Majority of New Orleans residents (in out of State shelters) had never TRAVELED
Sep 18, 2005, 5:03 pm
#31
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Originally Posted by BearX220
Well, the world is divided into people who do research... and people who believe things because their guts tell them to. I haven't seen anyone else here cite any genuine research, just belief. So... believe what you want. 
As to the thread topic, why does this surprise anyone when there's an estimated 100,000 New Orleans residents who don't even own a car. I'd say the general FT demographic is caucasian, middle age, higher income, it's no wonder this surprises most of you.
Sep 18, 2005, 7:30 pm
#32
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Lots of folk from EVERY country NEVER travel - geesh, it's not specific to any particular country/city/county etc. Come on folks - geesh!
Jenbel, I was in AMS last week & the topic of no travel (70% of Americans not having passports) came up (probably based on the Katrina story). I mentioned I thought that wasn't specific to US & he offers up he's in a pub w/ another biz colleague (in UK) & some couple mentions they've not been farther than 20miles away from home. So the 2 I know arrange to meet them the next day & take them on the company helicopter to a pub 100km away.
Anyway, as per the post above me w/ regards to NOLA folk, doesn't surprise me for the same reasons. Cheers.
Jenbel, I was in AMS last week & the topic of no travel (70% of Americans not having passports) came up (probably based on the Katrina story). I mentioned I thought that wasn't specific to US & he offers up he's in a pub w/ another biz colleague (in UK) & some couple mentions they've not been farther than 20miles away from home. So the 2 I know arrange to meet them the next day & take them on the company helicopter to a pub 100km away.
Anyway, as per the post above me w/ regards to NOLA folk, doesn't surprise me for the same reasons. Cheers.
Sep 18, 2005, 10:00 pm
#33
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I've got three sisters. We're all pretty close in age and have the same education, etc.
I've probably racked up in excess of 6 million air miles and well over 3,000 hotel room nights.
My three sisters combined don't have 50K air miles or more than a hundred hotel room nights between them.
My parents were fairly adventurous travelers and hammered into all of us from an early age that we should travel the world.
It sunk in with me but not with my sisters for some reason.
I've probably racked up in excess of 6 million air miles and well over 3,000 hotel room nights.
My three sisters combined don't have 50K air miles or more than a hundred hotel room nights between them.
My parents were fairly adventurous travelers and hammered into all of us from an early age that we should travel the world.
It sunk in with me but not with my sisters for some reason.
Sep 19, 2005, 9:14 am
#35
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I think Aussies and Kiwi's are probably the most well travelled...
...I think that whole island far from everywhere thing, along with a natural wanderlust is instilled at birth. But most of my US friends who have the means simply simply dont have the same desire to be world travellers as folks from other nations. Now this could just be the people I know.
Sep 19, 2005, 9:24 am
#36
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Originally Posted by greenery
I was reading an interesting article in the Washington Post about the people who were sheltered in the Houston Astrodome. It reported that a clear majority of the NO residents (currently in out of state shelters) had NEVER traveled outside of their city before!
Considering that a large number of Black NO residents are currently in shelters, this indicates that many poor black people never travel outside their home-town/neighborhood ever.
Recently I traveled through Europe. Europeans are travelers. Is there a huge underclass in Western Europe who are middle age and have never left their hometown-ever?
Considering that a large number of Black NO residents are currently in shelters, this indicates that many poor black people never travel outside their home-town/neighborhood ever.
Recently I traveled through Europe. Europeans are travelers. Is there a huge underclass in Western Europe who are middle age and have never left their hometown-ever?
Sep 19, 2005, 11:02 am
#37
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Originally Posted by HomerJ
...I think that whole island far from everywhere thing, along with a natural wanderlust is instilled at birth. But most of my US friends who have the means simply simply dont have the same desire to be world travellers as folks from other nations. Now this could just be the people I know.
