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International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

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Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#111

Post by emeidi »

I've traveled from Zürich to Los Angeles on Good Friday (April 14, 2017) for leisure - my first visit since February 2016 and thus my first trip to Trump's 'murrica.

I was joined with my dad who recently retired and never has left the continent - his first long haul flight and first time to the US.

I feared and prepared for the worst and I even was debating about leaving my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air at home to avoid any searches.

It turned out to become the smoothest immigration ever: We stood at the curb waiting for the car rental bus within 45 minutes after we stepped out of the plane.

Short lines, smoothly working self-service kiosks, a friendly immigration officer, not one single intimidating or aggressive question.

Way to go!

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#112

Post by kyrre »

8draco8 wrote: post #10

I live in Europe. From my perspective going to US looks like going to some kind totalitarian country. First I have to got visa which is not automatically approved because I'm Polish not British. Then I have to go trough a lot of, mostly pointless, security checks, checking social accounts, interrogations, scans and manual personal revisions. On any stage of that I can be handcuffed and sent back to Europe for almost…

Judging by the narrative the media is putting out one would think that Poland is a nightmare patriarchal state where rape victims are denied abortion and politicians agree that woman should be paid less because they are too 'small, weak and unintelligent' for equal pay.

Be more critical. Traveling to the US is a breeze for Europeans.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#113

Post by philliphaydon »

woof wrote: post #86
klausjensen wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically, only ~57% of eligible voters actually voted. Of those, about half voted for Trump. So only about 27% of all eligible voters actually voted for Trump. That is pretty standard for a US presidential election. Those are the rules for democracy, so he is the legitimately elected president. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/10/13587462/...

A large number of Democrats voted for Trump by not voting at all. They made a choice to let Trump win, just to tell Hillary (and the Democratic Party) that they didn't like her! https://www.forbes.com/sites/omribenshahar/2016/11/17/the-no...

There's also voters who regret voting trump and voters who say they would switch from Hillary to trump.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#114

Post by ItendToDisagree »

TheArcane wrote: post #100
ItendToDisagree wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The majority of US citizens did not vote for Trump. Just thought I'd point out that most people DO NOT want this president.

That's irrelevant in this case, isn't it?

In reality. Yup.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#115

Post by tomp »

ItendToDisagree wrote: post #106
tomp wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Due to the electoral college system, correlation between "voting for Trump" and "wanting Trump as a president" isn't 100%, so you I'm not sure you can make strong conclusions based on 2.2% difference in popular vote.

Yet... Depending on how the rules of the game work the outcomes are totally different. Worth pointing out.

No, the point is, depending on the rules of the game, people vote differently. E.g. under the current system it makes no sense for republicans in NY and CA to vote... If the popular vote actually counted, the popular vote would be different (it's like quantum mechanics applied to psychology - if people know that you observe them, they change their behaviour)!

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#116

Post by emeidi »

staticelf wrote: post #2

I recently visited the US and I thought the process was going to be hell after reading a lot of these threads on HN. Turns out it was pretty chill, got some questions before boarding and was selected for extra security check. Then upon landing I got like 3 questions from the officer, how long I would stay, where my friends were and what the purpose of my trip was. Sure they didn't seem very friendly but it wasn't a b…

Same here; LAX on April 14. Smoothes immigration ever since I've been flying to the us (since June 2001). Positively surprised.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#117

Post by foldr »

1337biz wrote: post #93
bnt wrote: post #79

I'm from Eastern Europe and I (literally) just flew back from a 2 week work trip from the US (California): - Getting a visa was a painless process. I just applied and I got a business visa. - Entering the States required me to show my passport. Nothing else. Nobody asked me why I was going there, nobody asked me to show my phone or laptop (I had both). There was no separation, pat downs etc.

Maybe because Eastern Europeans are rarely shooting or bombing innocent people? Just a wild, wild guess...

In the US you mean? Eastern Europe isn't entirely free of terrorist activity, assuming that you include Chechnya.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#118

Post by drakonka »

mstade wrote: post #92
jdietrich wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have to travel to the US, fly via Shannon Airport in Ireland. A special arrangement with the Irish government allows you to pass through US immigration and customs controls while you're still on Irish soil. When you arrive in the US, you're treated as a domestic passenger. You don't avoid the intrusive interrogations, but they're a lot more polite about it because they can't detain you. If you're refused entry…

Arlanda airport in Stockholm is also working on a pre-clearance arrangement like this[1], although it won't start until 2019 at the earliest it seems. [1]: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/united-s...

Oh that is great news! I love visiting the US but have passed up on several opportunities to travel there this year just because it seems like such a hassle. Still, I am about to make the trip for a work conference. Even though I know the majority of people go through without incident I am still nervous about having an experience like one of those news stories.

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#119

Post by Markoff »

microtonal wrote: post #45
8draco8 wrote: post #10

I live in Europe. From my perspective going to US looks like going to some kind totalitarian country. First I have to got visa which is not automatically approved because I'm Polish not British. Then I have to go trough a lot of, mostly pointless, security checks, checking social accounts, interrogations, scans and manual personal revisions. On any stage of that I can be handcuffed and sent back to Europe for almost…

We had serious plans to go on holiday to the US this year. I have been in the US at least a dozen of times, and absolutely love the desert states, Oregon, and Washington. Entering the US was already a large hassle, but with Trump's travel bans, rumors of phone, laptop, and social media checks, we have decided to postpone our travel plans until the political/security climate improves. Semi-related: we were in the mark…

what's wrong with Japanese and Korean cars? according ADAC Japanese are by far most reliable cars beating all European brands, top 10 most reliable cars usually consists of half normal Japanese cars (eg. Toyota Corolla) and half niche European cars you will hardly see on road (think Porsche)

Re: International Travel Guide for Basecamp employees

#120

Post by ItendToDisagree »

Jare wrote: post #108
ItendToDisagree wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The majority of US citizens did not vote for Trump. Just thought I'd point out that most people DO NOT want this president.

You could say that ~70% of the voters did not try to prevent him becoming president.

Exactly! But this seems like a feature of a Two Party system rather than a bug? What happened to the Free Market and competition?
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