Ozzies, Kiwis........ and Yanks :)

[beet1e]

Seems like I put a few noses out of joint with my thread about lunch with two yanks yesterday.  I don’t think I was offensive, and my fan club (if they are to be believed) are fond of pointing out that I am in a minority, or lack credibility – and yet the responses come pouring in...

So this morning over breakfast with Tomato, I was pondering over Americans’ lack of interest in other cultures, as amply demonstrated in other threads. We have Yanks who stay at home because they don’t need to travel – ”we have everything here so we don’t need to leave”, is the popular refrain.

So that got me thinking about Australia and New Zealand. Australia is much more like America than Britain . But seriously – the whole continent is one country about 3000 miles across, so it’s similar in area to the continental US. Similar in climate – hot, dry summers, deserts, beaches, poisonous snakes.... The cost of living in OZ is lower than here, so perhaps that is on a par with America. I’ve also heard taxes are lower. Many people adore the OZ “having it all” lifestyle.

But there’s one way in which Australians are very different from the Yanks. They love to travel abroad. They are naturally curious about foreign cultures, quite unlike American guys like kieran who has stated openly on this BBS that he has absolutely no interest in visiting or even learning about our (pissant) European culture. Now many if not most Australians and New Zealanders are exactly the opposite. It is almost a de facto standard in Australian early adulthood to take a year out to come over here, and “do Europe”. And they “do” it very thoroughly!  The usual thing is to start out in London, and acquire a (left hand drive) VW Camper. There are fewer or those around now, but if it were not so cold today, I bet I could go down to Earls Court right now, and find an OZ or two buying/selling such a vehicle. They will take a big time out, and go all over Europe in it, exploring every country in their camper vans.  New Zealanders are much the same. New Zealand is a beautiful country which has everything they need. Do we hear the kiwis saying that they therefore have no need to leave their own shores? We do not.

We get a lot of OZs and kiwis working over here. Many come over as computer programmers, and I found that nearly all of them were  good and reliable workers. Since 1978, I was a freelance consultant and therefore worked at many companies, many for only 6 months. And in all that time, I NEVER worked at a place that didn’t have a kiwi or an OZ working there.

So I invite the Ozzies and kiwis to throw some light on this:  What attracts you to Europe, and yet fails to attract the Yanks?

Finally, I’ve been a bit hard on the Yanks this past few weeks. My mild banter has got quite a few of them upset. So I’m going to have to wave the white flag as a token of peace. However, a white flag might not show up well if the post ends up on a white background, so I’ll have to wave one with lots of white in it. I found this one, which has 56 separate pieces of white in it.

[Karnak]

Being an American, it has been my experience that if an American identifies themself as a Conservative they are likely to have no interest in, or open hostility to, other countries.  If an American identifies themself as a Liberal they are likely to be interested in other cultures and to want to visit other cultures.

Despite Conservatives making up only ~50% of the US population, this hobby is very Conservative oriented.  Thus you're sample of American opinion is very biased if you rely primarily on this board.

[Gryffin]

Originally posted by beet1e
So I invite the Ozzies and kiwis to throw some light on this:  What attracts you to Europe, and yet fails to attract the Yanks?

No yanks there

[Cabby44]

Quote:

"Being an American, it has been my experience that if an American identifies themself as a Conservative they are likely to have no interest in, or open hostility to, other countries. "

Pure, unadulterated roadkill............

As for Beetle's contention that Americans don't travel:  See above....


Cabby

[Karnak]

Cabby,

Two points:

That was not a univerrsal statement, just the trend and second it was my experience, not a scientific study.  The typical American jingoistic responses to threads that find anything positive about foreign places that are seen in this forum are just one of many examples of that trend.

beet1e comes off as pretty much of a British jingoist, so it isn't just Americans.

[NUKE]

20.5 million tourists visited the UK in 1999 and 20% came from North America.

http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2000/rp00-066.pdf

[moggie]

Anyone know what proportion of US citizens hold a passport?

[Toad]

U.S. Passports Issued per Fiscal Year (1996 - present)

Note: As of 1996, passport statistics are tabulated for the fiscal year.

1996 - 5,547,693
1997 - 6,295,003
1998 - 6,539,864
1999 - 6,722,198
2000 - 7,292,182
2001 - 7,119,506
2002 - 7,001,482

England's a fine place to visit.

I always enjoy the appreciation for history there.

[Kieran]

But there’s one way in which Australians are very different from the Yanks. They love to travel abroad. They are naturally curious about foreign cultures, quite unlike American guys like kieran who has stated openly on this BBS that he has absolutely no interest in visiting or even learning about our (pissant) European culture.

Getting a bit hyperbolic, aren't we?

I said I have no interest in traveling. I said I don't care about your (UK's or any other country's) politics, I have no interest in them, and out of respect for my lack of knowledge on your politics I make no comments. Now you are making that out to mean I am the prototype American? Don't you think you twisted that quite a bit to arrive at your conclusion?

Sorry, but you just crossed the line from troller to liar.

[Kieran]

One more thing... I would never call a country "pissant" in the way you attributed to me. I think countries have jerks in them, but I have enough intelligence to see they are typically the minority. I do not have the ignorance/audacity to label a country of 265 million or so on the basis of my knowledge of a handful.

[Cherlie]

Well I'm a brit that has lived in Australia and currently reside in the U.S

Must say, I am looking to get back to england or Australia ASAP.

Land of the free?

If only the Americans realised why America was set up, one of the issues was taxes, and I bet that if the forefathers saw the taxes they are paying now, they would turn in the grave.

Compulsary car insurance? Health insurance? shoot one is working for taxes, insurance companies first then they get paid to pay their other bills.

Land of the free? I think it is more like land of the slaves, making government and insurance companies richer by the minute.

CB

[Daff]

I love this Douglas Adams quote:

"There we British sat, poor grey sodden creatures, huddling under our grey northen sky that seeped like a randid dish cloth, busy sending those we wished to punish most severly to sit in bright sunlight on the coast of the Tasman Sea at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef and maybe do some surfing too. No wonder the Australians have a particular kind of smile that they reserve exclusivly for use on the British"

Daff

[Revvin]

Okay okay move along! nothing to see here

[Curval]

Austrailians borrowed the concept of "Walkabout" from the Abos.

Except they don't walkabout in their own country...they do it worldwide.

It is one reason they are universally liked across the world.

But, unfortuantely the Aussies need to get their socialist "house" in order at home before I would ever put that country on a pedestal.  

Things like "National Sorry Day" and statistics that show more and more people live on welfare suggests that the paradise "down under" may not last.  

A friend of mine over there wanted to start his own landscaping company and tree removal service.  After working out all the numbers it became clear that he would be ahead of his current "dole" income by about ten percent.  He reasoned, in seemimgly typical Aussie fashion, that the ten percent simply wasn't worth it and that he would forfiet the additional income for the freedom to sit around and do nothing.  He dropped the idea and went back on the dole.

This kind of thing leads the country in one direction economically...down the toilet.

[Ping]

Curval: Canada has serious Welfare probs as well. What needs to be done is just rid ourselves of Welfare altogether and force 2nd and 3rd generation welfare scum to work.

 I do realize that there are those who do legitimately need help...but that is all that should be offered, assisstance, not handouts.
 Prove you are working your bellybutton off and then ok, we will help you make your rent..or purchase food..not alcohol or tobacco.

...Me Gawd..ive become a serious threadjacker...will stop now.