Platforms in Use by Overlanders
- Thread starter dhackney
- Start date
THIS IS AMAZING!
I have to be on this site one day..
I have to be on this site one day..
One thing I have noticed between travels to Europe and talking to my European friends is that they do tend to go a lot more time for "holiday" and actually take it. Most Americans I know are lucky to get 10 working days a year and half of them don't take it or sell it to their company.
That said millions of Americans travel abroad, they just fly everywhere and are in more of hurry.
Americans also seem to me to be a lot less comfortable in foreign language countries that Europeans. If each of our 50 states spoke a different language it might be different.
What gets me most is the preconceptions most Europeans seem to have of America, and the lack of interest in getting out into small town America to see what the real America is like.
People who avoid the big cities and tourist traps in places like Mexico, and judge those countries by the out of the way small villages and small farming and fishing towns when they get to the U.S. seem to turn around and judge the U.S. by the large cities, tourist traps and interstates and never take time to see the "fly over" country. You can almost cross the entire U.S. without a paved road if you want, and there are thousands of awesome little towns and great simple friendly people from coast to coast.
That said millions of Americans travel abroad, they just fly everywhere and are in more of hurry.
Americans also seem to me to be a lot less comfortable in foreign language countries that Europeans. If each of our 50 states spoke a different language it might be different.
What gets me most is the preconceptions most Europeans seem to have of America, and the lack of interest in getting out into small town America to see what the real America is like.
People who avoid the big cities and tourist traps in places like Mexico, and judge those countries by the out of the way small villages and small farming and fishing towns when they get to the U.S. seem to turn around and judge the U.S. by the large cities, tourist traps and interstates and never take time to see the "fly over" country. You can almost cross the entire U.S. without a paved road if you want, and there are thousands of awesome little towns and great simple friendly people from coast to coast.
ntxtrooper
Observer
I think the biggest factor is that the average European has 6 weeks of vacation a year.
While I plan on doing some Overland Trips in the future it has not stopped me from seeing most of Western Europe, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
While I plan on doing some Overland Trips in the future it has not stopped me from seeing most of Western Europe, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
gap year
The concept of a "gap year" between stages of life is popular in the UK and, to a lesser extent, in western Europe. The common "gaps" are between high school and college, college and start of a career, when changing jobs, and when reaching retirement. Some companies are willing to hold a spot for an employee when they return from a sabbatical of 6 months or more. A few companies provide reduced pay during an extended leave of absence.
There's even a web site devoted to the topic http://www.gapyear.com
One feature of this web site is help getting gap year travelers employment teaching english in foreign countries.
It's possible to find employers in USA that have generous leave policies. Many universities offer better benefits packages than private industry. (The pay is often lower, however.) Many primary and secondary school jobs have 12 weeks of unpaid leave each summer. This is changing, however, as school districts move to a year round class schedule.
Some employers lump vacation and sick leave into "paid days off." (Have you noticed how many people call in sick on Friday?) Taken together, vacation and sick days can provide five weeks or more of time off.
Chip Haven
The concept of a "gap year" between stages of life is popular in the UK and, to a lesser extent, in western Europe. The common "gaps" are between high school and college, college and start of a career, when changing jobs, and when reaching retirement. Some companies are willing to hold a spot for an employee when they return from a sabbatical of 6 months or more. A few companies provide reduced pay during an extended leave of absence.
There's even a web site devoted to the topic http://www.gapyear.com
One feature of this web site is help getting gap year travelers employment teaching english in foreign countries.
It's possible to find employers in USA that have generous leave policies. Many universities offer better benefits packages than private industry. (The pay is often lower, however.) Many primary and secondary school jobs have 12 weeks of unpaid leave each summer. This is changing, however, as school districts move to a year round class schedule.
Some employers lump vacation and sick leave into "paid days off." (Have you noticed how many people call in sick on Friday?) Taken together, vacation and sick days can provide five weeks or more of time off.
Chip Haven