Passports -

[Captain Oates 910]

I want to visit Somalia, a libertarian paradise where freedom and guns abound and government has no role in, well, anything! There is no government, no taxes, no silly environmental laws, no police, no unions and nothing but laissez faire capitalism! It's heaven on earth.

Please take Rush and Glenn with ya but make sure they pack their pills and their US flag lapel pin.

I will do a photoshop of Rush with his head balanced in the center of his back with his cigar in saying what a great time he is having now he can see the label on the back of his collar ...

[alienlovechild 75]

The evil are the most evil and the barbaric are the most barbaric and the nativists are the most nativist and the ignorant swaggering brutes are like nothing else

The climates and the people and the politics and the religions and the landscapes and just everything are all at the extremes.

Brits (on average) are dull and gray and medium and they plod and drink. No wonder they are taken aback and wonder what the US is all about - how can they get a handle on it when all they do is come across extremes ?

What people here do is pick their sub-tribe, nestle down into it, adopt 100% of their attitudes and hate all the others. That is what seems to be happening. They only come together when at outsider decides to analyse them uninvited.

Tarzan could have written the same post. "Evil", "barbaric", swaggering brutes". . . You must wear a pith helmet and khaki shorts through a Walmart parking lot. Talk about extremes.

Subtribes in the UK are so distinct that you can detect different accents by the county. They did a DNA analysis on a bodies found in the bogs from the Iron Age and their descendents still lived in the same place. Lot of continuity and not much mobility.

"Hate all the others" based on the charm you no doubt reflect on those around you. Considering immigration here far outstrips the old country, it's not so bad. People vote with their feet and a greater percentage chose to come here including yourself. It doesn't surprise me there's always some resentment from outsiders that came in waves of immigration which your former home has barely scratched the surface until only recently. The UK is 5% non-white which makes makes North Dakota look diverse by comparison.

I hear from a lot of Americans who haven't traveled abroad but they say wish they could. It's just not a big priority for them and it's their loss. I think some it has to do lack of time as I find I spend all of my current vacation time seeing relatives spread all four states with the closest one 6 hours away. Travel with a baby is a hassle as well. Could also be the climate as I notice Europeans flock to sunny beaches of southern Europe which is largely impossible if you live in a northern Europe. Americans don't have to leave the country to go to a desert or subtropical climate. I'm not big on hotter climates but I'm in the distinct minority.

[^_^ 5,021]

People vote with their feet and a greater percentage chose to come here including yourself.

But even more go to Australia!

[chri'stina 190]

My only point is that Europe is fragmented, America isn't. Here you can travel great distances and still be in the same country and that within this same country experience a lot of diversity.

That is true. There is still so much of America I need to visit. I have not been out west at all. Many people might think they'd like to first visit all the American places they can before spending more to go abroad.

In this one country we have tropical locations, deserts, icy mountains, smoky mountains, waterfalls, canyons, and glaciers. That's a lot to see. Yet most people I know wish to travel abroad but can't afford it right now. I have rarely met someone who said they had no desire to visit other countries.

Edited December 10, 2010 by chri'stina

[chri'stina 190]

My sister finally got to be in a different country when we went on a cruise this year to Mexico, and they didn't even need to see her passport. No stamp in it, which was sad. She wanted her first stamp!

[Captain Oates 910]

That is true. There is still so much of America I need to visit. I have not been out west at all. Many people might think they'd like to first visit all the American places they can before spending more to go abroad.

In this one country we have tropical locations, deserts, icy mountains, smoky mountains, waterfalls, canyons, and glaciers. That's a lot to see. Yet most people I know wish to travel abroad but can't afford it right now. I have rarely met someone who said they had no desire to visit other countries.

Stick around the internet and you will meet plenty of em.

It's the same in yorkshire to a smaller extent - if it's outside Yorkshire it isn't worth bloody visiting

Edited December 10, 2010 by Alan the Red

[chri'stina 190]

Stick around the internet and you will meet plenty of em.

It's the same in yorkshire to a smaller extent - if it isn't in Yorkshire it isn't worth blood visiting

I guess it matters where on the internet...I have been on the internet for many years already.

[Captain Oates 910]

I guess it matters where on the internet...I have been on the internet for many years already.

This place is rife with rednecks who don't trust or like furriners and who don't see any reason to travel outside the US. They have no interest in other cultures or other countries. They think looking at the grand Canyon is some sort of 'strange new worlds and civilizations' when in fact it's a hole in the ground

I live 50 miles away from what what was, but isn't now, the greatest waterfall the world has ever seen. We line up to look into a sandy featureless hole.

Never mind the holes in the ground, what about Rome ? or Crete ? or the Canary Islands ?

