Why Should I choose Europe?

It isn't better- just different than those places. I love doing road trips and travel in the U.S, too. I still want to see Asia and other parts of the world. That said, I lived in Europe as a child and speak some German and French, so it's easier for me. It's also the homeland of my ancestors.

Not better, just one more option from many. While you are at it, why not the Grand Canyon, the Rockies, Washington DC, the Northeast, or for that matter Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and of course roller coasters in Sandusky) I hear even Canada might be worth visiting. Each of those places plus many more have their own BB's; this one happens to focus on Europe. No judgement, just the fact.

The whole world is beautiful and full of variety. I think the reason I like Europe is that I know the history and it represents my heritage. The roots of Western civilization are in Europe, and those are where my roots are as well. It feels like where I came from.

One reason for Europe over other places is that perhaps your family came from somewhere in Europe so it can be interesting to explore the cultures that they came from. Also, let's face it a lot of the United States is grounded in philosophy and culture from Europe and understanding those roots and what they grew into on the other side of the ocean might help ones thinking about our country.

Pam

I'm Eurocentric.

No, but seriously -- who here said that Europe is superior to any other region of the world? No one is making anyone choose sides here.

I think very few people here would say Europe is better than other regions of the world. Many of the regulars here are world travelers, or at least aspire to be. If any of us favor Europe for our limited vacation time, it’s because Europe is more accessible, both physically and culturally while providing a good combination of adventure and comfort. If/when we have the means, time, and energy we may much prefer venturing to India, Armenia, Chile, Mozambique, or Tonga.

Plus what seems adventurous and exotic to one person may seem safe and familiar to another. I lived for a time with my mother and Samoan step-father in a little village in Samoa. I loved and adored it there, but it seems like home in a way whereas Europe seems more exotic.

If you have the time and means to go where you want, go to the place that speaks to you at the time. You never know how many opportunities you’ll have so make the best of them.

If you have to ask this question, you probably shouldn't choose Europe.

I live in coastal Florida. Going to a place that is on the water with palm trees, is not my idea of a vacation. I am not saying St Pete beach is anything like Fuji or Bali, but if I want fun in the sun, then I can drive a mile to the beach and get that sun burn, come home and spread sand everywhere. Africa, to me takes a lot of planning and medication and it seems maybe a difficult thing to do with out some sort of tour group. There also seems like a lot of political unrest and political injustice in Africa (governmental figures killing a family of gorillas just to spite the villagers who love gorillas). In South American, I have been told a woman should never travel alone. I have traveled alone in Europe twice. Europe makes this possible. Maybe it is more civilized. Once again, South America is a region that it may be better to tour with a group. To me, that does not make traveling easy. I will stick with Europe until I am bored with it, because to me, it is much easier to do on your own or with your loved on and I don't have to worry about 3rd world country stuff. I would also feel intimidated to do even China or Japan without some sort of organized tour group and I just really never want to rely on group tour vacations. I am going to save the Orient, Africa, and South America for when I am lazy and want a travel touring group to spoon feed me my vacation. Until then, I will stick with my independent, non-malarial based European adventures, that Rick Steves spoon feeds me.

So really maybe I would see other parts of the world if there was a Rick Steves guide book of Africa or South America. Something that would allow me to be independent but yet keep me out of harms way. If there are guidebooks out there like this for those countries, let me know.

Everything Kelly just said (excellent job). I think it depends on where you live though. I too live on the beach (in So.Cal) but if you are land locked the S. Pacific and other tropical destinations would be sooo enticing.

I'll echo what Kelly said. My husband would love to take our kids to India, but since I still have somewhat small kids, I'm a bit worried about some of the infrastructure problems over there -- sanitation, public transportation, access to healthcare. Probably if I did my research, we'd be fine, though. Plus it's a lot farther to fly than it is to fly to Europe. From Atlanta, the next closest continent would be South America, but again, there's the infrastructure problem (and, again, if I did my research, we'd probably be fine). We could probably do a tour, but that would be more expensive, and we wouldn't get to see as much of the local culture as when I plan the trips myself.

I'm not being politically correct in my answer, but here goes.

I don't think Europe is better, but it is more comfortable for leisure travel for me.

I want to be able to go somewhere I can relax and unwind. I want a certain level of creature comforts like food and water I don't have to worry about whether I should eat or drink. I don't want to get shots before I go. I want somewhere without tremendous crime or poverty. I want a place with basic infrastructure (transportation, decent medical care, etc...). Yes, that can be found elsewhere, but Europe affords the greatest concentration of the above criteria.

