How many passports do you hold? (16 Viewers)
- Thread starter ReBeL
- Start date
Perspective and maths..
500 dollars for the plane ticket, another 500 for your expenses, and you can travel for 2 weeks to 1 month almost anywhere in this world, from Tokyo to Pinerolo, from Rajasthan to the Aussie Bush. Ask our Gray here how much his Eurotrip cost him..
Of course I mean Travel, not Club Med, Charm el Shit or a guided tour of the favelas with Globotur, cum espresso with the local don for sheer, genuine thrill and cultural exchange of the "English-do-you-speak-it-coz-I-do-I-speak-it-very-loudly-everywhere-I-go-no-spick-English-then-uh-but-you-speak-money-right-I-mean-EVERYBODY-speaks-money-don't-they-hehahehahe-right-right-right-hey-hey-HEY-YA'LL-CAN'T-DO-THIS-TO-ME-I-AM-AN-AMERICAN" variety.
So, 1000 dollars. A majority of Westerners can find that money if they actually want to make the leap. For an increasingly high number of countries, we don't even need a visa. Only a passport, and with luck you can hop on that plane by next weekend.
Compare it with my China girl here : I want to take her to Italy next Christmas. 500 dollars is what she makes in a month. I'll pay for everything of course, though with time and sacrifice even she could save up enough for it. I was able to do it as a student after all.
But then we've been trying for weeks now to get her a visa. And the likely conclusion is that I will have to go to Italy on my own, unless I 1) marry her, 2) go on a well-defined, strictly organised tour of Wenice, Flolence and Lome together with 40 neo-bourgeois Chinamen. I recommend trying that once. In China, though, not in Italy. Or 3) accept to go through the Gestapo-style, longer than a Moggi phone bill burocratic process. Which includes freezing 5 000 or more euros on a Chinese account for one year, as a sign of good faith. The higher the amount, the higher the chances of getting a positive response, at some point in the future.
I don't know what your conditions are. 1000 dollars still is a considerable amount for quite a few/an increasing number of Rich world people, and if it is for you then I apologize. But for many more, including for some Americans on this very forum who I remember bringing up this money issue around 2005, it isn't. We (too many Europeans in that category too) have it way too good to justify the insularism.
500 dollars for the plane ticket, another 500 for your expenses, and you can travel for 2 weeks to 1 month almost anywhere in this world, from Tokyo to Pinerolo, from Rajasthan to the Aussie Bush. Ask our Gray here how much his Eurotrip cost him..
Of course I mean Travel, not Club Med, Charm el Shit or a guided tour of the favelas with Globotur, cum espresso with the local don for sheer, genuine thrill and cultural exchange of the "English-do-you-speak-it-coz-I-do-I-speak-it-very-loudly-everywhere-I-go-no-spick-English-then-uh-but-you-speak-money-right-I-mean-EVERYBODY-speaks-money-don't-they-hehahehahe-right-right-right-hey-hey-HEY-YA'LL-CAN'T-DO-THIS-TO-ME-I-AM-AN-AMERICAN" variety.
So, 1000 dollars. A majority of Westerners can find that money if they actually want to make the leap. For an increasingly high number of countries, we don't even need a visa. Only a passport, and with luck you can hop on that plane by next weekend.
Compare it with my China girl here : I want to take her to Italy next Christmas. 500 dollars is what she makes in a month. I'll pay for everything of course, though with time and sacrifice even she could save up enough for it. I was able to do it as a student after all.
But then we've been trying for weeks now to get her a visa. And the likely conclusion is that I will have to go to Italy on my own, unless I 1) marry her, 2) go on a well-defined, strictly organised tour of Wenice, Flolence and Lome together with 40 neo-bourgeois Chinamen. I recommend trying that once. In China, though, not in Italy. Or 3) accept to go through the Gestapo-style, longer than a Moggi phone bill burocratic process. Which includes freezing 5 000 or more euros on a Chinese account for one year, as a sign of good faith. The higher the amount, the higher the chances of getting a positive response, at some point in the future.
I don't know what your conditions are. 1000 dollars still is a considerable amount for quite a few/an increasing number of Rich world people, and if it is for you then I apologize. But for many more, including for some Americans on this very forum who I remember bringing up this money issue around 2005, it isn't. We (too many Europeans in that category too) have it way too good to justify the insularism.
First of all, great to see you posting again around here, Kaiser. :thumbs:
But it's not about expense. It's about expanse.
No, not the American waistline, though that is expanding faster than the universe of matter. It's the expanse of what you can do and where you can travel in country before you even bother to encounter a border guard.
But then, per your follow-up post above, you seem to be missing a critical detail: people travel to places like Italy and look for Pizza Hut. No, I am not making this up. At which point, wtf are you doing leaving your own home country to begin with?!?
But it's not about expense. It's about expanse.
No, not the American waistline, though that is expanding faster than the universe of matter. It's the expanse of what you can do and where you can travel in country before you even bother to encounter a border guard.
But then, per your follow-up post above, you seem to be missing a critical detail: people travel to places like Italy and look for Pizza Hut. No, I am not making this up. At which point, wtf are you doing leaving your own home country to begin with?!?
why would anyone want to travel on 500 bucks for 2 weeks? and there are no 500 destinations from the US, unless you re traveling super cheap from new york to london and even then it d be almost impossible the get a roundtrip at 500. A proper2 week vacation to europe(3 destinations) will cost you at the very least 2500-3000
Kaiser doesn't understand that there is a war on savers in this country, creating incentive to spend now instead of later. From a pop cultural perspective, the in thing to do is to blow tons of money on junk you don't need, like a second iPod or a second mortgage. Then due to monetary policy, speculators are rewarded while savers are punished. Nowadays you can't even find a CD rate of 2% APY. So instead of saving up for a trip to Europe, the incentive is there to live "better" at home.
Either that, or the consumer is totally broke, which is the case for many people right now.
Either that, or the consumer is totally broke, which is the case for many people right now.
I get what you're saying. "Where There's a Will There's an A", etc. That will maybe work for an experienced traveler such as yourself who speaks multiple languages, knows the inexpensive yet not seedy hostel/hotel stops, and is fairly capable with getting visas and moving between borders. As for the group of Americans that can afford a "decent" European (or other) vacation, it's still only about 30% of our population that has the savings to do so. However, Americans can save the 500 dollars for the international flight and go to practically any geographic region (bar the rainforest) for much cheaper and less hassle (visas, etc). It may not always be a matter of finances, but it is a matter of comfort. Traveling domestically is definitely easier. Not that this is a an excuse, but it is a reason.
As for myself, I have about 1,800 dollars to my name and I usually have less than that. My parents have money, but I detest asking them for money and I hate it even more when they insist on paying for things like car repairs or school supplies. While my parents could easily and probably gladly pay my way, I don't think the experience would be the same as something I earned myself. As for your version of "traveling", I completely agree. Hotel stays, resorts, and tours are the pits and you can only truly experience something be emersing yourself in it (granted I've never been overseas so i could be completely off).
As for your predicament with the Chinese lady, I wish you the best.
As for myself, I have about 1,800 dollars to my name and I usually have less than that. My parents have money, but I detest asking them for money and I hate it even more when they insist on paying for things like car repairs or school supplies. While my parents could easily and probably gladly pay my way, I don't think the experience would be the same as something I earned myself. As for your version of "traveling", I completely agree. Hotel stays, resorts, and tours are the pits and you can only truly experience something be emersing yourself in it (granted I've never been overseas so i could be completely off).
As for your predicament with the Chinese lady, I wish you the best.