Canadian youth more adventurous than American youth

[Peachey 10]

Article from Canada.com

http://www.canada.com/news/national/Canadi...9932/story.html

I for one have noticed the lack of recycling in the USA from my experiences.

[JillA 2]

I think that's true. So many Americans that I meet have never left this country. It's like they think America is the only place to be, go on vacation even (Florida is considered their vacation). On the other hand, growing up I travelled all over Europe, went on holidays to Central America, explored as much as I could. All of my friends did as well. Many Americans that I know don't even have a passport, and don't plan on getting one.

[bowflex 0]

I actually agree with this too. From the time we're born Americans, for the most part, are told that the American dream is getting married, having kids, and buying that big house with the white picket fence. It was only in my last year of school (I graduated h.s. back in 1999) that the recycling programs even hit public schools and public buildings. Americans are definitely far more individualistic in everything we do than Canadians (*cough* healthcare *cough*).

Heck even living less than 40 minutes from the US-Canada border, I'm the only one of the people in my group of friends that even has a passport. It's weird but vacations or trips to most Americans is just a way to see more of our own country rather than going away and broadening horizons, at least for the most part.

As far as the public transportation, most American cities just weren't built with it in mind. Detroit have 'The Peoplemover' that goes to probably four places downtown and takes hours to get to anyway Lol.

[JillA 2]

I actually agree with this too. From the time we're born Americans, for the most part, are told that the American dream is getting married, having kids, and buying that big house with the white picket fence. It was only in my last year of school (I graduated h.s. back in 1999) that the recycling programs even hit public schools and public buildings. Americans are definitely far more individualistic in everything we do than Canadians (*cough* healthcare *cough*).

Heck even living less than 40 minutes from the US-Canada border, I'm the only one of the people in my group of friends that even has a passport. It's weird but vacations or trips to most Americans is just a way to see more of our own country rather than going away and broadening horizons, at least for the most part.

As far as the public transportation, most American cities just weren't built with it in mind. Detroit have 'The Peoplemover' that goes to probably four places downtown and takes hours to get to anyway Lol.

That's one of the reasons we decided to have our wedding in the US instead of Canada.... literally none of my husband's friends have a passport, nor any of his family members.... and all of mine do, so it made more sense to have it here.

[trailmix 77]

I actually agree with this too. From the time we're born Americans, for the most part, are told that the American dream is getting married, having kids, and buying that big house with the white picket fence. It was only in my last year of school (I graduated h.s. back in 1999) that the recycling programs even hit public schools and public buildings. Americans are definitely far more individualistic in everything we do than Canadians (*cough* healthcare *cough*).

Heck even living less than 40 minutes from the US-Canada border, I'm the only one of the people in my group of friends that even has a passport. It's weird but vacations or trips to most Americans is just a way to see more of our own country rather than going away and broadening horizons, at least for the most part.

As far as the public transportation, most American cities just weren't built with it in mind. Detroit have 'The Peoplemover' that goes to probably four places downtown and takes hours to get to anyway Lol.

It's funny you mention 'individualistic' - as the article also does. Is that a nice way of saying self absorbed? selfish? (I am not saying all American youth are selfish by the way, I just think it's kind of an inaccurate word which is used all the time to describe some American's views on - stuff).

Edited September 25, 2009 by trailmix

[bowflex 0]

It's funny you mention 'individualistic' - as the article also does. Is that a nice way of saying self absorbed? selfish? (I am not saying all American youth are selfish by the way, I just think it's kind of an inaccurate word which is used all the time to describe some American's views on - stuff).

Actually on a lot of levels I do think most Americans are rather self-absorbed on a lot of things. I've had discussions even with my own family and friends about healthcare and it's amazing what I keep hearing, usually along the lines of "in this country it's you get what you pay for" and things like that. American culture is based on if you work hard you're going to get what you deserve and all that kinda stuff, but obviously that's not always the case.

I remember going to a small party at a friend's house while our visa case was pending, and due to the various parts of the case, my wife was not allowed to visit the US at all, I just had to see her in Canada. While we were playing darts my friend of 5 or 6 years got to talking with me about her and the waiting and everything, and he actually said told me that he'd never allow himself to get into a situation like I was in. I asked him what would he do if someone he loved either had to leave the country for a while or was from another country, and I was told that he never would need to look anywhere else because American women were the best and blah blah blah. This is coming from a guy that never left the State of Michigan until he was 17 haha.

That's one of the reasons we decided to have our wedding in the US instead of Canada.... literally none of my husband's friends have a passport, nor any of his family members.... and all of mine do, so it made more sense to have it here.

