2 Reasons Why Traveling Sucks in the United States.

The United States is a big, beautiful country. One good thing about having a massive landscape is topographic and climate diversity. The US has over 63 national parks. These national parks cover an area of approximately 211,000 square kilometers. That is larger than Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria's land mass combined. The US also has over ten different climate zones, from the polar of Alaska to the tropical climate of Hawaii.

Despite having such a gorgeous, diverse landscape, reaching all parts of the United States is not an easy task. In this piece, I want to explore some factors that prevent everyday people from exploring the United States.

Too Far to Drive, too expensive to Fly, and no options in between.

Recently I looked at flights from Denver to Dallas on a Thanksgiving weekend because it takes approximately 12 hours of nonstop driving to cover the distance. It means the driving takes two full days of my time if I intend to return.

Also, if you want to drive from Kansas City to Yellowstone National Park, it takes over 16 hours of nonstop driving. Flights are too expensive between these two cities, especially around holidays. Also, travelers need to rent a car at their destination, which adds extra cost to the trip.

The US is a big country, and there isn't an efficient way to travel these massive distances without a long exhausting drive or going through the soul-crushing airport security lines, airport surcharges, and cramped seats on planes. Traveling by train is also not an option for most of the US due to regular cancellations and slow travel time. Furthermore, the US lacks the high-speed rail that most developed nations have. Let's not even talk about traveling on a bus.

It is not the first time I am debating with myself about time vs. money. I have to go through these questions repeatedly every time I decide to travel.

Flying is neither cheap nor reliable. Flights alone cost around a grand or more when I travel with my wife. Also, as VOX reported back in June, the lack of enough personnel in the airport, pilot shortage, and unpredictable climate have been causing airlines to run tight operations. As a result, there are more flight cancellations than ever before. And, more people drive long distances than taking expensive and unpredictable flights.

I like road trips and have driven the cost to cost, but driving is not fun if you do it all day for multiple days and if the landscape stays the same.

How can an average person, say someone who works at a restaurant, travel? Traveling inside the states costs thousands of dollars most of the time. There are ways to budget the travel expenses with friends, but you will need to have friends with similar interests and who want to go where you are traveling.

Sometimes I feel America is for people who are rich, and not for someone who is struggling financially.

Employees have fewer vacation days in the United States compared to other developed nations.

Thanksgiving weekend is when I have four days off in a row. I don't have to spend my precious paid time off to go on a vacation during this yearly holiday. I am not the only one who travels on a long weekend. All my friends who work corporate jobs plan out their leaves on a long weekend.

Americans can't afford to take a vacation when they want to. According to The CT Mirror, the United States is the only high-income country that does not guarantee paid time off for employees. It is sad if you compare it to other developed nations in the world.

I was debating whether I should take paid time off or wait for Thanksgiving because I have few vacation days left, and waiting for a long weekend does help stretch out my remaining time off. It is a debate I have every year. Mostly, I can't choose days when the flights are cheap. I need to wait until a long weekend, and airlines know that. So, they jack up the price.

Oof! The Dilemma.

Let me make something clear. These problems do not exist because the United States is too big. It's not nature's fault. The issues exist because we as a society have decided to build a country for driving only. We have decided to value big corporations over everyday people.

Also, I understand travel is not for everyone. You might not even like exploring places. However, I believe if we were to have high-speed rail connections between cities and if employees get more paid time off, more people would travel around this beautiful nation.

Let me know what you think. What's your experience traveling in the States?