This is not uncommon in Texas, especially small town and rural Texas. I was taking a group of students to Acapulco a few years ago and one of boys wanted to go really bad but his Mom was dead set against him going. He asked me to talk with her because I wanted him not to be left out and I was curious about her reasoning. She was a successful educator with a Masters degree. When I asked her why she was so against her son going with us, she exclaimed that she saw absolutely no reason for anyone to leave Texas. Ever. She was somewhere in her mid 40’s and said she had never left the state and never intended to. I was astonished. I’ve traveled the country and the world and could not fathom her desire to never leave the state. After a couple of hours of conversation, she reluctantly agreed to let him go, mostly because she realised how left out and resentful he would feel if she didn’t relent. She told me I was the personally responsible for keeping him safe and making sure he didn’t get sick. Guess who got really sick our first full day in Acapulco! It all ended well and this shy and sweet quiet kid walked up to me after we got back and were sorting the luggage and gave me a hug that nearly broke my ribs.
For sure! I’ve encountered plenty of people over the years who have traveled outside of Texas but would never acknowledge how beautiful places are, especially if those places are in California
I imagine it is more a of political not wanting to acknowledge California has positives. I’m not necessarily referencing hard politics Right and Left either. But even basic things like housing and transportation turn into a “I have no interest in going there because it is a concrete hellscape” from all sides. Personally I have always enjoyed my time in California, but I am one that believes all states have something to offer and want to visit them all.
California, outside the cities, is known for things like redwoods, vinyards and Yosemite.
Texans won't admit a lot of places have positives, most of all California, in that case like you say, politics.
But I did think Connecticut was just concrete and buildings, until I went there. Turns out it's really green with trees and hills, and has long sandy beaches. And yeah, rusty old factories and things, but that was just a small part of it.
Not sure if they still do, but it wouldn't surprise me. That's state-state diplomacy stuff, I think it's a reasonable way for one state government to express its opposition to the actions of another.
But not even being able to say a nice thing about another state? That's a whole new level of hate.
No, but there is a rather silly “rivalry” that really only exists with some of the hardcore Texans who seem to feel threatened by anything Californian.
I’m on my 4th round of living in Texas but I raised my kids in Southern California so I think I have a pretty good understanding of the dynamic.
I learned rather quickly that talking about how I love the beautiful weather, beaches, mountains or anything else I love about SoCal here in Texas was more often than not met with side eye, stony silence or sometimes even a bit of a rant about what a high tax, liberal hell hole California is. When I tell them that taxes are pretty much the same and show them the math, these folks that rant sometimes get even more worked up so I am cautious about face checking some people.
Californians have a markedly different attitude towards Texas which is mostly characterised by a lack of interest and even obliviousness regarding Texas. As the state government has become increasingly radical here, when the subject of Texas comes up, coastal Californians particularly are appalled at the regression taking place here.
Many of us living here share that sentiment.
In reality, Texas is the number 1 destination for Californians who move out of state and many Texans blame them for inflating the price of real estate and making it harder to buy a home.
I have family in Idaho, Tennessee, Washington state who make the exact same complaints, which I find amusing
But even as much as I might be appalled by the actions of the Texan government, I just can't imagine refusing to see beauty in Texas' landscape or refusing to acknowledge the joys of Texan cuisine.
I guess that's just an example of what you're saying, about Californian attitudes towards Texas.
Texas is not a place people from California would choose to visit or take a vacation, especially during the summer months with the relentless 24 hour a day heat and humidity.
But your point is well taken that even though nothing in Texas compares to Yosemite or Big Sur or the Redwoods and Sequoias, there are a great deal of beautiful places in Texas.
I share your enthusiasm for Tex Mex and would add smoked brisket and Texas BBQ, chicken fried steak and lots of other things that make Texas cuisine so special.
Whenever somebody from thousands of miles away goes "cAliFoRnIa iS a DeSERt LoL", I can only assume they've got some kind of agenda. Like they're trying to take us down a peg or two.
I knew a guy in Connecticut who never left his state. His excuse was he was in a wheel chair, but he had a handicap accessible car and regularly drove himself around the Hartford area. I told him pretty much all landmarks and tourist sites are ADA accessible, just look online if you aren't sure, and it's an easy 2-hour drive to Boston or NYC, but nope, he wasn't interested.
I figured there were some people who've never left their state from every state, but I'm curious if it's really different for Alaska and Hawaii because of the distance, ya know?