Lol I got lucky that when we were married in January of 2006, passports for US Citizens going to Canada weren't required. While everyone was at the wedding I asked and only a few aunts and uncles even had a passport and that was only because they had taken cruises or vacations just recently

[trailmix 77]

Actually on a lot of levels I do think most Americans are rather self-absorbed on a lot of things. I've had discussions even with my own family and friends about healthcare and it's amazing what I keep hearing, usually along the lines of "in this country it's you get what you pay for" and things like that. American culture is based on if you work hard you're going to get what you deserve and all that kinda stuff, but obviously that's not always the case.

I hear you and after living there I did realize that this is the culture of America (in general). That is why I think that if Obama can make ANY change to the U.S. healthcare system he deserves accolades.

I do not 'blame' Americans that are anti universal health care for their views, it is what they know, it is how they are brought up. It would be akin to Stephen Harper stepping up today and saying we are going to revamp the whole thing, give all the power to insurance companies - we would balk as that is not how WE were brought up. It must be very unsettling for a lot of people.

[thetreble 19]

I completely agree. Good article, Peachy, as I have been thinking about this for a few years.

No one I have met here in the US so far, except for my husband, his family and one girl who travels for business have a passport.

In fact, in Canada, it is almost a right of passage to travel abroad the year after high school or the year after you finish university. I was the only one out of my large friends group that did not do this because I moved to the US instead. All of my husband's and my brother in law's friends, after university, were in competition to see who could get the best job on Wall Street.

Also, one other thing this could stem from is that many of my friends in Canada were first generation Canadians. There are still a lot of people in their 20s, like myself, who have European or Asian parents. Europeans tend to care more about having fun then setting up shop so that philosophy is handed down to their children. Also, many of us travel with them to their home countries.

[Peachey 10]

My next big trip (other than my honeymoon) will be to Belize, then I want to take Varba to Europe or South America or Japan

[Aero and Dero 0]

I think this, like so many generalized statements, depends.

I think what's important to keep in mind is that most Americans don't need a passport to see so many interesting things. It's such a vast country, that even so young, has a lot of rich history that differs from part to part. I know when we have children, I'll want to do the same things my parents did with me growing up: Road trip around the US. There's the hubbub and culture of New York City, the quiet of the Maine coast (along with some tasty lobster), Vermont (for their fall foliage, winer sports, and its Ben & Jerry's factory, which yes, is totally a place to go visit), Washington DC (with all its governmental and historical tourist attractions), Massachusetts (also history/government/fall foliage), Philadelphia (the Liberty Bell), North and South Carolina for their beaches, Georgia (particularly Savannah for its history), Florida (Disneyworld, Cape Canaveral, Miami, etc...), Chicago (too many things to see but I want to go see the big silver bean XD), Tennessee and all along the Appalachian mountains including the Great Smoky Mountains, Kentucky with their Mammouth Caves, Louisiana (New Orleans for Mardi Gras), Colorado (music festivals in the summer, winter sports in the winter).

There's Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Portland, Seattle. Napa Valley. There's Kansas BBQ and Texas BBQ. There's Fort Alamo, but also Saint Patrick's in New York. There's the Grand Canyon. There's the beaches of Hawaii and the glaciers of Alaska. There are cruises you can take that don't require a passport. I could probably go on and on.

While I do think it's a shame most of us Americans do not leave the country, a lot of it has to do with (I think) the fact that there is just so much to see in the US. So much to do. For so much cheaper. It's easy to get to. Even now, the SO and I are trying to figure out how we can go visit Europe, but then, beyond money, we run into the trouble of time.

There's the mentality prevalent, from what I've noticed of my own American peers, that you have a life path: Go to school, graduate, get a job, make money, have a family, settle down, and then go on vacation. I've noticed among my fiance's friends (in Canada), that his peers are less settled. We're both 29, and many of our friends are within the 25-35 range. Less of them are married with families. None of them own their own home. Most of them float from job to job, rarely staying at one place for more than 1.5 years or 2. Many of them travel in ways that seems so foreign to me. One of them has been in Florida for the last month and the idea of taking a month off from work is just unthinkable. Americans, once working, have less vacation than most of their counterparts around the world. One of my friends has been working for the same company for over 5 years now, and only has 3 weeks of vacation a year.

Compare Derrick's friends to mine, and the majority of my friends own a home or two, most of them are married with a child (or more), a child on the way, or planning to have a child, and most of them have been at their current place of work for at least 5 years, if not more. There are a good chunk of masters graduates and a few phds.

