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.

@gwenneh

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.

Remember all of our military, including state militia, carry valid passports. If you are considering only civilians who travel for education or pleasure, then the number is low. We don't really need to travel for entertainment - beaches on three sides, the Rockies, the Appalachian Trail, white-water river rafting, many cities with large ethnic minorities, professional sports teams, DisneyLand/World and Hawaii/Alaska.
That leaves travel for education and culture. London Here We Come!

Why wouldn't it be true?

My aunt never left the Scottish Islands she grew up on until her husband was in hospital. That way the one and only time she did.

Plenty of people have no interest in travelling anywhere.

A lot of Americans have never even seen the sea so this doesn’t surprise me.

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

57%

Of course it's true. I grew up in the westcountry. Plenty of people will proudly tell you they have never left the county / crossed the Tamar!

It’s a huge country and you can travel domestically on a plane without a passport. So that could include luxury trip to Hawaii, city break in NY, hiking Yosemite, gambling in Las Vegas, skiing in the Rockies, Disneyworld in Florida etc. Plenty of dream vacations right there! The state of Illinois alone is larger than England. More comparable would be a Brit that’s never left Europe. Which I know plenty of. Also baring Mexico and Canada as the obvious exceptions, it’s a long haul flight to get just about anywhere so costs A LOT. I also think it’s totally reasonable that most people can’t afford to spend a bomb on long haul travel. But really why do they need to when there are so many good holidays in their own country?

This is true - I think in the past it's been quoted as 50/50.

I'll admit I was a bit scornful of this at first but if you think about it America is a hugely diverse land in terms of culture, climate and activities. Deserts, beaches, mountains, skiing, surfing, cities, everglades. I can see why people do road trips there.

Also for a long time Americans didn't need passports to go to Mexico/Canada just a drivers' license. I think post 9/11 that might have changed.

I don’t think people get much annual leave in the US, so that’s probably a factor. Also, there’s so much to do in the US, many people probably don’t feel the need to leave.

Of course it's true. America is bloody huge and it costs a lot of money to go to another country. More than 10% of Americans are desperately poor too with a significant number being low earners.

The US also has stupidly short holidays. 10 paid days a year after a year of service.

America is so bit and made of so may cultures. I have never been outside of Europe and possibly never will, that feels comparable.

Oh yes and I used to only get 15 days (plus federal holidays) of vacation a year. Good by American standards but not so good that I’d want to give up an entire day to travel if I can avoid it!

Oh and to the PP that mentioned Americans never having seen the sea, don’t forget about lake beaches! If you’re on a beach on one of the Great Lakes the water being fresh, not salty, is the only give away it’s not the sea! Chicago has something 24 beaches alone, all on Lake Michigan.

If the south of England had guaranteed 30c temperatures and endless sunshine every summer, how many Brits would have passports?

The educated middle classes who speak foreign languages and are genuinely interested in the culture, food & wine of other countries would, but the masses who only go abroad for the weather and only visit resorts full of British tourists where they can eat British food, watch British football and drink British beer would stay at home.

Its 30 years ago now but I lived in New Jersey and found that America in general (as demonstrated by newspapers and the TV news channels) was quite insular, I guess because it is so big. The other thing is that many (most) of the people we met were of fairly recent immigrant stock and proud of it. We used to get asked where we were from and when we said England, the next qiuestion was
"so where are you from originally?"
"England"
"no I mean your parents, where were they from"
"England"
"Your grandparents?"
"England"

I guess its like what is considered an "old" house....just different.

Complete anecdote, but I had a contemporary in an office in Kentucky that we did a lot of work with. Her boss brought her to the UK for a work trip as a treat after she had worked for him for 25 years, she had to get her first passport to come over.

She had no need for one before then, every holiday (always Spring Break) was spent at her sister’s in Florida.

One of the great things about living in Europe is that it's so easy to visit a variety of different cultures over a relatively small geographic area. I think the USA has a very diverse landscape but there isn't the opportunity to sample so many different cultures. I know there are some cultural differences across the USA but it's not quite as defined as between European countries.

Of course. Not just Americans either. I know plenty of British people that haven't left the country. Never had passports etc. Probably even more common in America as it's such a huge country, flights more expensive etc. We have Europe right on our doorsteps snd can get very cheap deals.

Only 57% of Australians have passports too I think, so also lower than the UK. I think the UK probably has a higher percentage because we’re such a small island nation and so close to Europe.

Really, how many people do you know who regularly holiday outside Europe? I can only think of a handful who have been outside europe in the last decade and they went to Mexico, USA or Australia for “once in a lifetime” style holidays or “big” holidays. Most people I know go to Italy or France most years.

I agree with @bizboz - I love the US and went to college there but Europe provides a vast difference in cultures within across a similar landmass (which is why Americans like to “do” Europe).

I can think of loads of people who holiday outside Europe. - US, Australia, New Zealand Canada, Thailand, Caribbean are all destinations that we / friends have been to over the last few years.

Well I suppose within the US you could travel anywhere from beaches, to mountains, to urban cities, to rural countryside, national parks, lakes, forests…it offers a lot of variety over such a huge area.

Also for us in the UK we can fly/get the train/drive to neighbouring countries in Europe for relatively cheap - but it’s much more expensive for Americans to do similar.

I have a valid passport and the means to travel. I still mostly travel within the United States. Why? I’ve barely managed to explore a tiny fraction of it in my lifetime. I would also rather spend my travel time enjoying myself than sitting on a plane. From my local airport, the only international flight is to Mexico. Shortest travel time to London is over 10 hours and the plane change time is so tight I would probably miss the connection. Let’s say I wanted to go someplace closer like Jamaica, that is 6.5 hours away. It’s just so much easier to stay nearby.

As far as landscape, climate, and activities are concerned, you can find a huge variety the USA, including a handful of Pacific islands and a few in the Caribbean which are considered part of the US. I know New Yorkers who go to the (US) Virgin Islands every winter, no passport needed. There are also other options like a passport card if you're travelling to Canada, Mexico, and some places in the Caribbean by land or water, and most of the border states offer an enhanced drivers' license which also works for Canada or Mexico if you cross by car.

The number of expired passports may be higher than normal right now too - the passport agency was actually closed for some time and US citizens abroad are allowed to return with an expired passport. Many people don't renew until they plan to travel.

18:23Doingtheboxerbeat
I have heard that only 10% have a passport and most have woefully short holidays, so yes maybe.

Today 18:24plodalong12
I read it’s around 40% of Americans that have valid passports compared to 75% of Brits

Today 18:24plinkplinkfizzer
I think the figures are only a third of Americans hold a passport , many don't see the need to leave their country .

I love this! Three in a row of what people have "heard", "read" or "think" with completely different results. Doing research the AIBU way

The USA is so huge and diverse that it caters for pretty much every type of holiday you could want, unless you’re into older historical sites or experiencing different cultures. I spent a couple of weeks in Arizona and felt I’d barely scratched the surface of just a single state!
Also, a passport is one of the less faffy ways of proving right to work and age etc in the UK - in the USA you can get by with a social security card and a drivers license.