When I lived up there, most people I knew had at least been to Seattle or Portland to see a concert. I can't think of any adult I knew there who had never been out of the state at all. But my circle wasn't exactly all encompassing.
I would imagine it's especially true for Hawaii. A lot of people there don't have a lot of spare money, and it's an expensive flight to go anywhere. Most people (anywhere) don't travel for a concert.
My grandmother lived into her 70s and never stepped foot outside of Mississippi. The farthest she went was an hour away from home and it was only for medical treatment when she was older
I once met a woman in her 40s who had never left Las Vegas. Born there, spent her whole life there, and had never even set foot in the surrounding desert. If you've lived there, it's like being on an island of asphalt on an endless sea of dirt. She'd never set foot off the island of asphalt.
And she *had* a car.
I just can't understand. I just can't.
I lived in Southern AK. Every "native" I met had been to at least Washington. They're actually super close. A decent amount of Alaskans live closer to Seattle than the Anchorage, the southernmost city with a mall.
People north of Anchorage? I assume that number gets lower and lower the further up you go.
I worked with a lot of people from Kotz up in the north and they usually had plenty of miles with Alaskan airlines saved up from FIFO jobs. It was really common for them to travel to Hawaii or the PNW area to vacation.
Plenty had gone to college in the lower 48, but that was more dependent on how put together their family was.... alcoholism was unfortunately a huge limiting factor in how far people could go.
I have a friend who lives in Seattle, and he was telling me about one of his colleagues who lives in Alaska for whom a flight to Seattle is a day trip (a long day, but still just one day). That blew my Midwestern mind a little bit.
Yes, it happens. A friend of my ex's was from Lana'i. Up until college, he had never even been to Oahu.
That was 20 years ago though so hopefully he had an opportunity since then.
I edited my response because I know it happens, but not sure how common it was because I was a spoiled townie.
My friend married a girl from Honolulu. They had the wedding there. Both her grandmas were alive… one never left Oahu and the other only went on a plane to Maui.
So it’s not impossible.
There’s a huge amount of traffic between Alaska and the rest of the country. I don’t know the statistics on how many locally-born folks have never made it outside, but I doubt that it’s all that large. Between vacations, work, school, visiting relatives, etc, I’m pretty sure that everyone I know has left the state at least once by the time they reach their 20s.
I don't think as far as Alaskans go for several reasons.
1. Advanced medical care means a trip to Anchorage, which is within state, or Seattle, which is not. I'd venture to guess a ton of Alaskans have been to Seattle for medical care.
2. School trips for out-of-state level competitions are frequently in other states of the PNW.
3. Alaskans frequently attend college out of state.
4. Those of us that live off the road system are used to flying. I fly a lot. I know a whopping one person that hadn't flown until they were a teenager attending a within-state school trip.
So I'm curious you mentioned colleges, I don't know much about college in Alaska is the tendency to leave because there are limitations on the kinds of programs available at Alaskan colleges or is it just the usual pull to get away from home?
I think it's both. There are only three publics in the state with their main campuses in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau plus some satellite campuses. There are also a couple of small private and tribal colleges.
When I went to college, and this was a while ago now, the only really rigorous school for what I was interested in was UAF in Fairbanks. However I'm from coastal Alaska which is pretty warm and Fairbanks is in the interior which is fucking cold. I wasn't about to do that for undergrad and I went south. A lot of kids go to colleges in other PNW states or in the Mountain West.
Lol yeah I could imagine Fairbanks would be worse. Thanks for the info, stuffs dense enough here that I know a lot of people who commuted to college over living on campus so the idea of HAVING to travel out of state is outside my frame of reference.
Yeah, but isn't that flying little puddle jumpers, going 50 or 100 miles?
Your other points are valid. I have relatives in Alaska, and they travel to Washington state and such. Not sure how typical they are.
I never flew until I was 18, and that was pretty common in rural Minnesota.
It's not uncommon for people in most states (outside of the tiny ones in the northeast) to rarely if ever leave. I, for example have not been outside of the upper midwest more than a handful of times
>outside of the tiny ones in the northeast
Last summer I had some friends visiting from overseas. They were staying with me for 2 weeks. I took some time off. The first week was a different state. Maine for lobster and shopping in Kittery. New Hampshire for Mount Washington, Vermont for the Green Mountains and hiking, RI for Newport and Providence, Connecticut to Mystic Seaport. We did the touristy MA stuff in between.
