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[destroycreate]

Without meaning to sound overly elitist, am I the only one who feels that, as a person who has lived and traveled all over the world and grew up with an expat background - it is hard to find people to relate to? I feel like I struggle to find stuff in common with ordinary Americans (I live in San Francisco) because so many of them have never

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[ijs_koningen]

I second the recommendation to tone it down. The tenor of your original post came off as a notch elitist and snobbish. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that that wasn't your intent, but I'd re-think some of your word choices if you were having that conversation out loud with people you don't know well.

I agree that international travel is a bit of a luxury for Americans. There is the aforementioned lack of vacation time (2 weeks standard) and lack of a 13th month pay that is common in many other countries and used to fund vacation travels. People whose parents didn't travel internationally often don't consider it for themselves. You went to international schools because of your parents, and if your summers were spent travelling, that tells me that you weren't concerned with earning money to pay for college. So watch your privilege.

Could young Americans backpack Asia (or Europe or South America) with not a lot of cash? Sure, but they have to get there, which isn't cheap from the continental U.S. Even if they save up for the flight, if they don't know anyone like-minded to go with them (and they might not, if they went to high school in the U.S. and want to go after high school), they're faced with the prospect of solo travel, which is a problem for some. Nor would they have a network of school chums to crash with, something someone who had attended an international school is more likely to have.

Women in particular are probably a bit hesitant to backpack around solo. Some safety concerns are legit, and others less so, but even those with a healthy sense of adventure find it a bit of a hassle to travel solo in any number of countries, and it can be fatiguing to constantly navigate being friendly with being seen as forward, dressing appropriately for the culture AND for travel, etc.

I've studied and vacationed abroad, and I'd work abroad if I could make as much as I can in the U.S. I'm quick to be-friend foreigners, but with Americans who are happy to have spent their lives sticking close to home, I know to shut up if they aren't interested in hearing about my foreign travels, and to listen to what else they have going on in their lives, without implying that they are some kind of bumpkin.