From what I read on this sub, the focus seems to be in developing countries or Eastern Europe. Just curious as to why US/Canada isn’t as popular as DN?
I get that it’s more expensive but there are ways around it. I think the beauty and stuff to do in such country tops a lot of places!
Just being curious and would like to know your point of views, not trying to take away anything from other countries :)
Most of US cities are not walkable, on top of being prohibitively expensive.
I liked Montreal as a more affordable city. It’s also one of those rare North American metropolises that is actually walkable to some degree, with decent public transportation.
Most of US cities are not walkable, on top of being prohibitively expensive.
What does that have to do with anything? Renting a car in the US is dirt cheap
Define dirt cheap? Also what happens if you have an accident? Health insurance in the US is twice as expensive with my nomad plan.
Some nomads like me also don’t like car-centric cities. I like being able to walk everywhere (or at least use public transportation), and if there are cars around me, they shouldn’t have priorities over pedestrians. By that I mean that traffic lights turn green more often so you don’t have to wait for several minutes to cross the road, the speed limit is controlled, etc. It’s a personal preference, and many cities in the US don’t really fit those criteria.
I had a great time in the US as a tourist, but I don’t see myself living there.
I’m Aussie spending around 8/9 months a year in MTL as my home base and I think it’s an awesome place to live…. Just not in winter
Um, the cost, that’s why
Absolutely the cost for me. I grew up in London but live in the French Alps most of the year now. I had a hankering for living in a big city again for a bit and, just out of curiosity and knowing it was very, very silly, I looked up prices in New York. I always wanted to visit and it seems like the kind of city I’d really like. As soon as I saw the prices I confirmed to myself it was a complete non starter. I ended up in Mexico instead and it was fantastic - and cheap.
Mexico instead and it was fantastic - and cheap
And unsafe. You forgot that one
I never felt unsafe there. I’d feel safer walking round Mexico City at night instead of West Croydon.
If you own a car, car camping around the state lands and national parks would totally be doable.
I did a 2 month road trip. Fuel is cheaper in US than muxh of the world. Groceries too. Restaurant food has gone way up with inflation.
Problem is you can’t really buy a car as a foreigner. And renting one for 3 months is going to be insane.
Van, campers rentals were expensive when I looked in 2019. Cheaper to stay in a hotel. I can only imagine now after the COVID hype how expensive they are.
Hostels aren’t really a thing in the US, so finding a place to sleep for under $50 a night is a challenge
You can’t do 99% of that cool stuff without a car and spending $500-1000/weekend just on those little side trips.
When 2 hours is a short drive and you’re making it between multiple destinations it just becomes sooo long too. You need 3 days to go to three “close” destinations. The US is massive and the sprawl is real. No car? Sucks. On a tight budget? Sucks. Tight on time? Sucks. The USA has some of the prettiest places on earth but we kinda make pretty places hard/expensive to get to. And when you’re there you have people who saved for 50 weeks to go there for 3 days and so everything is massively crowded.
It can all be done and accommodated but it isn’t as easy as small/walkable/cheaper European countries.
It’s a thing in outdoorsy areas away from people. Think Newfoundland, Alaska/Yukon, Montana, Utah, Arizona & Vancouver Island.
Also ski resorts: Canmore, Revelstoke, Colorado.
As far as cities go, the only appealing place is Montreal, but it’s not quite as expansive as what you’d find elsewhere in the world.