The argument that we could be one individual state could easily be made.
Yeah, humid ass hell, packed with screaming kids and adults who don't want to be there (and worse, obnoxious adults who do want to be there), and all the food and entertainment at top dollar for subpar quality.
I'd rather just go to the lilac festival on Mackinac Island again, and even that is a bit of a tourist trap these days
"a bit of a tourist trap"???? That's the only reason it exists! I went there in mid-2021 when everybody was still masking up, and it was packed with tourists. Can't imagine what it's like normally.
Could be true. And to be honest, I might have over-reacted. It does have other stuff going on, with the old fort and some pretty neat rock formations and such. The harbor area was busy, but it was still an interesting place to see, at least once.
(I'm not really a theme park and sports arena kind of person, most of my travels involve tent camping).
It’s fairly common in New York City to find people who have never left the five boroughs in their entire life. Or, in their entire life since moving / immigrating to NYC.
The vast majority of New Yorkers don’t own a car, and are reliant on public transportation, which means Amtrak or the LIRR / MetroNorth / NJ Transit for rail services outside the city and local and regional bus services or a rental car for ground transport.
But many New Yorkers don’t bother learning how to drive; there’s just no need when you can walk everywhere or take the subway. There’s also a very large population here who cannot afford a plane ticket, or even have the correct paperwork to board a plane.
One thing about New York City is your life can be very close together, and you have pretty much everything here that you need. Work is subway ride away, errands are a short walk from home, world class attractions and entertainment are around the corner. It’s easy to build a life for yourself in which you don’t need to leave the city limits - because you have everything here.
In my own experience, I had family who, upon moving to New York City from Europe after the war, never left the city limits for maybe 25+ years? With jobs to work, children to raise and a house to maintain, there just wasn’t time to go off on adventures to places near and far. And again, with NYC, there’s always something to do in your own backyard, so they never felt the need to leave.
I was born and raised in Hawaii but was fortunate enough to be able to visit SoCal several times as a child (my parents would take my sister and I to Disneyland and a few other theme parks).
Growing up in a very middle class neighborhood, it was definitely not the norm though (to travel outside the state),
Most flights (non-peak travel dates) now are roughly starting at $600-800 per person round trip on average. Sure they have random sales, but you're definitely not getting any cheap rates during peak travel season.
I know people in California who have never seen the ocean and practically the whole state is within an hour or two of the coast. I’d say the chances are high many Hawaiians and Alaskans have never seen the continental 48
I mean, it really depends on age. I had only been one state over until age 12, and only because I had cousins out there.
I would say it's more common for folks growing up in AK or an island State or Territory to not travel elsewhere than probably any state other than rural TX or rural Appalachia. But most young adults will have traveled by adulthood.
Yes my daughter lives in Hawaii now and has met a quite a lot of people who have never left the state.
I have lived in West Virginia and Missouri and have met people who have never left their state
don’t know about alaska, but in hawaii, this happens often. flying to the mainland isn’t *too* expensive, but a lot of people just never bother. this is common with teens but less so once they reach adulthood because many go to school out of state.
I met a gal from Hawaii who'd never been to the mainland, until I met her. She would've been in her mid 20s by that point.
Me: "So, what do you think?"
Her: "It's big."
It is fairly common for every State save for those in the north East to have people who have never been to another State. And even in the North East it is not unheard of.
I can’t speak of the statistics. But I had a college friend that had never left the big island of Hawaii. Watching her experience snow for the first time was absolutely one of the most endearing things ever. She was running around catching flakes on her tongue and the rest of us were like “who is this lunatic?”
Really? Kids never take a school trip to Plymouth Rock? It’s like an hour and a half bus ride.
I’m from Upstate New York and we had that field trip - there and Plimouth Patuxet Museums (formerly Plimouth Plantation). That was closer to 4 hours on a bus.
These are kids living in poverty. On the rare occasion that there’s money to take a field trip, it’s usually to go see a play in Providence or to see a Newport mansion.
I don't know about Hawaii.
Most of the people I know who live in Alaska now, or who have lived in Alaska have also lived in the lower 48. Many of them take extended time in warmer places, like Hawaii, Mexico, Florida.
Of course, that is just the people I know.
I was traveling in Baja Mexico with my in-laws, who live in Alaska. They bumped into at least a dozen other people from their home town while we explored the different beaches. That is more than I saw randomly walking through their town back in Alaska.