I was at the OKC airport waiting for co workers to arrive. The radio was talking about 2 OKC residents who were killed while skiing in Canada. "Just goes to show you there is nothing for you out there.... "
Sep 19, 2005, 7:54 pm
#38
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Originally Posted by WRCSolberg
I'd say the general FT demographic is caucasian, middle age, higher income, it's no wonder this surprises most of you.
Sep 20, 2005, 6:09 am
#41
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I agree, poverty and insularity don't go hand in hand
and so I second GUWonder in this regard. An uncle of mine "rode the rails" during the Depression of the 1930s.
He was not alone. Travel wasn't always deemed the prerogative of the rich. Sometimes people travel because, not despite, their economic and other circumstances. Consider nomadic groups and those displaced by war, etc.
As for the lack of cars among many residents of New Orleans, I would like to see the statistics of people living in China and India - two countries which together comprise a third of the world's population. My unsubstantiated guess is that most of those people don't own cars, either.
Again, regarding New Orleans (since the original post mentioned it), somehow I don't see car ownership as a cost-effective solution for emergency evacuations on a global basis. China and India are no strangers to natural disasters, and they are also heavily urbanized. On the other hand an understanding of local public transportation and knowing a route out of town could be helpful, just as knowing a route out of a building in the event of fire is helpful.
He was not alone. Travel wasn't always deemed the prerogative of the rich. Sometimes people travel because, not despite, their economic and other circumstances. Consider nomadic groups and those displaced by war, etc.
As for the lack of cars among many residents of New Orleans, I would like to see the statistics of people living in China and India - two countries which together comprise a third of the world's population. My unsubstantiated guess is that most of those people don't own cars, either.
Again, regarding New Orleans (since the original post mentioned it), somehow I don't see car ownership as a cost-effective solution for emergency evacuations on a global basis. China and India are no strangers to natural disasters, and they are also heavily urbanized. On the other hand an understanding of local public transportation and knowing a route out of town could be helpful, just as knowing a route out of a building in the event of fire is helpful.
Last edited by simpleflyer; Sep 20, 2005 at 6:17 am Reason: added title and for clarity
Sep 20, 2005, 11:54 am
#43
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Originally Posted by BearX220
Absolutely false. According to "The Plane Truth: Airline Crashes, the Media, and Transportation Policy," a 2003 book by Brookings Institution analysts Roger W. Cobb and David M. Primo, by 1997 80% of the American population had taken at least one commercial flight in their lifetime.
In the year 1978, 25% of all Americans got on a commercial airliner; in the year 1997, 40% of all Americans flew. In the year 1978, 65% of all Americans had boarded a commercial flight at least once; by 1997 it was 80%.
Further, there is a widely quoted statistic from The Walt Disney Company stating that 70 percent of all Americans have visited either Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
So while FTers represent a privileged extreme of the traveling public, Americans are nowhere near as sedentary, on average, as indicated in this thread.
As for your assertion that only 30% of Americans hold a passport, The Economist said in an August 25, 2005 piece on American-Canadian border crossings that 34% of Americans over 18 hold one.
Let's use facts.
In the year 1978, 25% of all Americans got on a commercial airliner; in the year 1997, 40% of all Americans flew. In the year 1978, 65% of all Americans had boarded a commercial flight at least once; by 1997 it was 80%.
Further, there is a widely quoted statistic from The Walt Disney Company stating that 70 percent of all Americans have visited either Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
So while FTers represent a privileged extreme of the traveling public, Americans are nowhere near as sedentary, on average, as indicated in this thread.
As for your assertion that only 30% of Americans hold a passport, The Economist said in an August 25, 2005 piece on American-Canadian border crossings that 34% of Americans over 18 hold one.
Let's use facts.
34% (wherever they may be flying) IMHO is extremely low percentage for people in the richest country in human history. Of course that figure will now leap upward as people are forced to obtain passports for getting their prescription meds north/south of the border or going on teen drinking binges in Cancun/Curacao. A nice gift of additional revenue from GB to Kindasleazee's arrival at the State Dept.