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Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

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Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#61

Post by gst »

pyre wrote: post #53
gst wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"For example: After an incident involving an American in Brazil [1], all Americans were out of a sudden required by the Brazilian authorities to get pictures taken at the Brazilian customs. The situation got so ridiculous, that at some point the airports ended up with 3 lines: "Brazilian Citizens", "Foreigners", and "Americans". In other words, Americans were singled-out from the rest of the world. Would the OP descr…

Why did this get upvoted? You're dodging the point of the comment. You're logic seems to be: Person1: Bad things are happening in the US Person2: Well, bad things are happening in Brazil too. Person3: But it's only fair for the Brazilians to do bad things because the US is already doing bad things. The original article is griping about how bad things are travelling to the US, and how it's not that bad travelling anyw…

Nope.

Someone commented that the situation in the US is actually not that bad, and that it's worse in Brazil: "Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS) are very professional and follow a strict protocol. The protocol may be unfair or not, but that's the protocol, not the professional's fault. In places like Brazil your entire trip is at the hands of chance: Most times you get a nice officer, but sometimes not."

But that's not true. Travelling to Brazil is rather unproblematic for citizens of most countries. Only citizens of countries that harass Brazilian citizens are harassed equally.

So I agree that related to the original article my comment was off-topic. But it's very on-topic in regard to the off-topic parent posting (because from a non-US citizen's perspective there aren't any problems when traveling to Brazil, but plenty of problems when traveling to the US).

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#62

Post by rdouble »

ErrantX wrote: post #18

I have to admit, as difficult as it is, he makes a good point here. I'm nowhere near as well travelled, but we do a lot of work in the middle east (some of the nastier parts too), which is a place you would imagine a white westerner would count seriously against you. But, frankly, I've never felt safer or more welcomed in my life (apart from the odd dicey moment). OK, the US is not terrible, unsafe or specifically un…

Americans can be pretty suspicious of outsiders even if the outsiders are fellow Americans. Where I grew up, walking around town (instead of driving) or standing at the bus station meant you were at best are some sort of vaguely criminal transient.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#63

Post by dalore »

felipe wrote: post #17

> I've been to Russia before the cold war ended. I've been all over the middle east. I've been to China. I've travelled all over Europe. I've been to Cuba and I've been to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua. What all of these places have in common is that going there was a far more pleasant experience than going to the US. Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS)…

I would say as a non-USA person travelling to other countries is quite pleasant vs going to the USA, his statement is not over the top.

I would the experience of a USA person travelling to other countries wouldn't be quite as pleasant as their is a lot of pent up rage against USA in other countries and when they get to meet a yank they have a chance to express it.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#65

Post by dalore »

PakG1 wrote: post #27
felipe wrote: post #17

> I've been to Russia before the cold war ended. I've been all over the middle east. I've been to China. I've travelled all over Europe. I've been to Cuba and I've been to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua. What all of these places have in common is that going there was a far more pleasant experience than going to the US. Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS)…

>> all Americans were out of a sudden required by the Brazilian authorities to get pictures taken at the Brazilian customs I'm curious why this would be such a hassle. I work in China right now and every time I go through customs, there's a little web cam there that takes a photo of me while the customs officer looks at my passport and stamps it. I think both foreigners and citizens experience it. Adds no time to the…

They have that webcam picture experience in the US too, at least for non-citizens.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#66

Post by gritzko »

I am a Russian citizen living in EU. I generally avoid trips to US. BTW, me and some of my colleagues, postdocs or PhD students, had to go through the infamous TAL (technology alert list) checks. What it practically means: 1) you are a citizen of some US "enemy" country, like xUSSR, China, Brazil or, God forbid, Iran 2) you have a PhD in any engineering discipline (true for architects, computer scientists, chemists, physicists, etc) or you work towards your PhD 3) you are going to a conference in US Then they will do a mock background check for long enough to grant you a visa one day after the conference ends.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#67

Post by wisty »

jrockway wrote: post #55
wisty wrote: post #6

NegativeK Insurance is for things that could destroy you if you didn't have it. Otherwise, by the law of averages, it's a waste of money. Unfortunately, in the US, lots of things can destroy you: Lawsuits from car accidents, medical issues, not having a car, et cetera. Nice comment.

By the law of averages, all insurance is a waste of money. Insurance companies make money. They do this by collecting more fees than they pay out. In aggregate, they win and you lose. The real question to ask is, "can I afford this insurance" and "is it worth it to me". If you buy a $250 mp3 player and the "insurance" is $300 and lasts for 6 months, it's a waste of money, because you aren't going to break your mp3 pl…

No, medical insurance isn't a waste, because the cost of not having it can be extremely high, not just in dollar terms.

Happiness (100% x losing $1000 + 1% x having a free necessary operation) > Happiness (1% x not being able to afford a necessary operation).

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#68

Post by rickmb »

die_sekte wrote: post #16

Anybody willing to share how Schengen/EU borders are for foreigners?

Usually separate lanes for EU-citizens. In some countries, if those are empty, officers from those lanes may call you over even if you are not an EU citizen. If it's a passport they are familiair with and no visa is required, you basically get treated the same way as everybody else: a quick glance and off you go.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#69

Post by wyclif »

Nick_C wrote: post #36
wyclif wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is up with the Aussies and quarantine? Going from the US to SE Asia, you fill out a little slip declaring if you're carrying snails or orchids, and if you say you are not, you sail right through. No worries!

Australia is very stable geologically, apart from a bit on the S.E. corner, which is why it is flat. It is very old and hasn't had the evolutionary disruptions caused by mountain raising and flattening. The animals have evolved quite distinctly in their own niche. Foreign imports could seriously disturb the balance. See, for example, rabbits, foxes, cane toads.

Makes perfect sense. I guess I'm left wondering why smaller, remote islands don't have to do this. Places like Hawai'i, New Guinea, the Philippines, Iceland, or Japan. I'm no biologist, but my guess is that those places aren't known for large-scale agriculture.
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