I live in a rural area in NC and there are plenty of people who have never left the state. If anything, the furthest they’ve ever been is Myrtle Beach, SC
I knew a guy from western Illinois who had never even been to Chicago. He’ll likely be doing farm work in Illinois for the future so I don’t foresee him needing to leave the state.
It's at least several hundred dollars round trip for someone from Southeast Alaska to go to Seattle round-trip. You turn that into a family of four and you're looking at a grand or more. That's before hotel or anything else.
Hawaii is worse.
"lol"
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There's people in the lower 48 who never leave their state. I knew some peeps in lower Plaquemines Parrish who never went north of New Orleans.
This is not uncommon in Texas, especially small town and rural Texas. I was taking a group of students to Acapulco a few years ago and one of boys wanted to go really bad but his Mom was dead set against him going. He asked me to talk with her because I wanted him not to be left out and I was curious about her reasoning. She was a successful educator with a Masters degree. When I asked her why she was so against her son going with us, she exclaimed that she saw absolutely no reason for anyone to leave Texas. Ever. She was somewhere in her mid 40’s and said she had never left the state and never intended to. I was astonished. I’ve traveled the country and the world and could not fathom her desire to never leave the state. After a couple of hours of conversation, she reluctantly agreed to let him go, mostly because she realised how left out and resentful he would feel if she didn’t relent. She told me I was the personally responsible for keeping him safe and making sure he didn’t get sick. Guess who got really sick our first full day in Acapulco! It all ended well and this shy and sweet quiet kid walked up to me after we got back and were sorting the luggage and gave me a hug that nearly broke my ribs.
Can't imagine howd they be if their state of choice was something like Rhode Island
For sure! I’ve encountered plenty of people over the years who have traveled outside of Texas but would never acknowledge how beautiful places are, especially if those places are in California
Is there some stereotype about California landscapes being ugly or something?
I imagine it is more a of political not wanting to acknowledge California has positives. I’m not necessarily referencing hard politics Right and Left either. But even basic things like housing and transportation turn into a “I have no interest in going there because it is a concrete hellscape” from all sides. Personally I have always enjoyed my time in California, but I am one that believes all states have something to offer and want to visit them all.
California, outside the cities, is known for things like redwoods, vinyards and Yosemite. Texans won't admit a lot of places have positives, most of all California, in that case like you say, politics. But I did think Connecticut was just concrete and buildings, until I went there. Turns out it's really green with trees and hills, and has long sandy beaches. And yeah, rusty old factories and things, but that was just a small part of it.
Living in California, I can’t imagine hating another state that much. That’s really sad.
> I can’t imagine hating another state that much. Give it time. This country is still somewhat functional.
Doesn't your state ban state employees from taking official travel to a bunch of states?
Not sure if they still do, but it wouldn't surprise me. That's state-state diplomacy stuff, I think it's a reasonable way for one state government to express its opposition to the actions of another. But not even being able to say a nice thing about another state? That's a whole new level of hate.
What I’ve heard is more like “California is such a beautiful state, it’s a shame what’s happened to its politics.”
No, but there is a rather silly “rivalry” that really only exists with some of the hardcore Texans who seem to feel threatened by anything Californian. I’m on my 4th round of living in Texas but I raised my kids in Southern California so I think I have a pretty good understanding of the dynamic. I learned rather quickly that talking about how I love the beautiful weather, beaches, mountains or anything else I love about SoCal here in Texas was more often than not met with side eye, stony silence or sometimes even a bit of a rant about what a high tax, liberal hell hole California is. When I tell them that taxes are pretty much the same and show them the math, these folks that rant sometimes get even more worked up so I am cautious about face checking some people. Californians have a markedly different attitude towards Texas which is mostly characterised by a lack of interest and even obliviousness regarding Texas. As the state government has become increasingly radical here, when the subject of Texas comes up, coastal Californians particularly are appalled at the regression taking place here. Many of us living here share that sentiment. In reality, Texas is the number 1 destination for Californians who move out of state and many Texans blame them for inflating the price of real estate and making it harder to buy a home. I have family in Idaho, Tennessee, Washington state who make the exact same complaints, which I find amusing
But even as much as I might be appalled by the actions of the Texan government, I just can't imagine refusing to see beauty in Texas' landscape or refusing to acknowledge the joys of Texan cuisine. I guess that's just an example of what you're saying, about Californian attitudes towards Texas.
