Is it true that many Americans will never visit another country

[cinaminvanilla]

I remember reading an article where it says that many Americans don't have a passport or leave the USA ever in their lives. Just wondering does anyone with knowledge know if this true. Because the US is so big I could imagine people never travelling to another country. I think I read that for those who visit other countries the two most popular countries for people who live in the US to visit aside from their own is Canada and Mexico.

What makes you think it wouldn’t be true? many British people never leave the UK or have a passport either.

I'd be more inclined to believe a (presumably) researched article than random posters on Mumsnet so I'm not sure why you've decided to ask this in Am I Being Unreasonable.

It's the same as saying most English people don't holiday outside of Europe. True and not surprising and not indicative of narrow minds but of distances and costs.

It makes sense that a high percentage wouldn't, and then those that do go to Mexico and Canada. Everywhere else is so far away. Think about how many people from the UK only go to Europe, because apart from Europe everywhere else to the UK is far away, they just need passports to do so.

Yep. True. I am one of three in my extended family of dozens who have a passport. They barely leave our state though, so the idea that they travel to other regions is probably false.

My husband I are Americans and we have both travelled outside the US but not everyone has the opportunity,time or money, unfortunately and that includes a few of our siblings.

I have heard that only 10% have a passport and most have woefully short holidays, so yes maybe.

I read it’s around 40% of Americans that have valid passports compared to 75% of Brits

I think the figures are only a third of Americans hold a passport , many don't see the need to leave their country .

Americans have very little annual leave compared to us.

But also there's a HUGE choice of things to do in America. They can go to the rockies, Hawaii and the deserts of Arizona all without leaving their country.

I also think it has a lot to do with less generous holiday entitlement .

There also isn't very much holiday in the US - only 10 days or so for the year so much harder to travel long distances and deal with jet lag etc except for a very special occasion.

America is a continent comprising of the USA, Canada, Central and Southern America. It is incredibly diverse and even within just the USA there is such a vast range of culture, climate and landscape that you could very easily travel widely without ever leaving. Only 37% of US citizens currently have a valid passport compared to 75% of UK citizens but many Brits travel only for better weather and have no interest in other cultures. A great many European citizens never leave Europe - which is the equivalency.
My Step Father is Texan and widely travelled, he finds it very odd how many British people look down their nose at US citizens and mock their lack of culture, gun laws and poor quality food. This attitude only betrays the ignorance of the person commenting on the incredibly rich diversity culture of the US and it seems that for middle class Brits, the last acceptable form of bigotry is towards Amercians.

The ten percent figure is decades old and dates from a time when they didn’t need a passport to go to Canada or Mexico.

It’s above forty percent now, which is low by European standards (about three quarters of Brits have one) but that’s not surprising when you consider that they’ve got an enormous continental landmass to visit without one, along with Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam and the USVI.

The Americans that I know say that it’s because the country is so large that they can visit their own country. They have beaches, mountains and great cities so everything you can find in Europe.

Plus most of the population does not have a passport. Something as in 35% has a passport. And also they don’t get as much holiday time as Europeans. So a long 2 week holiday to Europe is all of their holiday time gone.

One of my friends who now lives in the UK is American and she mentioned that one of her jobs when she started she only had 7days holiday and had to accrue days as she worked there.

Yes its definitely true. I met a young woman in small city in the US who was struggling to find work and asked if there were jobs where we lived. She seemed unaware that she'd need a visa and passport etc to work in the UK. I'm not even sure she knew where the UK was tbh. Lovley woman, but the US is just so huge its hard for us to comprehend.

When I was much younger I spend 54 hours driving across Canada, it wasn't even close to being a coast to coast trip either!

According to Yougov, 37% have valid passports and another 20% have invalid or expired passports. So that’s 67% total having or having had a passport.

Until recently, Americans didn’t require passports to enter Canada or Mexico, so it was perfectly possible to leave the country without a passport.

It’s a country of 330 million people, and given that in 2018, 93 million travelled abroad, I’d take what you read with a grain of salt.

@WindowsSmindows

It's the same as saying most English people don't holiday outside of Europe. True and not surprising and not indicative of narrow minds but of distances and costs.

Completely agree. It's narrow minded to think everybody can afford to jet off to florida etc every year with 2 adults and 2 kids.

57%, not 67%. Lovely typo!

@Doingtheboxerbeat

I have heard that only 10% have a passport and most have woefully short holidays, so yes maybe.

I think it's a third of US residents who have passports. It's a vast country with so much variation and so little annual leave on average for employees. I have some sympathy for those who don't travel overseas.

Considering that America has 9.834 million m2 over several climate zones I don't think there is much need for forging travel. Compare this to the UK with 242,495km² and one climate zone I am more surprised by British People who don't have a passport.

I suspect if the weather was better in the UK there would be less obsession with going abroad for holidays that are basically beach and bar.

@cinaminvanilla

I remember reading an article where it says that many Americans don't have a passport or leave the USA ever in their lives. Just wondering does anyone with knowledge know if this true. Because the US is so big I could imagine people never travelling to another country. I think I read that for those who visit other countries the two most popular countries for people who live in the US to visit aside from their own is Canada and Mexico.

I've never visited another country...

Considering that America has 9.834 million m2 over several climate zones I don't think there is much need for forging travel. Compare this to the UK with 242,495km² and one climate zone I am more surprised by British People who don't have a passport.

This

@TheLovleyChebbyMcGee

Yes its definitely true. I met a young woman in small city in the US who was struggling to find work and asked if there were jobs where we lived. She seemed unaware that she'd need a visa and passport etc to work in the UK. I'm not even sure she knew where the UK was tbh. Lovley woman, but the US is just so huge its hard for us to comprehend.

When I was much younger I spend 54 hours driving across Canada, it wasn't even close to being a coast to coast trip either!

I also met someone in a small town in the south of North America and they didn't know where the UK was.