Now, adventure travel is something else with which I throw out everything above.

At this point of my life I get enough adventure in my day to day and need serious downtime to relax and favor Europe.

Sorry if that sounds lazy or narrow-minded, it isn't, it is pragmatic for me.

I'm not a European-American but I prefer Europe for the history, the various cuisines, the cultures, all the different languages. People have their desires, their likes & dislikes, etc. Some people might not want to visit the Andes or the steppes or the savannahs. I have no real interest in Asian culture,
for instance - and as an American and a woman of color, I'd never venture into the Middle East. Africa is a future dream trip but it's too dangerous
to venture into right now. I've no true desire to visit South America outside of Macchu Picu. To be honest, as an American, I am hesitant about traveling to many 2nd/3rd world nations for safety reasons (also, some of these places tend to be far more expensive to visit properly - there are no budget places usually, unless you camp out and I'd not feel safe doing that). As for America, there are not too many places here I'd care to see either. I'd like to visit the Caribbean and will in 2011.

As a counter point, S. America has really good infrastructure with the possible exception of the Amazon basin, the Pantanal and Patagonia and is amazingly cheap. It is however a very large continent and one needs to have some Spanish language skills to get around most places except Brazil.

However, I totally understand the attractions/culture of Europe and the ease of getting around. The key (IMHO) is to continue traveling and enjoy the places that attract you.

I am just more interested in Europe than in the other places which have a lower travel priority, such as Japan and China, but I'll get to them on a tour but just not yet. My interest areas are, first and foremost, Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna. Am I Euro-centric, but of course.

I wouldn't say that Europe is better than anywhere else in the world; it just depends on your interests, money, time, etc. I went to Israel when I was 12 and all of my other trips have been to Europe. I want to go all over the world and have a long list of countries and cities, but as a lot of people have said on here, it's relatively easy to get to and a lot of us have European heritage. As a Jew, I have ancient ethnic and religious roots in Israel but more recent roots in Eastern Europe (grandparents came from Romania via France, Poland, and Russia), so I guess that's a reason why I feel culturally connected to Europe.

But I also feel very strongly about Germany. I never though I'd go there because of associations with the Holocaust, but 4 years ago I met my good friend Nicolas who's German and I visited him there for the first time in 2007. He offered to take me to a concentration camp but I said no - it was hard enough for me to look at the memorial in Goettingen to its Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Before I went to Germany I had a very one-sided idea of what it was; now I see its many layers of history and the legacy that the Holocaust has left to Nicolas's parents' generation and Nicolas's and my generation.

You should choose Europe because of the huge ASDA Supercentre in Sheffield.

Michael - you do know that Asda was taken over by Wal Mart!

Correct, and it’s still the top attraction anywhere in South Yorkshire (or maybe the whole of Europe)! What more could Blake want in a continent?

Hilarious Michael! I am going to look out for more of your posts, you and Ed from Pensicola.

Boy Michelle...thats a pretty casual (and uneducated) dismissial of 3/5 of the planet...

I'm guessing you "only want to go to South America to see Machuu Pichu" because you know absolutely nothing about the rest of that spectacular continent

"I am hesitant about traveling to many 2nd/3rd world nations for safety reasons (also, some of these places tend to be far more expensive to visit properly - there are no budget places usually, unless you camp out and I'd not feel safe doing that)."

"2nd/3rd" world countries have some of the most spectacular travel bargains in the world...the same hotel that would cost you 200E in Paris is a 10th of that..same with restaurants, wine, transportation

Finally I'm going to guess that crime against "women of colour" is way higher in the US south, than just about anywhere else in the world.

Larson: I don’t disagree with you regarding much of what you said, but I thought I would point out that there are some pretty violent places for women (of color if one prefers) in the developing world: Congo, Haiti, Somalia, Guatemala, and Mali come to mind. Any comparison with the US South would be ridiculous.

I would take cities/sites in Europe anytime over places in the 3rd world. While Tokyo, Sian, Kyoto, Shanghai, Beijing are defintely worth seeing and visiting, they don't take precedence over London, Kiel, Dresden, Berlin, Amiens, Strasbourg, Vienna, Florence, Potsdam, Salzburg, Paris, etc. Precedence is determined by interest. I don't and wouldn't pay 100 Euro in Paris, and especially not in Berlin or even Vienna, if you know where and when to go.

