ByrdluvsAWACO

I was speaking to this lady at lunch today and the topic of travel came up.

She mentioned how much she travels and can't wait to get on a plane again. At this point I was all eager to be enthralled by some tales of foreign adventure. However, she starts going on and on about BOS, MIA, NYC, SFO, etc. By this point I'm getting bored, and asked her about any travels outside of the US. She replies "Oh no, I don't even have a passport".

After hearing that I'm in my mind. Now I'm not knocking her for not going outside the US, but to start talking about how much she "travels" is a bit much.

Am I the only one who defines travel as going to a destination outside of your home culture?

fairviewroad

There are lots of places in the US that are "outside my home culture".

clarence5ybr

My New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary's first definition of "travel" is: "Go from one place to another; make a journey, especially of some length or abroad". Although going abroad is part of the "esp." clause, it's certainly not required. Even my 12 minute drive from home to work this morning qualifies as 'going from one place to another'.

TA

I rolled my eyes once when I was transferring through SFO, from EWR, on my way to SYD, and overheard a woman telling her companion she hoped she would survive the long flight to Chicago...

I have to remember sometimes that for some more grounded/normal people, a single international trip is a big deal, like only a few times in their life. Versus once a month for me.

gj83

I roll my eyes at people who drive 12 hours because they are afraid of planes. *cough* sister-in-law and her family *cough*.

TravelinWilly

Thanks for my first smile of a long day.

Will

kkjay77

Although I don't travel internationally once a month, I fly trans pac every three month or so.
I can say that when my upgrade doesn't clear, I worry about how I will survive long flight from JFK to LAX/SFO.

thegeneral

"There are lots of places in the US that are "outside my home culture"."

Very true. I've been to a few red states. It's scary.

trekkie

A lot of flyers on FT who travel overseas usually are those who are fortunate enough to be in occupation that allows for it.In asian cultures, it is inbuilt into workers and young people that it is a rare privilege to travel and should be cherished.
AFAIK,east coast culture is different from west coast culture and even though English is the spoken language, you find accents from Mid-west different from Californians and from New Yorkers.Im told a lot of newscasters actually originate from the region surrounding wisconsin due to clean accents.I see the point of diversity within USA.henceforth, i would consider interstate travel esp those in the opening post being that of similar overseas travel.

I am not from the USA so essentially, going INTL involves a shorter amount of miles than compared to a US citizen. Money and opportunities aside, it would appear "berating" and "scornful" to put someone down especially based on the points raised.

auh2o

Say what? Do 200,000+ BIS domestic miles in a year and see if that qualifies as "travel".

abmj-jr

Probably.

Savage25

I don't roll my eyes at purely domestic travellers - but I do pity purely domestic USA flyers. I love flying, because for a dozen years it was on international airlines where service still exists. After I started flying domestically in the USA regularly last year, I don't look forward to flights anymore unless they're international.

eater

I do about 120k domestic BIS per year, and I'd say it qualifies as "work". When conversation turns to how much I travel, all the interesting stories involve crossing an ocean (which happens at most twice a year for me ).

Totoro

I've been to a few blue states. Even scarier, especially when I'm hit with their taxes

mkt

Most of the US is "outside my home culture"