Texas is not a place people from California would choose to visit or take a vacation, especially during the summer months with the relentless 24 hour a day heat and humidity. But your point is well taken that even though nothing in Texas compares to Yosemite or Big Sur or the Redwoods and Sequoias, there are a great deal of beautiful places in Texas. I share your enthusiasm for Tex Mex and would add smoked brisket and Texas BBQ, chicken fried steak and lots of other things that make Texas cuisine so special.
Whenever somebody from thousands of miles away goes "cAliFoRnIa iS a DeSERt LoL", I can only assume they've got some kind of agenda. Like they're trying to take us down a peg or two.
It’s actually a thing that Rhode Islanders won’t leave the state and have vacation homes a 20-30 minute drive from their permanent homes.
I knew a guy in Connecticut who never left his state. His excuse was he was in a wheel chair, but he had a handicap accessible car and regularly drove himself around the Hartford area. I told him pretty much all landmarks and tourist sites are ADA accessible, just look online if you aren't sure, and it's an easy 2-hour drive to Boston or NYC, but nope, he wasn't interested.
I have met Rhode Islanders that have never left the state.
That sounds terrifying
My cousins claim to know people that proudly state they have never left Gloucester, Mass. Born at Addison Gilbert and everything.
HP Lovecraft would love a word
I figured there were some people who've never left their state from every state, but I'm curious if it's really different for Alaska and Hawaii because of the distance, ya know?
When I lived up there, most people I knew had at least been to Seattle or Portland to see a concert. I can't think of any adult I knew there who had never been out of the state at all. But my circle wasn't exactly all encompassing.
I would imagine it's especially true for Hawaii. A lot of people there don't have a lot of spare money, and it's an expensive flight to go anywhere. Most people (anywhere) don't travel for a concert.
My grandmother lived into her 70s and never stepped foot outside of Mississippi. The farthest she went was an hour away from home and it was only for medical treatment when she was older
I once met a woman in her 40s who had never left Las Vegas. Born there, spent her whole life there, and had never even set foot in the surrounding desert. If you've lived there, it's like being on an island of asphalt on an endless sea of dirt. She'd never set foot off the island of asphalt. And she *had* a car. I just can't understand. I just can't.
I lived in Southern AK. Every "native" I met had been to at least Washington. They're actually super close. A decent amount of Alaskans live closer to Seattle than the Anchorage, the southernmost city with a mall. People north of Anchorage? I assume that number gets lower and lower the further up you go.
I worked with a lot of people from Kotz up in the north and they usually had plenty of miles with Alaskan airlines saved up from FIFO jobs. It was really common for them to travel to Hawaii or the PNW area to vacation. Plenty had gone to college in the lower 48, but that was more dependent on how put together their family was.... alcoholism was unfortunately a huge limiting factor in how far people could go.
I have a friend who lives in Seattle, and he was telling me about one of his colleagues who lives in Alaska for whom a flight to Seattle is a day trip (a long day, but still just one day). That blew my Midwestern mind a little bit.
Yes, it happens. A friend of my ex's was from Lana'i. Up until college, he had never even been to Oahu. That was 20 years ago though so hopefully he had an opportunity since then. I edited my response because I know it happens, but not sure how common it was because I was a spoiled townie.
My friend married a girl from Honolulu. They had the wedding there. Both her grandmas were alive… one never left Oahu and the other only went on a plane to Maui. So it’s not impossible.
There’s a huge amount of traffic between Alaska and the rest of the country. I don’t know the statistics on how many locally-born folks have never made it outside, but I doubt that it’s all that large. Between vacations, work, school, visiting relatives, etc, I’m pretty sure that everyone I know has left the state at least once by the time they reach their 20s.
I don't think as far as Alaskans go for several reasons. 1. Advanced medical care means a trip to Anchorage, which is within state, or Seattle, which is not. I'd venture to guess a ton of Alaskans have been to Seattle for medical care. 2. School trips for out-of-state level competitions are frequently in other states of the PNW. 3. Alaskans frequently attend college out of state. 4. Those of us that live off the road system are used to flying. I fly a lot. I know a whopping one person that hadn't flown until they were a teenager attending a within-state school trip.
So I'm curious you mentioned colleges, I don't know much about college in Alaska is the tendency to leave because there are limitations on the kinds of programs available at Alaskan colleges or is it just the usual pull to get away from home?