It's a good job Capn Kirk didn't think like them or he would never have gotten off the ground

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

This place is rife with rednecks who don't trust or like furriners and who don't see any reason to travel outside the US. They have no interest in other cultures or other countries. They think looking at the grand Canyon is some sort of 'strange new worlds and civilizations' when in fact it's a hole in the ground

I live 50 miles away from what what was, but isn't now, the greatest waterfall the world has ever seen. We line up to look into a sandy featureless hole.

Never mind the holes in the ground, what about Rome ? or Crete ? or the Canary Islands ?

It's a good job Capn Kirk didn't think like them or he would never have gotten off the ground

Really? On an Immigration site? I don't really see it. Sure there is the standard "America does it better" rhetoric but I haven't seen what you are describing.

[wayno 9]

Personally, why travel? As stated, we have so much here. Personally to me, anciant civilizitions does not interest me. Neither do 6+ hour plane rides. Within a leisurly 4 hour drive of my house I can be in the beautiful appalachians, drive to NC's outer banks with some of the best beach's you'll find anywhere, the nations capital, or New York (though I'm not a city person--the option is there). I can hop on a plane and be in south FL in 2 hours if I want to escape the cold. No immigration lines, just walk off the plane and out the door. Some of the best offshore fishing in the world is off the coast where I live. I'm also located right on the eastern flyway for ducks and geese so where I live is a nature lovers/hunters paradise. Once again----Why travel abroad???

That being said I personally do traval abroad extensivly. Have spent month's in Venezuela as well as Costa Rica and love the Carribean and the bahamas as well. Like Colombia and Mexico as well. Even visited Norway twice when I was younger. As far as far away exotic areas I'd like to visit, Alaska is tops on my list. Personally I'd rather go there then northern Europe. I personally have no desire to cross the Atlantic.

Again, tundra, tropics, mountains (both low and high), beach's, different culture's, different foods and "world class" city's----all without leaving the country.

Many Americans do travel. What's the difference between Americans traveling from New England to Florida to escape the cold then Europeans traveling from Scandinavia to the mediteranian for the same reason. The Europian just happens to be going through different country's to get there. Both will be going through several different culture's to get to their destination. To go back to my location and what's near me, for a Europian, that will probably take them to different country's.

One more point, visit south FL and see how many go over to the Bahamas on a daily basis. Sure the same can be said in regards to the northern part of the country and Canada. And yes, Canada and the Bahamas are different country's then the U.S. You'll also see many Americans in the Carribean, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico. All foreign country's as well. Believe it or not, Americans are well travelled. With a population as big as we have it's no wonder you would find many who don't. You'll find many who do to, though the ratio might be less.

[Captain Oates 910]

Really? On an Immigration site? I don't really see it. Sure there is the standard "America does it better" rhetoric but I haven't seen what you are describing.

I like to explore the culture differences of various countries, and as I am living in the US, I like to compare and contrast like an amateur anthropologist would..

Any time I ask about why these differences exist in order to examine them, you can be sure I will be assailed by Americans who think I am 'criticizing America' or even holding England up as doing it better. I have even been denigrated because 'My ancestors tried to put down the American revolution'

It's like a collective inferiority complex or paranoia and there is absolutely no reason for it. I note the huge extremes of everything in the US but on average, I rate the US the same as any first world country - no better, no worse.

Many Americans find that statement unacceptable and they need the reassurance of being called 'the best' and that itself is a fascinating cultural difference

[alienlovechild 75]

Any time I ask about why these differences exist in order to examine them, you can be sure I will be assailed by Americans who think I am 'criticizing America' or even holding England up as doing it better. I have even been denigrated because 'My ancestors tried to put down the American revolution'

Many Americans find that statement unacceptable and they need the reassurance of being called 'the best' and that itself is a fascinating cultural difference

What's with with the oddball crusade to talk about poorly traveled Americans on an immigration website?

It's a stereotype to hear the whining Euro and his obsession with America and all things American. I won't say they are majority of Europeans (not just Europeans though) I've met but they are the most persistent. Many have never been to U.S. and nothing can change their minds about this country after the TV shows, movies and news coverage.

[Captain Oates 910]

What's with with the oddball crusade to talk about poorly traveled Americans on an immigration website?

It's a stereotype to hear the whining Euro and his obsession with America and all things American. I won't say they are majority of Europeans (not just Europeans though) I've met but they are the most persistent. Many have never been to U.S. and nothing can change their minds about this country after the TV shows, movies and news coverage.

What's with the oddball refusal to discuss anything about American culture ? Especially when there is no 'criticism' intended and people are simply exploring how things are ?

Are you really so surprised that people want to talk about the US on a site devoted to US immigration ?

What are we allowed to talk about ? - toffee ?

[Marilyn. 340]

You don't need a passport if you want to drive to Canada or Mexico or take a Caribbean vacation cruise.

actaully you do need a passport to cross land borders now...

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

[mawilson 2,133]

actaully you do need a passport to cross land borders now...

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

Not true, you can use your WHTI-compliant driver's license for land and sea travel.