Category Archives: Travel

Traveling in the US and Canada is no longer affordable

Leave a reply

Travel in the US and Canada is now very expensive

Canada in July

The last 12 years have been a time when traveling in the Continental US and Canada has gotten very pricey.  It has not always been like that.  In the 80s, 90s and right up to 2012, doing a road trip in North America was very affordable.  You could stay in a hotel or motel for $60 a night (Airbnbs were even less) and there was room enough for 2.  Gasoline for your car steadily increased ever since 2002.  Rental car prices also increased substantially since 2015.  Add increased food and campsite costs and you have a recipe for disaster.  Last time I did a 10 day road trip in the USA in 2012, my brother and I spent under $2,000 (USD) for the whole thing.  If you try the same thing now you are looking at well over $4,500.00 for 2 people.

Where is travel still affordable?

Travel in Germany

The quick answer is Europe if you are looking for a similar experience.  Of course, if you go to a third world country you will have it even cheaper but then you need to speak the local language to get most of deals.  So European countries like Germany, Spain, etc. remain affordable for traveling and give you tons of options even without speaking the language.  Food is generally 30% less and lodging in Airbnbs costs about half or even less when compared to North America.  Car rentals can be cheaper but are usually the same as in the US or Canada.  Gasoline is a bit more but that usually evens itself out because your engine size is less in Europe.  And you often don’t need a car since most things can be walked or biked to.  Combine that with affordable trains that run regularly, you are currently looking at about 50% less travel costs in Europe versus North America.  To return to my example above, a 10 day trip in Germany for example will still cost you about $2,000 (USD).

Final Thoughts on Traveling in North America vs. Europe

It is sad that the US and Canada are so expensive these days.  There are many nice places in North America and I used to enjoy the big portions you used to get in US restaurants for comparatively very little money.  But those days are now gone.  I can now go to Europe for 4 weeks and spend less overall than when I (who lives in Canada) rent a car and drive through the Rockies for the same amount of time.  But I see that as a good thing.  It gets me out into new worlds and languages and if the US and Canada should ever get cheap again like in the old days, I will start exploring North America again.

Author of:  Creston Photography – beautiful places in the Rocky Mountains.

Life in Germany vs Live in the USA and Canada

Leave a reply

To Live in Germany or to Live in the US/Canada

I am currently travelling in Europe including Germany, Austria and Italy.  I am spending most of my time in Germany (due to being fluent in German).  I am living in the North East (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) as well as the South (Bayern and Baden-Wuerttenberg).  This gives me a good average of the entire country in terms of living styles.  Having spend 23 years in North America has nearly made me forget how good people in Germany really have it compared to the US and Canada.  Where would I rather live?

Germany, of course, hands-down.  And here is why.

Smarts – Intelligence – Speed of Mind

The very first thing I noticed is the response time of Germans vs North Americans.  Germans are just lightning fast in answering your questions, driving, ringing your items through at the grocery store, making appointments at the dentist, etc.  You name it – wherever you look, you see an urgency that North America does not have.  Americans are really rather dull and slow.  Sounds harsh but it certainly is true.  I am waiting 3 times longer in America till I have paid my stuff at the grocery store.  I hear kids talking in Germany and from what I can gather a 10 year old child in Germany thinks and talks like a 13 year old in America.  I think especially the American/Canadian elementary school system leaves kids slower-minded than they could be.  The overall feeling is one of aliveness (if there is such a word) in Germany and slow-poke attitudes in NA (North America).  I really appreciate the speed and awareness in Germany – it makes so many thing so much simpler.

Driving Competency

Well, Driving, that is not a new issue.  But here the Germans shine.  People on the roads know what they doing.  The reason might be because you actually have to through rigorous training here before you get your license.  And I can also see that the Germans can be trusted to obey the rules of the road whereas North Americans are always a little self-serving.  I have yet to drive behind a single slow driver here in Germany whereas in America you hit a selfish slow-poke driver routinely.  NA seems to have this non-spoken attitude that everyone should just do as they please on the road (and in other places), no matter what is right and what is wrong.  I really appreciate that I can depend on the German people not to take the right-of-way from me or choose to drive 30 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

Grocery Store Selection and Prices

The average North American has probably no idea of how little selection they have when it comes to Groceries.  If you leave out all the imported European Items in a North American Grocery Store, you have a very limited amount of foods left in NA.  I can buy 50 types of cheese here in Germany in a regular run-of-the-mill store.  How many can you buy in Walmart or Safe-Way in NA?  I can tell you what North American cheeses you can buy:  Mild Cheddar, Medium Cheddar, Aged Cheddar and then you got your Havarti and Monterrey Jack.  That is pretty much it – pretty sad.

But Cheese is just one example.  Take sausages or bread or yogurt or wine or beer or water or pop or chocolates.  Especially bread is something that you have an endless choices of here in Germany.  And I am not talking about toast – actual real bread and buns and prezels.  All different shapes and sizes and with different baking methods.  All of them delicious.

Why is the North American selection so terrible?  And why is nobody saying anything?  Do US and Canadian residents like to eat sub-standard things?  Is a Kraft Processes Cheese Slice on a toasted White Wonderbread really all that people can think off?

All that being said, I appreciate to have a choices of a wide variety of different, good tasting foods in Germany.  I am not looking forward to have to go back to NA, believe me.

Enjoyment of Life (not Work)

North Americans are notorious for working to much – or I should say focusing on work too much.  To achieve great things in your own economy does not require to over-focus on work.  ‘You work to live’ and ‘you don’t live to work’ is the attitude in Germany.  I can see that people here are relaxed and do not think of work after they come home at 3-4pm.  People get at least 5 weeks paid vacation and also take the time off.  They do not have to pre-work or catch up with the work that accumulated during their time-off.  I see that problem in NA all the time.  Yes you have 2 weeks paid vacation (2 WHOLE weeks, believe it or not)) but probably have to do some added catch-up work when you get back.  I know I have been there.

Germans have hobbies and enjoy a coffee and cake in the afternoon.  And the work attitude does not suffer from it.  If anything people WANT to do a good job at work because of all the good things their employers give to them.  I suffer greatly from the suffocating work-environment in NA.  There is a lot of blah-blah-blah and not much efficiency in the company environment in the US or Canada.

A quick example will demonstrate the schedule difference between Germany and NA:

School starts at around 7:30am and ends at around 12:30pm.  Many companies work from 6:00am to 2:30pm.  and many more companies offer part-time jobs so mothers can be home with their kids around lunch time.  As you can see, a smart kid in Germany can have his chores done by 1:30pm (incl. homework).  An adult is ready for coffee or tea at 4pm.  In NA you have a system that leaves people with no time for anything but eating and sleeping apart from work.  When I went to High-School in NA I came home from school at 3:30pm and had my home-work done by 4:30pm if I was fast.  Adults generally come home between 5:00-6:00pm leaving only time to buy groceries, cook and have maybe 2 hours of free time in the evening.

The NA lifestyle is a breeding ground for unhappiness that Americans are trying to combat by buying, buying and buying even more things nobody needs.  I appreciate the views on how to handle work (and school) in Germany.

Final Thoughts

There are many more things that could be discussed but for now I will leave it at that.  Maybe some people in the US or Canada will think about it.  The world certainly does not start and end in America or Canada.

Author:  Jony Hubert (a Frameless Interior Door lover)