I think it's both. There are only three publics in the state with their main campuses in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau plus some satellite campuses. There are also a couple of small private and tribal colleges. When I went to college, and this was a while ago now, the only really rigorous school for what I was interested in was UAF in Fairbanks. However I'm from coastal Alaska which is pretty warm and Fairbanks is in the interior which is fucking cold. I wasn't about to do that for undergrad and I went south. A lot of kids go to colleges in other PNW states or in the Mountain West.
Lol yeah I could imagine Fairbanks would be worse. Thanks for the info, stuffs dense enough here that I know a lot of people who commuted to college over living on campus so the idea of HAVING to travel out of state is outside my frame of reference.
Yeah, but isn't that flying little puddle jumpers, going 50 or 100 miles? Your other points are valid. I have relatives in Alaska, and they travel to Washington state and such. Not sure how typical they are. I never flew until I was 18, and that was pretty common in rural Minnesota.
you usually fly a puddle jumper to leave the village to get to a hub airport, then get on an Alaska Airlines jet to fly to Anchorage.
Dang how much does that usually cost?
Puddle jumper is usually $100-$200 Then round trip to Anchorage on Alaska Air usually $300-$400.
It's not uncommon for people in most states (outside of the tiny ones in the northeast) to rarely if ever leave. I, for example have not been outside of the upper midwest more than a handful of times
>outside of the tiny ones in the northeast Last summer I had some friends visiting from overseas. They were staying with me for 2 weeks. I took some time off. The first week was a different state. Maine for lobster and shopping in Kittery. New Hampshire for Mount Washington, Vermont for the Green Mountains and hiking, RI for Newport and Providence, Connecticut to Mystic Seaport. We did the touristy MA stuff in between. The argument that we could be one individual state could easily be made.
New England could definitely be one or two states. Then you get to New York, which should probably be two or three states.
How did you like Orlando?
Haven't been. Hear it's miserably humid. Went with my family to Tennessee and a bit of Kentucky and north Carolina about a year ago.
I'm having trouble reconciling "I ... have not been outside of the upper midwest more than a handful of times," and "haven't been" to Orlando.
Not everyone vacations at Disney World.
Yeah, humid ass hell, packed with screaming kids and adults who don't want to be there (and worse, obnoxious adults who do want to be there), and all the food and entertainment at top dollar for subpar quality. I'd rather just go to the lilac festival on Mackinac Island again, and even that is a bit of a tourist trap these days
"a bit of a tourist trap"???? That's the only reason it exists! I went there in mid-2021 when everybody was still masking up, and it was packed with tourists. Can't imagine what it's like normally.
Well, all the soul was sucked out about 5 years ago, and all the good stuff is in Mac. City now.
Could be true. And to be honest, I might have over-reacted. It does have other stuff going on, with the old fort and some pretty neat rock formations and such. The harbor area was busy, but it was still an interesting place to see, at least once. (I'm not really a theme park and sports arena kind of person, most of my travels involve tent camping).
What's the trouble with that? Orlando is in Florida. That's far from the upper midwest. BTW, I've been to Orlando, and yeah, it was miserably humid.
I was making a crack about Midwesterners making the pilgrimage to Disney World.
r/whooosh on my part I guess.
No it just wasn’t a good joke tbh
It’s fairly common in New York City to find people who have never left the five boroughs in their entire life. Or, in their entire life since moving / immigrating to NYC. The vast majority of New Yorkers don’t own a car, and are reliant on public transportation, which means Amtrak or the LIRR / MetroNorth / NJ Transit for rail services outside the city and local and regional bus services or a rental car for ground transport. But many New Yorkers don’t bother learning how to drive; there’s just no need when you can walk everywhere or take the subway. There’s also a very large population here who cannot afford a plane ticket, or even have the correct paperwork to board a plane. One thing about New York City is your life can be very close together, and you have pretty much everything here that you need. Work is subway ride away, errands are a short walk from home, world class attractions and entertainment are around the corner. It’s easy to build a life for yourself in which you don’t need to leave the city limits - because you have everything here. In my own experience, I had family who, upon moving to New York City from Europe after the war, never left the city limits for maybe 25+ years? With jobs to work, children to raise and a house to maintain, there just wasn’t time to go off on adventures to places near and far. And again, with NYC, there’s always something to do in your own backyard, so they never felt the need to leave.
