Traveling abroad can be cheaper than traveling in the U.S. Sure, you spend more money on flights than you might on gas, but you can afford to stay for a month in, say, Thailand for what you might spend on 3 nights of accommodation in the U.S, and you can eat out for all your meals on $30/day if you're savvy
That, and people in their 20s and 30s are much less likely to have kids than people of the same age group in the '90s, so the logistics around traveling abroad can be much easier. The increasing interconnectedness of the world has similarly provided much more exposure to the international world, while technology (including things like airbnb and google translate) have removed many of the barriers.
I don't think more "elder gen z" and millenials are traveling abroad because they're overall more well-off. Housing is much less affordable and I think this is part of the reason we're seeing a decline in birth rates.
> you can afford to stay for a month in, say, Thailand
That's why I gave examples of Western Europe (London, Paris) and Japan (Tokyo).
The prices on arrival are the same as traveling to Austin or Dallas.
I love traveling to Thailand or Vietnam, but most American travelers aren't going there.
> That, and people in their 20s and 30s are much less likely to have kids than people of the same age group in the '90s
Aka, higher disposable income compared to their peers in past cohorts.
This is actually a good point and something I don't think was brought up in the article - my parents had me in their 20s. I probably won't have kids til my late 30s.
London and Paris are two of the most expensive cities in Europe (maybe the top 2 if you ignore Switzerland) so I agree if you're talking about people going there.
But the majority of Europe is cheaper than the majority of the U.S. (think Greece or Spain or Portugal or even most of Germany)
Japan also is much cheaper to travel in than the U.S.
Personally most people I know who do international traveling have avoided London and Paris due to the high cost of travel.
True! And don't take my statement as an assumption against parenthood. It just requires good planning and maturity, and some people (rightfully) recognize they don't have the maturity needed yet.
That, and people in their 20s and 30s are much less likely to have kids than people of the same age group in the '90s, so the logistics around traveling abroad can be much easier. The increasing interconnectedness of the world has similarly provided much more exposure to the international world, while technology (including things like airbnb and google translate) have removed many of the barriers.
I don't think more "elder gen z" and millenials are traveling abroad because they're overall more well-off. Housing is much less affordable and I think this is part of the reason we're seeing a decline in birth rates.