Summer holiday to US ?

[Lochalvie]

Just wondering what people’s thoughts are on going to USA this summer? Would current political situation put you off ?

An awful lot has happened in the past few weeks. I suspect the next lot of figures will show further drops. Of course the English speaking US is always going to have been a popular place for people to consider emigrating to.

I have been to the US dozens and dozens of times both with work and for holidays. I would absolutely not go now whilst this fascist regime is in power.

We live in Canada - not too far from the border - we no longer go over for our weekly lunch and shopping. Spending our money at home on Canadian products or holiday away from the US now.
Trump needs to stop his vendetta against Canada before we will visit the US again.

Well, we’ll wait and see what the figures are for 2026.

I can only speak for my Company which continues to have a steady stream of staff transferring from other countries. The globally mobile go in search of a better quality of life which usually means higher wages. While wages stagnate in the UK and Europe, the US becomes more attractive. I emigrated in 2024 and got a 90% pay increase for the exact same role (gross, slightly more net due to lower taxes) and the COL where is live is approx. 30-50% higher, so that’s a substantial net benefit. And before anyone comes at me about healthcare, I have excellent coverage through my employer (as I would working for any global company really), with a low deductible so that doesn’t dent my take home pay by much. There have been other benefits (more annual leave due to the now very common ‘unlimited annual leave’ model in the US, higher employer pension contribution, etc.)

I am much happier here and have begun my green card application in the hope of staying longterm.

We have cancelled. Lots of stories of people with visas being turned away at the border, and to be honest I think that it will take economic impact to force change.

I agree. It’s the only way that us regulars can make any kind of impact. We can vote with our feet.

I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near and put any money into their economy whilst that man is in charge, personally. Imagine if everyone boycotted the USA the impact it would have.

Nope not a chance. Nothing to do with safety but I refuse to have my money prop up the economy while that arsehole is in charge. I’d go to Canada instead.

Not a chance would I step foot in that place at the moment

Sorry @FairyBatman cross post. I 100% agree with you.

We were going to go in Autumn but made alternative plans. DH still has to travel there for work which I'm nervous about but cant be avoided

I'd quite like to go back. I have friends there. There are places I'd like to see. But at present? No way on earth.

But nobody is disputing that previously this would have been a great option - exciting and financially beneficial plus a wonderful varied place to experience.

That simply isn’t the point.

The point is that the current authoritarian regime is based on the ramblings of a fascist self absorbed wannabe dictator who is corrupt and quite frankly not thinking about anybody but himself. He is certainly not acting for the good of the country, He is destabilising the world deliberately and is quite probably acting partly in cahoots with Putin. He and the people around him are simply bullies. It is quite shocking how the world is so terrified of him and his unpredictability that they are sucking up to him. Appeasement simply doesn’t work.

He is literally a threat to our way of life, Anyone who doesn’t see this hasn’t educated themselves. We could end up at war with the US for christs sake. That would destroy the world order.

There isn’t much we can do directly in the UK apart from spend our money wisely ensuring we don’t support him or give him the ability to claim that everyone loves him. We need to extract ourselves from the situation where we are so reliant on them. We the little men can do that by not buying US goods and services (although some of this is difficult since we have become so dependent on them over the past 50 years). If people can’t even choose one of the hundreds of other places in the world to go on holiday then there is little hope for them. They are frankly stupid or selfish. I do judge them and am judging the people I know who are jumping on the cheap flights and accommodation you can get right now. Clearly the chances of getting caught up in trouble are still relatively low but that simply isn’t the point. Be Hugh Grant for fucks sake!

Utter hysteria as always.

There have been hundreds of millions of applications for World Cup tickets in the US this summer, with a total of 7 million tickets up for grabs, so there will be no shortage of tourists in the States this year. Any decline in hotel prices (of which I see no evidence in my city btw) will be short-lived, as even very basic accommodation is being listed for thousands of dollars a night in cities hosting WC matches.

Perhaps your wish of a decimated tourism industry will come true in 2027. In the meantime, enjoy your hobby of “judging”.

There have been millions of applications because people want to go to the World Cup. It could be in North Korea and there would be millions of people still wanting to go if they could. It’s about the event not the fact that it’s in America.

I will continue to judge people. As I said up thread I would never say anything to them because that would be rude but I certainly judge and think less of them.

Of course people applied because they want to go to the World Cup. Why else would they apply? My point is there is going to be a lot of tourism in the States this year much to the horror of the hysterics on this thread, who want to see people stop visiting one of the greatest countries in the world. Funny how they’re not jumping up and down about tourism in Turkey or the Middle East or countries where there is far greater suffering than in the US. Good luck boycotting goods made in the US, cancelling Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, stopping using Facebook and Instagram, and all the rest of it. Best of luck.

The US is not currently “one of the greatest countries in the world”. It’s like the Mitchell and Webb sketch where the German soldiers suddenly ask “are we the baddies?”

Hopefully this is a short lived thing and the population wakes up and votes them out before they start making changes enabling third and fourth terms.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VImnpErdDzA

I beg to differ. It’s a breathtaking country. I try to do a road trip out west every year and it’s always the highlight of my year. I’ve hosted lots of friends and family since moving here and there’s plenty more who plan to visit. The reality of actually being in the States bears absolutely no resemblance to sensationalist news reporting overseas for 99.9% of the population.

I already said there’s a fantastic amount to see. I’ve been dozens of times to places right across the country from Seattle to Charleston.

That’s just not the point of any of this.

Visiting Israel or Russia, there would also be a lot to see and experience but most educated people wouldn’t be taking their holiday money there either.

When people are being shot in the streets the “fake news” line no longer washes

It’s not fake news, it just affects an absolutely minuscule proportion of people who live here, let alone those who visit. Day to day, life in America is great. It’s like people who believe the whole of London is a shit hole because of reports of knife crime. Is there knife crime in London? Yes. Is the overwhelming majority of residents or anyone visiting likely to be impacted by it? Almost certainly not. It’s still one of the greatest cities in the world. Just as America is one of the greatest countries.

You really don’t get it do you.

its about making a conscious decision not to support an out of control authoritarian regime. Whether the country is beautiful is irrelevant.

If all you do is watch the "news" which has been proven to be liars, then you will only be safe living under a rock.

There are hundreds of amazing places in which to holiday around the world. I would give the US a swerve for now, unless I had already booked.

My last post wasn’t about the beauty of the country, if you bothered to read. I said day to day life in America is great for the vast majority of people who live here. I honestly, hand on heart, find Americans to be far happier and more positive than Brits, and I say this as a Brit who also wholeheartedly loves the UK.

You said it doesn’t affect most people who live in the US and day to day life in the US is great for you.

That’s nice for you but that’s how these regimes rise to power. Plus many thousands of people living in the US would disagree. Let alone those outside of the US who are being affected by the bully boy approach.

Anyway you’re alright guv so that’s all that matters isn’t it.