I've heard Canada described as America on a Sunday.

That would track with my sense that, stereotype-wise anyway, Canadians practice the virtue of unflappability, while Americans are all about forming and expressing strong opinions about every damn thing. Canadians are very much like Americans who have learned to calm the fuck down.

In America, the stereotype about Canadians, is that they're much more polite, and civilized.

I read an article recently, written by a Canadian, to the effect that Canadians are sick of hearing that stereotype, because from their point of view, they're just normal, and we're a bunch of assholes.

For whatever it's worth, I bet at least half of that is because American pay scales don't allow average joes much of a travel budget. I know more people who would like to visit Europe some day, but it's financially inconceivable at present and for the foreseeable future.

I guess that raises the question of, who DOES have the budget to travel, and what sort of impression do they leave?

So Americas cultural ambassadors are currently trustafarians on spring/summer breaks, financial industry d-bags, and the elderly with good retirement plans whose pensions weren't gutted by corporate corruption and bankruptcy

These days, the typical American worker gets around 2-3 weeks paid time off, compared to at least 6 weeks for Europeans and Australians. Basically we're living to work to pay for our houses and cars (which we need to get to work), and we prioritize our budget towards house and car payments instead of nice clothes, which are less comfortable anyways when you're out of shape from relying on cars all the time. Yay freedom!

As a longtime American, I think it's cultural. My dad has always said that Americans don't like to travel, they like to vacation. They like to spend a few weeks not making their own beds or cooking their own meals. That's hardly a novelty for the upper class in the third world, of course. Americans want to be comfortable.

Also, I think that the size of the country prevents travel. You can go a lot of places in the US without having to get out your passport. In Europe, you can't step outside your door without crossing a border, so people are more disposed to it. Also, the middle-upper classes in Europe consider travel to be a part of a complete education, but that's not really the case in the States, European grand tours circa 1880 or so aside.

Our PTO is really the worst. I love to travel, but I get three weeks a year. If I want to go somewhere far away, that's not a lot of time. Plus you rarely want to use every last hour of your PTO on a vacation, just in case you need to take some to stay home for whatever reason.

Most of my travel has been to Thailand where I'll usually spend 2-3 weeks training muay Thai. I rarely run into other Americans. Whenever I meet someone new at the gym, usually the second or third question they ask you is "how long are you here for?" When you tell them it's only 2-3 weeks because that's all you've got, they're almost incredulous.

Gotta disagree with the "unfashionable" part, particularly our males. Most of the non-American dudes over maybe 22 or so that I've seen in my travels have got to be some of the worst dressers of all-time. This is especially true for Germans, Australians, and anyone from the Middle East. As for fattest, give at least the Germans a few years and they'll be caught up.

Can't call america the fattest anymore. The UK and australia are real contenders.

I believe Mexico has us beat for the Fattest Nation title.

We can't even be number one in THAT anymore.

Now where are all the hams?
Oh no, they are to close!
Do not smother us in your rolls

At least the American 'trustafarians' are being judged by their own kind. I doubt a single person in this video is making their own way in life.

I've been over seas a couple of times on the company dime. I wear jorts, a fanny pack, and an American flag leather jacket. I go to restaurants and order food, and then send it back just to make the waitstaff my bitch. I belch in peoples' faces. I wipe my nose with my bare hands, and then don't use the tongs at the breakfast buffet. I fart in crowded elevators and taxi cabs. I scratch my balls on public transportation. I do this because I'm an American and that's how we do.


Actually, I was in Europe for a couple of weeks and just wore a shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Standard stuff. But I also wore a backwards baseball cap. I expected this to be a signal flare that I was American. Whole streets coming to a stop to gawk at me while I walked by. Instead, everyone thought I was French. Until I spoke. Then they thought I was English. If we ever want to invade Europe, we could take it down from the inside because no one would even realize we were there.

You'd have to work really, really hard to out-obnoxious the Australians and the French.

As far as financials go, it's breaks down to expectation and location. If you want a movie star vacation, it'll cost you tons. If you want to backpack, you'll barely spend anything. I traveled for so long by working in the countries I visited. In Asia, that is pretty easy to do, so other than the cost of the ticket and the super cheap rent and food for the initial setup is over, you typically break even, or even save money traveling. It's actually at the point where I considering being a traveler through Asia to be more financially viable than living in America.

For Europe, it might be different. Depending on the country, it is way more to ludicrously more expensive to just live in those places, vacationing even more so I image. that said, I knew many who did a two or three month European circuit under 2 grand. Europe typically won't hire Americans unless you are a top class professional, in which case you can afford to visit anyway

Shit, I haven't gotten paid time off for more than a couple of months in my whole life you boojie fucks.

Thing about PTO is that America doesn't separate "vacation" from "paid time off". Most Americans use it to fill in gaps they may have missed on their paycheck for sick time or whatever.

But yeah, "travel" implies actually going somewhere for a reason. Business class is for TRAVELERS. A vacation is something else, something more purely American. Non-Americans often fail to grasp the sheer variance and size of our country. Traveling from Seattle to LA, for instance, puts you from a Scandanavian environment to a Mediterranean one. Americans are, indeed, whether you want to admit it or not, blessed with the most beautiful ENVIRONMENT in the world, with the most spectacle for the buck. Why do I need to go to Thailand when I have Las Vegas? Why do I need to go to Africa when I have Yellowstone? We have huge cities, we have our own just amazing parks system infrastructure, we have our own cars.

I'm not saying there's no CULTURAL value to traveling abroad. But for beauty's sake, give me the Rockies over Tibet every single damn time. I can go to Carl's Jr. in Colorado, I'd probably be stuck with Jack in the Box or (ugh) Hardee's in Tibet. Stupid Tibet.

Let's just all agree that Tibet sucks.

Rightly so! I showed a friend of a friend from Denmark around and he loved how open and friendly everyone is in the US. While showing him around--this was during the last world series--I struck up a conversation with a random guy wearing a team cap. We chatted for five minutes about baseball then went on our ways. The Dane was thoroughly impressed that this was at all possible.

yes, but mostly if you're talking about nature tourism.

Americas short history and the wasteland between the coasts mean it doesn't offer as much much in terms of historical or cultural sights compared to most of the rest of the world.

Except for the cultural differences. Which is one of the main reasons to travel.

ps. I dont like travelling. People who say it broadens the mind are largely full of shit. You learn a lot more, and gain more insights, cultural or otherwise, reading the right books, non-fiction of course.

The right literary fiction is just as affective.

Americans think 200 years was a long time ago.

Europeans think 200 miles is a long distance away.

I can't speak for anywhere else, but as a new englander I'm always impressed by our ability to be about 5 years behind the midwest while thinking we're 20 years ahead.

Some crusty old white dude a couple of centuries ago said that the New England way was something to the effect of "never be the first to try something and never be the last to try it" and that sounds about right.

lived in the south for eight years, it doesn't have anything that the rest of the country doesn't have except perhaps for a higher density of christians

and better barbecue

and right now, humidity

Sno balls, shrimp and grits, some really picturesque scenery, mountains that aren't so big I can't ride my bike up them... The South has a lot going for it. But it's also a huge area. Most of it is mono-culture wasteland just like everywhere else. Same with the Midwest. There are things I love but there's a lot of grinding monotony.