I think the real reason Americans don’t travel has more to do with fear than anything. The way terrorist news is so sensationalized here, it isn’t a surprise that most Americans are xenophobic.

“The World is a book and those who do not travel, read only a page” – Saint Augustine

#1 – North America is Huge. Probably a reason why some don’t travel but not as important as it seems. There are many Americans that have no desire to leave the States they reside in. I’ve known many people in the U.S. who just don’t want to leave Texas, Missouri, Kansas, etc. They are quite happy staying where they are.

#2 Americans don’t need a passport. Pre-911, I travelled often to Mexico and tried it once without a passport (a nightmare). Though legally you could fly into Mexico City without a passport, it was a horrible experience and so it was always practically required to have a passport for Mexican and Canada (driving across the border is another story of course).

#5 Americans don’t live overseas (Guam and PCC): Not really accurate. American Military/Diplomatic/Corporate brats have had a long history of working, living, growing up in Germany, Japan, Turkey, Phillipines, Israel, Cuba, Spain, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia… There are over 100,000 Americans living and working in France, 300,000 American expats in the Middle-East. There is a significant tradition found in American expat lifestyles.

#6 A diverse America. Certainly but not more diverse than the differences found in France, Spain, Germany, England. American culture in NY, LA is certainly diverse but not to the same degree as Europe, Asia, Middle-East, North Africa.

I find Paris alone to be much more diverse than NY in terms of the number of different races, cultures, languages.

American culture tends to become more homogenous and while there is diversity it dissipates over time. Other regions of the world generally show more tolerance to other languages, and creeds.

Your article does help answer this question. There are, in addition, significant differences with respect to Race, Politics, and Social Status that also are factors.

Is this a comparison to the more affluent Asian countries like Japan, or Asia as a whole?

But the point about the exchange rate is also valid – went back to the Uk last year and it was so expensive (flights, food etc.). Still it was worth it to get back home, even for a short time

The time and money aspects ARE huge. Neither do we live high on the hog, so to speak. I supposedly have four weeks of vacation and was only allowed to take two by my employer. I do not work for a company that returns unused vacation time in money when we can’t use it. These things are not uncommon in the US of A.

Another angle that no one has mentioned is that current exchange rates between most currencies and the dollar are largely unfavorable. My family and I would love to travel to Scandinavia, Scotland, and Australia but current conditions and circumstances make that impossible.

However, I’m not giving up yet!