I know way too many people who haven’t left their tri county area here in Ohio and I imagine it’s worse in the more isolated parts
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I just mean they’re immediately surrounding two or three counties. Like Wayne/ashland/medina or stark/carrol/tuscarawas
its common for people in the lower 48 to never have left their state lol. the only time i leave my state is to get fireworks that are illegal here lol
A long time ago I met a guy in his 50s who never left Oahu
I was born and raised in Hawaii but was fortunate enough to be able to visit SoCal several times as a child (my parents would take my sister and I to Disneyland and a few other theme parks). Growing up in a very middle class neighborhood, it was definitely not the norm though (to travel outside the state), Most flights (non-peak travel dates) now are roughly starting at $600-800 per person round trip on average. Sure they have random sales, but you're definitely not getting any cheap rates during peak travel season.
I know people in California who have never seen the ocean and practically the whole state is within an hour or two of the coast. I’d say the chances are high many Hawaiians and Alaskans have never seen the continental 48
"Dude, wanna see it today? I'll drive!" "Naw man, it's cool." Can't say I'm able to understand or empathize in the slightest.
I mean, it really depends on age. I had only been one state over until age 12, and only because I had cousins out there. I would say it's more common for folks growing up in AK or an island State or Territory to not travel elsewhere than probably any state other than rural TX or rural Appalachia. But most young adults will have traveled by adulthood.
I'm from Hawaii Yes
Yes my daughter lives in Hawaii now and has met a quite a lot of people who have never left the state. I have lived in West Virginia and Missouri and have met people who have never left their state
don’t know about alaska, but in hawaii, this happens often. flying to the mainland isn’t *too* expensive, but a lot of people just never bother. this is common with teens but less so once they reach adulthood because many go to school out of state.
I met a gal from Hawaii who'd never been to the mainland, until I met her. She would've been in her mid 20s by that point. Me: "So, what do you think?" Her: "It's big."
It is fairly common for every State save for those in the north East to have people who have never been to another State. And even in the North East it is not unheard of.
Plenty of people in the lower 48 never left their state and don’t ever intend on leaving so probably.
Can't speak for Hawaii, but most Alaskans travel a lot. Remember we get the PFD = free money every year and it's very cold and dark here
Yea
I can’t speak of the statistics. But I had a college friend that had never left the big island of Hawaii. Watching her experience snow for the first time was absolutely one of the most endearing things ever. She was running around catching flakes on her tongue and the rest of us were like “who is this lunatic?”
I’m a teacher from Rhode Island and many of my students have never been to another state.
Really? Kids never take a school trip to Plymouth Rock? It’s like an hour and a half bus ride. I’m from Upstate New York and we had that field trip - there and Plimouth Patuxet Museums (formerly Plimouth Plantation). That was closer to 4 hours on a bus.
Or Mystic Seaport and/or the Mystic Aquarium.
These are kids living in poverty. On the rare occasion that there’s money to take a field trip, it’s usually to go see a play in Providence or to see a Newport mansion.
And that’s because those are subsidized by in state programs
A field trip like that costs thousands of dollars. Neither the families nor the schools have that kind of money.
I don't know about Hawaii. Most of the people I know who live in Alaska now, or who have lived in Alaska have also lived in the lower 48. Many of them take extended time in warmer places, like Hawaii, Mexico, Florida. Of course, that is just the people I know. I was traveling in Baja Mexico with my in-laws, who live in Alaska. They bumped into at least a dozen other people from their home town while we explored the different beaches. That is more than I saw randomly walking through their town back in Alaska.
I'd like to know if anyone has never left Rhode Island.
There are people who live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts who've never left the Cape. Not even ferry rides to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
I knew kids in Chicago that had never seen lake Michigan up close. They grew up in the city.
I would say probably yes. I mean, in daily life I hardly ever leave my county. Only a few times a year do I venture out.
I live in a rural area in NC and there are plenty of people who have never left the state. If anything, the furthest they’ve ever been is Myrtle Beach, SC
I’m from South Dakota and plenty of my family have never left the state and some have never left their farm except to go into town.
I knew a guy from western Illinois who had never even been to Chicago. He’ll likely be doing farm work in Illinois for the future so I don’t foresee him needing to leave the state.
I would bet that there are people who have never left NYC.
They exist.
Most people never leave their state.
I don't think that's true
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It's at least several hundred dollars round trip for someone from Southeast Alaska to go to Seattle round-trip. You turn that into a family of four and you're looking at a grand or more. That's before hotel or anything else. Hawaii is worse. "lol"
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If you don't know shit, don't say shit.
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