I'd be interested to see more details as to their average sampling. I don't think the background I've come from and my experiences matches well with what this survey says. I graduated from a K-12 private school and went to a 4 year women's college and am planning to get my phd soon (damn GREs). I've lived in five different places in my life, one of them South Korea and four of them different states in the US. I've been working in the tech industry for over 5 years as an engineer and most of my friends and fellow alumnae have similar experiences.

As for recycling... I think my background also seriously does not fit so I can't really comment on the veracity of the statements in the article. I grew up in one of the top twenty-five 'greenest' small cities in the United States and the city that led in recycling in the entire country. Since I was 6, there's been a recycling bin at my home, which was divided with containers specifically for this or that and a fine if you failed to sort it out. Since then, I went to a college where, they'd provide you with a recycling bin but no trash bin, and now live in another of the greenest cities of the US.

Clearly, I don't fit into their model of average American. But then again, neither do most of my 18-34-something year old friends.

Edited September 25, 2009 by Aero and Dero

[Malrothien 6]

I think one thing needs to be understood with the travel thing:

In the US, you have everything. Tropical beaches to snowy mountains. Some people just don't want to travel outside their country when you have such a large expanse of beauty in your own.

In Canada - it's cold for many months. You don't get the tropical waters - so yes, of course you have to travel outside the country.

Growing up for me living in Florida - vacations were to North Carolina, Seattle or to Northern Florida. I had no need or real want to go outside my own country. The only place I truly want to visit outside the US is Europe.

[Sprailenes 47]

I have met many here who have a passport, travelled abroad etc, my husband studied abroad. He went to Europe a few times with his family when he was growing up. I however never owned a passport prior to this whole immigration bit, and I never left Canada. I travelled around Canada though.. does that count?

I find in the US, and this is strictly my opinion and not a fact, that after highschool it's all about going to college and that's where the adventure is and that's about as far as it goes for many youth here.

But again for most, I don't know if it's affordable with the price of college and university here. It is about getting into the working world and making money as fast as possible.

Just a different set of values me thinks.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I never thought of it like that Aero and Dero. I remember being a restless teenager living in my small Canadian town, and all I wanted to go was get out and see the world. I had this idea in my mind that Canada had nothing interesting to see and that I needed to get on a plane and go to Europe to get the experience that I really wanted. Here, a lot of Americans travel within their own country, because in their minds there is so much to do and see in their back yards. I sort of understand that, just in the time I've known my husband we've done a lot of domestic travel together and I never realized how many unique and interesting things could be found within the US. However, there are a lot of unique and interesting things in Canada as well... It just doesn't seem like a topic of conversation among a lot of Canadian youth. Where did you go this summer? Vancouver? Wow... yeah I went to Spain, so I'm more interesting then you and I had more fun It even seems like my Canadian friends are much more interested then my stories of traveling abroad then my American friends.

The marriage and home ownership thing is interesting. Unfortunately, I know a billion of Canadian youth that are single moms, or living with their boyfriends and their babies with no intention on getting married. Here in the US, it happens as well, absolutely, but I don't hear of it as much. The shotgun wedding seems more popular

And recycling? Oh yeah. At home everyone does it! Here, they don't even offer recycling service! Isn't that insane? Nobody does it because its to much work to take your own cans and bottles down to the place they need to be.

[trailmix 77]

While visiting places to see the sights is nice, I appreciate an old building as much as the next person, I see visiting other countries as an opportunity to experience the culture and the people and how they live - which is quite a separate thing.

Edited September 25, 2009 by trailmix

[SapphireDreams 71]

^^ I kinda of agree with you Aero. I can see it from both sides. Small town America is also very different from people living in big cities too.

I personally don't find my Canadian friends any different from my American friends. All of my American friends have passports (although some have never been to Canada) and they all have travelled, some around the world, some to the Carribean, some to Europe. Some went backpacking after College, some did a year abroad in College. Some of my friends in Canada, finished school, started working and settled down. A lot are getting married in both groups of friends.

All of my American friends recycle - although one thing I noticed here is that they use Styrofoam cups more and paper plates and such in the home everyday (not just at parties). We don't really recycle paper at work though, which is kind of bad. NYC is not a very green city, but there are a lot of green cities in the US.

One of the major differences I see is that Americans travel within their own country. There is so much to do and see, why not! In Canada, Canadians are far less likely to plan a vacation in Saskatoon. Whereas, an American might plan a trip to Chicago or San Francisco, Boston etc. Canadians go elsewhere, whereas Americans stay in their own country. It's much cheaper, that's for sure! A flight to Vancouver from Toronto is ridiculous! A flight from NYC to Los Angeles is much cheaper. A lot of times its more worth it for a Canadian to spend a week all inclusive in Mexico, than to travel somewhere in their own country.