If you think that all this is rigidly Euro-centric, I have to say you're right.

"Finally I'm going to guess that crime against "women of colour" is way higher in the US south, than just about anywhere else in the world. "

Where are you from? Are you a time traveller in a past era? What an ignorant and uneducated statement!!!

Thank you, Michael. The South has come a long way in the past 40 years. Still has some to go, but it's less risky place for women of any color than any larger cities in the US.

Blake, as you have read, everyone has their own reasons and all can be very different. My interest in the beginning was purely automotive. Germany was the place to go if you wanted to see the largest auto show and drive without a speed limit. Almost 30 years and 4 trips later I still love to go there. Paris is beautiful and 1 week there was not enough. My dream trip is Australia and this is all due to a book I saw many years ago. It was called "A day in the life of Australia". It will be expensive and lengthy which has prevented me from going. Having paid as little as $250 to fly to Paris in the past it is shocking to me to pay $800+ to get to anywhere in Europe.
We all have our reasons for traveling with none being better or worse than anyone else.

P.S. So far no amusement park is better than Cedar Point.

Hi Blake. I love the old buildings, old architecture is art for me. The Roman Ruins I have visited in France and Italy astound me; I am in awe of how they built those arenas way back when. I am from Western Canada, which is a very young part of the world, not many 500 year old churches around here.

European life is so different than North America and I enjoy travelling there to see the differences. The open food markets are one of my favorite things, very different than our farmer's markets here. There are plenty of beautiful coastlines in Europe too, and gorgeous mountains not to mention wineries.

Europe is my choice. Many of my friends choose to go to Vietnam or China, I have no interest in those countries. It is definately a personal choice.

OK...fair enough..let me clarify.

One of my pet peeves about folks not travelling is the whole "its dangerous". People travelling--even to Europr will take the most outlandish and ridiculous "safety" precautions in cities that have a half of the crime rate of their own home town. To me it says alot about their insular view of the rest of the world.

My statement should have said crime against AMERICAN women of colour is much higher in the US South (an area I'm intimately familiar--and most fond off..)than anywhere else in the world.

I'll bet you the statistics of robbery, assualt, etc etc are much higher against WOC in Savannah, Jacksonville, Montgomery you name it.

My point is that the chances of an American woman, of any colour being the victim of crime are infinitely higher at home, than somewhere else in the world.

I love European history. Italy is one of the most fascinating places I have been to. That said Maui is my favorite place I have visited. I think it depends on you and what your interest are. I would love to go to the South Pacific and Africa, but there are still so many places in Europe, US, Canada, South America and the Caribbean that I haven't seen yet. You are going to be happiest picking a place you have always dreamed of seeing.

Sorry I've been gone for a couple of days so I just read everyones replies. Thanks for all that answered. The first thing I would like to say is that Japan is a 1st world country and several people have called it a 3rd world one. Secondly I would like to say that some people are really fearful of places that they shouldn't be. Some parts of Africa are really dangerous at the moment. That's true. But quite a lot of it is perfectly safe to travel around. It has it share of problems but the whole continent isn't ridden with it. People seem to fear countries that thousands of tourists go every year like India and China and SouthEast Asia. People have been going there forever. It has become a major trail for backpackers and non-backpackers alike. I can see reasons why you wouldn't want to go to some of these places but fear shouldn't be one of them. I just wanted to see what people thought. Thanks for the replies.

Larson: I'd love to see those stats you have of crime in the South. Of course you'll be adjusting them for assualts etc by husbands, boyfriends, fathers, ex-boyfriends, drug dealers and pimps? Maybe we could get a comparison to LA, Chicago and Detroit? Don't forget Tehran and Mexico City.

Are there really statistics on pimp related crimes?

I was wondering about the statistics for crime in Tehran. It isn't one of those hotspots for petty theft or for women getting attacked.

If people are interested in crime statisics, they are very easily googled. This makes more sense than making dramatic statements about certain countries or sections of those countries. On the whole though, I would say that in most European cities it is safe to walk around them at night or on side streets.

Nowhere else is so much variety concentrated on such small area. Consider for example Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia. Many US states are quite larger than any of these countries. But there is so much to see. And it is so easy to get from point A to point B. Safe accommodation, food, water. Low crime. You don't have to cover great distances in Europe to see much.