country by stepping out of it.

You know I don't think that is entirely true. A New Yorker can gain some perspective by spending some time in Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, etc. And Vice versa. SO I think there is a lot to be learned by that.

I do think there are some things that can't be learned/seen until you leave and see some place else. But as I said, unless you are actually living there for some time, you won't really get a decent picture.

Jeanwah

cincybearcat wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

Traveling the United States isn't all that diverse, like redrock states above. You can't defend traveling one country and getting the kind of experience in it that you get from traveling abroad. The same language is spoken across the U.S., making it far from diverse. Same with the culture in general. Society is pretty much much the same across the country. Not traveling abroad doesn't have any reasonable defense when talking about what we're talking about in this thread, based on the OP: Learning more about your own country by stepping out of it.

You know I don't think that is entirely true. A New Yorker can gain some perspective by spending some time in Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, etc. And Vice versa. SO I think there is a lot to be learned by that.

I do think there are some things that can't be learned/seen until you leave and see some place else. But as I said, unless you are actually living there for some time, you won't really get a decent picture.

Ok, so culture between NYC Nebraska or the south is a little different and there is something to learn from that. But not vastly different. Not different enough. I don't know if I agree that one must live in an area for a time to get a decent picture... not from my angle anyway.

tybird

Jeanwah wrote:

redrock wrote:

True tybird. Just like the UK has such diversity from the top of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall passing by Wales, Norfolk, the Midlands down to the south coast. And France from the North to Brittany to the Cote D'azur and the Pyrenees and alpes. Only to name a couple of countries. But, whatever this diversity, the 'regional' differences - accents, food, habits, etc., it's still the same country - the same 'essence' in a way, the familiarity. Whilst any travel enhances one's spirit (even from city to country or vice versa), experiencing 'foreign' cultures can open up one's mind completely, open one's eyes, gain understanding, even change one's perspective on things. And not just opening one's eyes to the foreign country but to the 'home' country as well.

Traveling the United States isn't all that diverse, like redrock states above. You can't defend traveling one country and getting the kind of experience in it that you get from traveling abroad. The same language is spoken across the U.S., making it far from diverse. Same with the culture in general. Society is pretty much much the same across the country. Not traveling abroad doesn't have any reasonable defense when talking about what we're talking about in this thread, based on the OP: Learning more about your own country by stepping out of it.

Yes, you can. American culture is far from being a mono-culture. There are hundreds of micro-cultures spread throughout this nation. Hawaii is not New Orleans. New Orleans is not Chicago. Chicago is not Alaska. Alaska is not Tennessee. Tennessee is not Arizona. The Smokey Mountains are not the Rocky Mountains. Common language does not a single culture make.

Travel does not have to be about learning about other cultures. If travel is your vacation, it should be about what you enjoy or what re-charges your batteries. For example, my travel agenda is most often based on what natural wonders in the way of native fauna that I can see in different locations.

Where one travels can be limited by several external factors including the amount of time you have off and the amount of money one can spend on travel. That's why I have not traveled the world as much as I like.....limited paid vacation time and limited dollars in the bank. I have enjoyed the few trips that I have made out of the country.

Jeanwah

tybird wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

redrock wrote:

True tybird. Just like the UK has such diversity from the top of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall passing by Wales, Norfolk, the Midlands down to the south coast. And France from the North to Brittany to the Cote D'azur and the Pyrenees and alpes. Only to name a couple of countries. But, whatever this diversity, the 'regional' differences - accents, food, habits, etc., it's still the same country - the same 'essence' in a way, the familiarity. Whilst any travel enhances one's spirit (even from city to country or vice versa), experiencing 'foreign' cultures can open up one's mind completely, open one's eyes, gain understanding, even change one's perspective on things. And not just opening one's eyes to the foreign country but to the 'home' country as well.

Traveling the United States isn't all that diverse, like redrock states above. You can't defend traveling one country and getting the kind of experience in it that you get from traveling abroad. The same language is spoken across the U.S., making it far from diverse. Same with the culture in general. Society is pretty much much the same across the country. Not traveling abroad doesn't have any reasonable defense when talking about what we're talking about in this thread, based on the OP: Learning more about your own country by stepping out of it.

Yes, you can. American culture is far from being a mono-culture. There are hundreds of micro-cultures spread throughout this nation. Hawaii is not New Orleans. New Orleans is not Chicago. Chicago is not Alaska. Alaska is not Tennessee. Tennessee is not Arizona. The Smokey Mountains are not the Rocky Mountains. Common language does not a single culture make.

Travel does not have to be about learning about other cultures. If travel is your vacation, it should be about what you enjoy or what re-charges your batteries. For example, my travel agenda is most often based on what natural wonders in the way of native fauna that I can see in different locations.

I'm not buying it, and in addressing the OP's point, one can't learn much of a differing perspective about one's country from never leaving one's country. That's my point. Yeah, states might be different and we can learn a little something from each one, but they're no Kenya compared to Japan! I'm sorry, but using that defense as saying that we're a diverse country is, in my opinion, garbage. The U.S. is not that diverse at all, considering how diverse other countries are to each other! If we really need to argue about reasons why we shouldn't travel abroad, then count me out, because that's not my thing. I just can't relate to the idea of not wanting to see what else is out there.

I agree that traveling doesn't have to mean learning differing cultures. It means something different to everyone.

Smellyman

I love living in Asia. Travel oppurtunities are never ending. I also don't need a car and instead of restricting my freedom it feels like I was freed from a ball and chain. Cars just suck money from you

Also, PJ never comes to Asia so I had to go to Australia in 09 and Europe last week.

mickeyrat

Smellyman wrote:

I love living in Asia. Travel oppurtunities are never ending. I also don't need a car and instead of restricting my freedom it feels like I was freed from a ball and chain. Cars just suck money from you

Also, PJ never comes to Asia so I had to go to Australia in 09 and Europe last week.

Doesnt that just sucks balls?

Byrnzie

tybird wrote:

And they have options like high-speed rail...or even rail for that matter. For example, my options for rail destinations from my city are New Orleans (8 hour trip by rail), Atlanta, the Carolinas and Washington D.C. (close to or over 20 hours by rail). That is one train going south and one train going north daily. New Orleans and D.C. are the first stations where I could make any connections to other trains. Any connection through NOLA would require spending the night there. I love traveling by rail, but it is not the efficient way to travel the U.S.

How long would it take someone in the U.S to fly to, say, Belize, or Cuba?